Uneven battery usage

[Exdragboatdad]

Hi y'all. My zonda drains port batteries twice as much as starboard .
I've gone through stuffing tubes, props, couplers, strut/ prop clearance , flex cables.
I can't find any differences or smoking gun.
No noticeable difference when Turning props by hand.
Baffled!
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. .

[tbonemcniel]

Are you always turning right? The port side will dig into the water deeper on a right hand turn, increasing amp draw on the port, and reducing on the starboard.

Also, which ESC is powering your receiver and servo?

I typically let the starboard ESC handle BEC duties, to help even out the amp draw. They?re pretty even after a race. Maybe 0.05 v/cell off.

[fweasel]

Could be the turning issue if you run consistently in one direction, but I've never seen that large of a discrepancy in packs afterwards. If it were my boat and I'd ruled out friction causes already, I'd first swap motors between sides, then run as usual and measure batteries. If the issue remains on the port side, I'd then swap ESC's and test again.

[ray schrauwen]

Maybe try to re-calibrate the esc's

[Fluid]

- Exactly how much capacity does each motor use?
- Have you swapped batteries from one side to the other?
- What are the temperatures of the motor and ESC on each side after a run?
- How much rudder trim do you use to run straight?



.

[plinse]

Do the ESC have equal setting?
How do you determine the battery usage? Do you look at the voltage of the cells after the run or the capacity at recharge?
Did you compare the propellers by measuring? Equal?

If you don't find anything abnormal I would also exchange components between port and starbord, always one sort of component at a time:
Batteries
ESCs
Motors

[Exdragboatdad]

Thank you for all the responses and great advice.
Bringing everyone up to date
I switched esc and the issue of uneven battery usage didn't follow the esc to the starboard side.
Switched motors and issue still is with the port side.
Put new Teflon in tubes, no change.
The only thing I haven't changed are props so I ordered a new set from ose. If this doesn't fix the issue, I will b e really confused. I'll let everyone no the outcome of changing props when they arrive.

[jkflow]

You could also swap props, obviously with flex shaft swap and motor rotation being different.

What about the lipo itself, did you swap sides with them?

[Doug Smock]

Are your connectors the same temperature after a run? Higher heat = losses due to poor (loose /dirty) connection or bad solder joints. If you can't find a specific problem parallel batteries to both ESCs. Don't use these cheap parallel connectors available. I can't tell you how many of those I removed from racers set ups that were struggling at the Atl. Grand Prix this year.

[Exdragboatdad]

Thanks for all the information.
I have swapped motors esc batteries L to R. No changes. I'm determining battery usage after charging. Port side takes almost double what starboard side to recharge. 5200mah, 65c. I recently changed TX & RX before I became aware of battery issues. When setting up, I probably adjusted steering to compensate. The batteries and connectors feel about the same to touch. It The last thing I can think of is props. Just received new ones and will report back.

[jkflow]

Did you do a new throttle range adjust after swapping receivers?

Does your rudder look straight with all the trims, or way off into the direction where you see the drain?