UL-1 Repair - Newbie Help!!

[jrsheets]

I did a quick search, but did not find anything. I do apologize if this has already been covered....

Tonight I was trying to diagnose what I think may be a faulty stock ESC on my UL-1 - completely stock with 2 x SMC 5200mah 24C lipos... runs great for 2-3 laps on my pond (approx 3 acres).. then will intermittently cut out. Stops for 5-10 seconds... at a time.. then may fire back up for 5-10 seconds.. then out again.

It's not a radio distance issue.. still have rudder.. also happens when its close or far away. And its not a temp issue.. everything (ESC, motor, and Batteries are all around 80F.

So if anyone can confirm that is probably the speedo, I have another I can swap it with.

Second problem.. is during one of the cutout periods.. I had it pinned and headed towards shore... well it took back off and beached itself... luckily in a sandy spot.. but it did do some surface damage to a front corner... looks to just be the paint or is it gel coat?

What do you recommend for repairing this type of surface damage?

Thanks!!!

[hebner]

The UL-1 is not gel coated only paint over one very thin layer of fiberglass. The turn fin area and where rudder is attached will crack and break if you hit anything and the turn fin will break off without hitting anything. Both areas need to be reinforced.
Hugh

[detox]

Older uncycled weak lipo cells and/or large props will damage the fragile UL-1 esc. What size prop were you using and how old are the batteries? Seems props larger than 40mm will cause capacitor to pop or swell. You can solder in a new replacement capacitor if your old one is damaged.

Read here:http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...ead.php?t=7539


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[Grimracer]

I did a quick search, but did not find anything. I do apologize if this has already been covered....

Tonight I was trying to diagnose what I think may be a faulty stock ESC on my UL-1 - completely stock with 2 x SMC 5200mah 24C lipos... runs great for 2-3 laps on my pond (approx 3 acres).. then will intermittently cut out. Stops for 5-10 seconds... at a time.. then may fire back up for 5-10 seconds.. then out again.

It's not a radio distance issue.. still have rudder.. also happens when its close or far away. And its not a temp issue.. everything (ESC, motor, and Batteries are all around 80F.

So if anyone can confirm that is probably the speedo, I have another I can swap it with.

Second problem.. is during one of the cutout periods.. I had it pinned and headed towards shore... well it took back off and beached itself... luckily in a sandy spot.. but it did do some surface damage to a front corner... looks to just be the paint or is it gel coat?

What do you recommend for repairing this type of surface damage?

Thanks!!!

When you say completely stock.. do you mean prop and all…

If so.. you might have a bad ESC.. Contact Hobby Servises and they will hook you up.

Having said this.. a few things to keep in mind

The UL-1 is the FASTEST RTR ever produced for mass market… along with this is the hump that some must over come regarding part throttle usage. If you are not use to a boat this fast you might be spending allot of time at part throttle. Part throttle “could” stress the ESC.

Are there any weeds in your pond?.. If so don’t run in that water. Weeds can cause the system to draw to much amperage. Truth is PLEASE don’t ever run in a pond with weeds..

Prop… what can I say that has not been said before or in the manual.. We have a short list of prop recommendations for the boat.. If you stick within that size range you should be OK. If you run larger then that you could damage the ESC.. Remember it’s a 60AMP esc… the props we recommend run within the limits of the ESC.. also note that the L4053/3 is on the upper limit of this..

ROCK ON and thanks for choosing the UL-1

Grim

[jrsheets]

I did forget the prop..

But I am running your 40 x 52/3 prop.

I've got an extra Aquacraft 60A ESC that I had bought for my SV27 and will probably swap that out tonight and give it a shot.

I'm thinking I may want to look at upgrading to a Castle Hydra 120 or something similar??

[Brushless55]

I've had a similar experience, my UL-1 would stop after 2-3 laps and beep, beep, beep..
had to take the cover off and rearm the esc.. not sure why

[jrsheets]

I've had a similar experience, my UL-1 would stop after 2-3 laps and beep, beep, beep..
had to take the cover off and rearm the esc.. not sure why

I put my other ESC in, and what you mentioned above is exactly what happened. I was able to re-arm it by going through the normal arming procedure from the radio , and then as long as I kept it pinned full throttle I got another 5-8 laps out of it. After that it stopped dead... brought it back in, unhooked the batteries and hooked them back up and it re-armed.

?????

I'm wondering if its the radio tx or rx. I'm going to put my Futaba 4PK system in tomorrow and see if that helps.

[jingalls007]

Do you have any water in the hull when you take it out of the water?

[jrsheets]

Do you have any water in the hull when you take it out of the water?

very minimal..

[Brushless55]

I've seen no water at all in the hull