Seaking 180 acting up

[de-pro]

I recently purchased a Seaking 180 combined with Leopard 4074 2200kv in my Impulse 31. Right from the start I seem to have issues with it when the boat starts at full speed but shortly after slows to almost half throttle. I have done the throttle range calibration several times and turned on and off the auto-lipo setting. Initially I was running a 4s1p 30c 5000 lipos which it did not like. It seems for a while running my Gens Ace 40c batteries fixed the problem. However the problem returns after a couple of minutes of even running the 40c batteries. I used a smaller prop with no luck. I tried a 4s2p 30c 10000mah and a couple of mins later the boat went into half power. I used external BEC with no luck. I finally turned off the LVC and the problem seem to have gone away (at-least for a minute). I really dont like running the boat with no LVC so is there any other fix? Is this a common issue with these ESC's?

[de-pro]

So I found another thread with someone having similar issue. lowering the lvc to 2.8v per cell seem to have fixed the issue. I am just concerned if thats too low of a voltage for a cell.

[iamandrew]

sounds like ive got the same setup in my genesis but i didnt have to drop to 2.8 for the low voltage. i think mine is still on 3.2

[de-pro]

I dont think they all have this problem. This esc was brand new when I got it.

sounds like ive got the same setup in my genesis but i didnt have to drop to 2.8 for the low voltage. i think mine is still on 3.2

[properchopper]

The 180 speedys are notorious for overprotecting when using the LVC. Most of the SoCal guys program for "no protection" and use common sense when it comes to runtime.

It's not unusual for a decent set of batteries to momentarily drop below the LVC threshold under a quick peak demand, triggering the
T-180 LVC protection circuit even though the average voltage remains above the threshold. The SC's logic firmware sees this momentary dip in voltage as a trigger to go in protection mode prematurely. Knowing your setup's average draw will help calculate/adjust runtime accordingly.

[785boats]

I won one of these ESC's in a raffle at our race club & tested it for the first time on Saturday. Expecting this problem to rear it's ugly head.
Set at 3.2V, the first run was just right. I decided to run it until the LVC cut out.
The pack was a 5000mah 45C pack & the resting cell voltages after the run were 3.75V with a remaining capacity of 22%. Good numbers. However a race in that boat doesn't take the pack down that low.
The next run however went to half speed after half a lap.
So then the LVC was switched to 2.8V. Didn't cut out for a race length run. Three separate runs on three different batteries.
I might try 3.0V next week. If that cuts out I'll go back to 2.8V.
Cheers.
Paul.

[de-pro]

I am not quite sure of the average draw of my setup, 4074 motor with a 642 prop. I tried it out today with LVC set at 3 volts. It took a little longer before it went to protection mode. Then tried 2.8 but couldnt time it since I again unsoldered one of the leads off of my EC5 series connector. Hopefully next time I get to run it through the full pack. Thanks for the feed backs

[Diesel6401]

The issue is normally with the "AUTO" detect function of the esc. Set it at 3.2 and manually enter the cell count it should work fine. It's a common seaking issue, my 120s have done similar.

[de-pro]

Thats the first thing I tried. Actually the manual recommends it as well. No luck with it though

The issue is normally with the "AUTO" detect function of the esc. Set it at 3.2 and manually enter the cell count it should work fine. It's a common seaking issue, my 120s have done similar.

[properchopper]

Thats the first thing I tried. Actually the manual recommends it as well. No luck with it though

Here's a thought : Re-read post #5, second sentence. Just sayin'.....

[785boats]

Diesel.
I too had selected the manual cell count. But it still cut out.

Propperchopper.
I like your first sentence better in post #5, & will definitely be the way I'll run it on race days. This was really just a test to see if mine had the problem.
Cheers.
Paul.

[MR2NR]

Do you have a ESC controller card? Trying to set it up with the Tx was too much of a pain for me until I got one of these for my dyslexia. I had my boat set on 2 cells and with it in parallel the "advanced" racer I talked to said I would need it on 4 cells...... Nope. So anyways that's the prob I had. Best 15$ I ever spent :).

[de-pro]

Yes I do, its very difficult to set anything otherwise

Do you have a ESC controller card?

The same here. It certainly is a problem with the lvc circuit of the esc

Propperchopper.
I like your first sentence better in post #5

[MR2NR]

I would try another set of batteries then even though you have gone through at least two sets. If you can't get rid of it I guess sell it for cheap and get something else. Sorry .

[properchopper]

I would try another set of batteries then even though you have gone through at least two sets. If you can't get rid of it I guess sell it for cheap and get something else. Sorry .

There's no reason to get rid of it or sell it for cheap or replace with yet another set of batteries. Run it with No Protection on the LVC setting, and know your runtime limits. With 4S2P you're fine. If you're really concerned with LVC, buy an add-on unit; they're reasonably priced.

I have three T-180's in play, most of my racer friends use them, and about a dozen of my customer builds use them. All with no LVC setting. For under $100, The T-180 really can't be beat.