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WARNING: This is an extremely powerful brushless motor system. We strongly recommend removing the pinion gear from the motor for your own safety and the safety of those around you before performing calibration and programming functions. Please keep your hands, hair, feet, pets, fuzzy purple shorts, and garden gnomes clear from the gear train, axle shafts, wheels, and tires of an armed high performance system. DO NOT hold the vehicle in the air and run it up to full throttle.
Always monitor your ESC and motor temperatures during the first run after modifying your system to ensure they stay within the safe operating limits. GETTING STARTED 1. Solder a high quality battery connector to the ESC. See “Connectors and Power Wiring” - page 5 2. Mount the ESC and motor into the vehicle. 3. Connect motor to the ESC. See “Motor Wiring” - pages 7 - 8 4. Plug in the ESC RX lead. See “Radio Connection” - page 9 5. Calibrate your ESC to your radio.
CONTENTS Introduction.............................................................................................................................................. 4 A Word About Batteries........................................................................................................................... 4 Connectors and Power Wiring................................................................................................................ 5 Motor Wiring............................................
Castle Link Quick Connect...................................................................................................................................................... 18 Using Castle Link........................................................................................................................................................................ 19 Field Link Programming Card................................................................................................................
EASY TO USE, SOPHISTICATED ENOUGH TO WIN EVERYTHING Castle controllers are extremely simple to set up and optimize for your application. Most users may simply plug the controller into their motor, radio, and battery and run it immediately. Advanced users may wish to access the incredible tuning features using their Windows-based PC and the Castle Link USB adapter via a standard USB-mini cable.
Recommended capacity for 1/18th scale vehicles is 1500mAh+, 1/10th, 1/8th, and 1/5th scale recommended capacity is 5000mAh+. Do not use 20C continuous discharge batteries. We recommend 30C continuous discharge or higher for 1/18th scale to 1/8th scale vehicles (or high quality 25C batteries such as Traxxas® Power Cells®), and 50C continuous or higher for 1/5th scale vehicles. Using too low of a C rating or capacity will damage your ESC and will not be covered under warranty.
systems such as our CC Bullets, Castle Polarized Connectors, Traxxas® Power Connectors, FlightPower Star™ Plug, or Deans® Ultra Plugs. Your Castle ESC has motor connectors on the motor wires or directly on the ESC and the battery input wires are bare. You must add the connector of your choice to the battery leads. We recommend a connector rated for 40-100 amps, depending on your setup. Check the amperage ratings of your connectors to make sure they meet the amperage requirements for your application, e.g.
MOTOR WIRING Brushless Motor Wiring, Sensorless Motors (Figure 1) For sensorless brushless motor connections, the three wires from the ESC to the motor have no polarity. Connect the three wires coming from the motor to the ESC’s motor connections in any order. If you are using a motor other than a Castle Creations motor, you may need to either solder the included bullet plugs to your motor, or solder the ESC wires directly to the motor wires.
2028 motors only. DO NOT CUT any part of the wire length from any other motor, regardless of brand or type. In most cases, only the last 1/4 inch or so of the motor wires are able to be soldered. If they are clipped shorter you may not be able to solder the remaining portion of the wire and the motor will not run properly, if at all. If the motor is supplied with connectors you do not want to use, simply unsolder the original motor connectors from the wires - do not cut them off.
sure you change the Motor Type setting to “Brushed Reversing” in the ESC before using a brushed motor. Use only the red and black motor wires from the ESC, or the outside bullet connectors on the ESC. In most applications, the red wire from the ESC will connect to the red wire (or positive + side hood) of the motor, and the black wire to the black wire (or negative - side hood) of the motor. The white wire from the ESC (or middle bullet connector on the ESC) is not used.
Castle ESC receiver plugs are designed to work with any current receiver, but you will need to make sure the polarity is correct when connected to the receiver. The ESC signal wire is orange or white, the positive wire is red, and the negative wire is brown. Check your receiver documentation for correct connection polarity if it’s not marked. Most receivers use negative (brown) towards the outside of the case and signal (orange/white) towards the channel markings on the case.
available within the computer programming of the transmitter. Please start by zeroing out any throttle trim that you may have set in your transmitter. How To Calibrate The ESC Safety First! Remove the pinion prior to calibration. Step 1: Start with the transmitter ON, the battery disconnected, and the ESC switch in the OFF position (if your ESC has a switch). Step 2: Plug a battery into the ESC. If your ESC does not have a switch, hold full throttle on your transmitter before plugging in the battery.
Step 4: If the ESC’s voltage cutoff is set to Auto-LiPo (the default setting), then the ESC will emit a sequence of beeps indicating the number of battery cells. If the number of beeps does NOT match the number of cells, disconnect the battery and confirm that it is fully charged. Step 5: After the beeps, the green LED on the ESC will blink rapidly. If the red LED is blinking instead, reverse your throttle channel. After a couple of seconds, the motor will “ring” four times in a row.
STEP 7: Now relax the trigger to the neutral position. The ESC will now “ring” four times and flash the yellow LED rapidly to accept the neutral position. After accepting the neutral position, the ESC will “ring” twice, flash all the LEDs, and the yellow LED will illuminate. This is the arming tone and LED indication that the ESC IS NOW ARMED and the vehicle will respond to throttle inputs from your transmitter.
Final Check Once you are calibrated and armed, do one last check before going out and experiencing the Castle brushless difference. Slowly advance the throttle and check the rotation direction of the motor and the color of the LEDs on the ESC. If the motor is spinning in the right direction and the green LED is blinking, then you are ready for a test run. If the ESC shows the green LED with throttle, but the wheels spin in the wrong direction, you’ll need to change the motor direction.
error condition. This is simply a reminder to disconnect the battery. If you wish to silence these features, they can be disabled using Castle Link. See “Idle/Error Beeping” on the “Basic” tab in Castle Link. The audible alerts consist of a sequence of long and short beeps, repeating every five seconds. To determine the cause of the alert, record • for short beeps and - for long beeps, then match the code you heard to the following list. The red LED will always blink, even if silenced.
Audible Tone 16 Key Description • – Low Voltage Cutoff Main battery voltage dropped below the cutoff value. The default is Auto-LiPo which sets the cutoff value based on the detected cell count. Other options may be entered in Castle Link. – • Over-Current* The ESC detected operating currents that exceed the capabilities of the ESC. • • – Radio Glitch The ESC detected unusual signals or loss of signal on the throttle wire. • – • OverTemperature The ESC reached an over-temperature condition.
Audible Tone Key Description • – – Excessive Load* The ESC detected very high current spikes. Causes may include damaged wiring leading to, or inside, the motor, the use of too large a motor for the controller, excessive gearing, or improperly soldered motor connections. If multiple Excessive Load errors are detected, beeping will be disabled to protect the ESC. If the error continues, contact Castle Tech Support.
TUNING WITH CASTLE LINK™ All Castle ESCs may be connected to your PC using the Castle Link USB adapter. The Castle Link software will give you access to a whole new world of tuning options. You may use Castle Link to tune your throttle and brake curves, set your drag brake feel, and use the incredible Torque Limit to keep the front end of your car on the ground with all the power you have at your command. As new software becomes available, you can install it in your Castle ESC for new and updated features.
Using Castle Link Disconnect the RX (Orange/Red/Brown) wire from your receiver and connect it to the Castle Link USB adapter. Castle ESCs may also be programmed using your transmitter and receiver (see Transmitter Programming, page 19), or a Field Link Programming Card (see Field Link Programming Card, below).
At each option, you can accept it by going to full throttle on your transmitter, or you can reject the option by going to full brake. In programming terms, full throttle is ‘YES’ and full brake is ‘NO.’ The ESC will indicate that it has accepted your selection by producing a continuous “skipping” tone. When you hear this tone, allow the trigger to go back to the neutral position to advance to the next setting or option depending on your selection. How To Get Into Programming Mode: 1.
confirm that it is fully charged. 5. There will be a sequence of four “rings” and the red LED will blink. 6. Keep holding the trigger, within 6 – 8 seconds there will be a sequence of four “rings” and the yellow LED will blink. You are now in programming mode; let the trigger return to neutral. To Make Changes In Programming Mode: Once in programming mode, the ESC will beep once, pause, then beep once again and repeat until a change is made with your transmitter.
Reject options unless you wish to change that specific setting. As an example, say you want to adjust the Drag Brake to 20%. Work through the settings and options, rejecting all options until you get to 4 beeps, meaning setting 4 (Drag Brake), followed by 3 beeps, meaning option 3 (20%). Select this option by going to full throttle. Once you have changed the setting you want, you can unplug power from the ESC to get out of programming mode. You do not need to finish all of the settings.
race practice sessions and bashing, but check with your race director to see if this setting is allowed for actual racing. Option 2: Without Reverse Reverse cannot be accessed under any circumstances with this setting. Use this setting for sanctioned racing events that do not allow reverse driving. Option 3: Crawler Reverse Reverse or forward is accessible at any time, even if the vehicle is still moving. 2.
the cutoff to 3.2 volts per cell detected. The ESC will beep the number of cells detected between the initialization “ring” and the arming “rings” on initial power up of the ESC. If the number of cells indicated does not match the number of cells in your LiPo pack, do not operate the vehicle. Unplug your battery and ensure that it is fully charged. Check with your battery manufacturer to make sure 3.2V per cell is their recommended cutoff.
3. Brake Amount Sets what percentage of available braking power is applied with full brake. Option 1: 25% Power Option 2: 50% Power (Default) Option 3: 75% Power Option 4: 100% Power 4. Drag Brake Sets the amount of brake applied at neutral throttle for a slight braking effect while coasting. Option 1: Drag Brake Disabled (Default) Vehicle will coast with minimal resistance from the motor at neutral throttle. Option 2: Drag Brake 10% Low amount of braking effect from the motor at neutral throttle.
Option 4: Drag Brake 30% High braking effect from the motor at neutral throttle. Option 5: Crawler Full On This setting applies full brake at neutral throttle to prevent crawler-type vehicles from rolling or coasting when stopping on an incline. 5. Motor Type Sets which type of motor you will use with the Castle ESC. The ESC may be damaged if this setting does not match the motor type/hook-up method in the car, and this damage is NOT covered under warranty.
Option 2: Brushed Reversing See Reversing Brushed Motor Setup, figure 2 on page 8. 6. Motor Direction Option 1: Normal (Default) Option 2: Reverse TROUBLESHOOTING If you’re still having difficulties with your Castle ESC after trying the suggestions offered here, please contact Castle Creations technical support at the email or phone number listed in the next section. Problem: My Castle ESC may or may not arm, but it will not calibrate to my transmitter.
have both your throttle and brake endpoints (called EPA or ATV on your radio) on the throttle channel set to between 100 to 120%. If you have a Futaba-made transmitter, make sure to have the throttle channel set to the reversed position. See Castle ESC/Radio Calibration on page 10. Problem: My ESC calibrates for the full throttle and full brake positions but won’t calibrate to the neutral throttle position (yellow LED keeps flashing with single beeps).
to page 4 for recommended battery capacity and C ratings for use with Castle ESCs. For NiCad/NiMH packs, use copper bars to connect cells rather than welded tabs. Problem: My battery pack is plugged into the ESC and nothing is working - no steering and no throttle. Solution: Make sure the ESC’s RX wire is plugged into channel 2 on the receiver, and that it’s plugged in with the correct orientation. Double check your solder connections on the battery plug, and make sure the battery is charged.
CASTLE TECHNICAL SUPPORT You may contact our world-class technical support department via e-mail or phone. For tech support hours see our website at www.castlecreations.com/support. E-mail: www.castlecreations.com/contact-support Phone: (913) 390-6939, option #1. WARRANTY INFO Your Castle ESC is warranted for one (1) year from date of purchase to be free from manufacturing and component defects. This warranty does not cover damages caused to your motor or controller from abuse.
NOTES 31
TRANSMITTER PROGRAMMING REFERENCE 1. Brake/Reverse Type • Option 1: With Reverse* • Option 2: Without Reverse • Option 3: Crawler Reverse 2. Voltage Cutoff • Option 1: Auto-Lipo* • Option 2: None 3. Brake Amount • Option 1: 25% • Option 2: 50%* • Option 3: 75% • Option 4: 100% 32 4. Drag Break • Option 1: Disabled* • Option 2: 10% • Option 3: 20% • Option 4: 30% • Option 5: Crawler Full On 5. Motor Type • Option 1: Brushless* • Option 2: Brushed Reversing 6.
AUDIBLE ALERT REFERENCE Audible Tone • • • – – • • • – Key Start Fail Voltage Cutoff Over-Current* Audible Tone • – • • – – – • – Key Over-Temperature Excessive Load* BEC Over-Temperature* Radio Glitch *Not available on all Castle ESC models. See the Quick Start Guide for more clarification.
34 Copyright © 2018 Castle Creations, Inc.
