FC to ESC Wiring

We will walk through creating the FC and ESC cable

FC Wiring

You may have noticed that the ESC has a connector with several flying leads coming out of it. These leads are what we will be connecting to the FC. The FC will send PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signals to each of the motors to keep the AVR drone hovering in the air.

Remove the small white cable adapter from the ESC and gather the necessary parts for this phase of the build as seen in the photo below.

Parts for wiring FC to ESC

Parts for wiring FC to ESC

The image below shows the pinout for the ESC connector. We will be focused on wiring each of the motor leads (M1-M4) as well as VBAT and GND to the PWM module of the FC. We will not be using TLM or CURRENT.

Pull out four jumper cables from your AVR kit and to keep things simple make sure they mach up with each of the motor wire colors. They will be green (M1), yellow (M2), red (M3), and blue (M4) as seen in the image below.

Laying out wires for soldering

Laying out wires for soldering

Remove the plastic female connector from one end of each jumper cable. This is easy to do once you understand how the connector works. There is a small tab that you can pry up and then slide the cable out. A small flat head screwdriver or tweezers area great tools to assist with this step.

Plastic connector with tab lifted up

Plastic connector with tab lifted up

Slide the wire all the way out and get rid of the plastic connector.

Wire removed from plastic connector

Wire removed from plastic connector

Slide the wire into the servo connector housing as shown in the photo below. Servo connectors can be found in a small envelope of miscellaneous parts in your kit. Refer back to the first photo in this section to see it.

Sliding wire into servo connector

Sliding wire into servo connector

The blue wire is now secured into the connector and represents motor #4 (M4).

M4 wire securely in place

M4 wire securely in place

We will repeat this step for M2 (yellow wire) and M3 (red wire).

The photo below shows how the cable will be attached to the PWM module from the Pixhawk. You will notice that the connector is plugged in horizontally across the top row of pins 2, 3, and 4. Pixhawk can support up to 8 motors (an octocopter) and each number represents a specific motor.

M2, M3, and M4 connector

M2, M3, and M4 connector

Let’s repeat the same process for M1 (green), VBAT (red), and GND (black). You will remove each of the plastic female connectors and secure the wires into the servo connector.

M1, VBAT, and GND wires

M1, VBAT, and GND wires

Once again, pay attention to the ordering of your wires. Your second cable should look identical to the one below.

M1, VBAT, and GND in servo connector

M1, VBAT, and GND in servo connector

Make sure your cables are plugged into the PWM module as shown below.

PWM module wired up

PWM module wired up

Here is a close up of the connections. This represents the FC side of the wiring. Now we will proceed with the ESC side.

PWM module close up

PWM module close up

ESC Wiring

Go ahead and unplug your cables from the PWM module. Let’s take one last look at the ESC side connections before we solder.

Use wire cutters to cut off the plastic female connectors from the other end of the colored leads. Proceed with stripping off about 1/2" of the wire insulation.

Remove about 1/2" of insulation from the ESC leads. You will notice that the ESC leads already have some wire exposed.

Match up the wire color on the FC side with the same color on the ESC side. Twist the wires together using the “Twisted Helix” method described in the video below.

The photo below shows the blue M4 wire from the ESC connected to the M4 wire of the FC. The wires are secured using the “Twisted Helix” method.

Wires twisted and ready for soldering

Wires twisted and ready for soldering

Place solder all around the joint to strengthen the connection.

Soldering the ESC and FC M4 wires together

Soldering the ESC and FC M4 wires together

A little solder will go a long way. Don’t overdo it as you will need to slide the heat shrink over the joint next.

M4 wires soldered together

M4 wires soldered together

Slide the heat shrink over the connection and apply heat to it using a heat gun or a lighter.

Heat shrink applied to M4 wire

Heat shrink applied to M4 wire

Repeat this process for the M2 (yellow) and M3 (red) wires.

M2, M3, and M4 wires soldered

M2, M3, and M4 wires soldered

Repeat the soldering process for M1 (green), VBAT (red), and GND (black). Your new cable should look like the photo below.

All wires soldered

All wires soldered

Feel free to apply heat shrink over all your wires to keep things clean. If you don’t have heat shrink you can use electrical tape.

Plug your connectors into the Pixhawk PWM module as shown in the photo below.

The finished FC to ESC cable

The finished FC to ESC cable

In the bag of cables that came with your Pixhawk FC look for the 10 pin connector that attaches to the Pixhawk’s I/O PWM OUT port and the PWM IN port on the PWM module.

Connecting PWM module to Pixhawk

Connecting PWM module to Pixhawk


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Last modified August 25, 2022: Changing knife to screwdriver (0d2691b)