Pixhawk 6X + T-Motor Cine55C 8-in-1 (BLHeli_32) — DShot wiring for a quadcopter

ArduCopter Copter 4.7
1

Hi everyone,

I’m building a professional inspection quadcopter (4 motors, AUW ~2 kg, 6S) and I’m at the electronics integration stage. I’ve read the ArduPilot DShot documentation and found the thread Pixhawk 6x mini wiring DSHOT ESC which is close to my situation, but I still have uncertainties before connecting anything.

Hardware stack:

  • Flight Controller: Holybro Pixhawk 6X (with IOMCU)
  • ESC: T-Motor Cine55C 8-in-1, BLHeli_32, 3–6S, 55A per channel
  • Motors: iFlight Xing2 3110 900KV 6S — only 4 motors used (standard X quadcopter frame)
  • Battery: 6S LiPo (test) / 6S Li-ion (final)
  • Firmware: leaning toward ArduPilot, not yet flashed

What I understand so far (please correct me if wrong):

  1. DShot only works on FMU PWM OUT (AUX 1–8), NOT on MAIN OUT — confirmed by ArduPilot docs
  2. The T-Motor Cine55C signal connector has 10 pins: C (GND), T (telemetry), 1–8 (motor signals)
  3. FC is powered separately via Holybro power module — never from the ESC
  4. Only ONE GND connection between ESC pin C and the FC — not duplicated

My specific questions:

  1. Which 4 signal pins to use on the ESC? The Cine55C has 8 signal outputs (pins 1–8) but I only have 4 motors. Should I use pins 1–4, or is there a specific recommended mapping for a quadcopter?

  2. Which FMU AUX outputs on the Pixhawk 6X? For a standard X quadcopter in ArduPilot, which AUX outputs (1–8) should I connect my 4 ESC signals to? And how do I set the SERVOx_FUNCTION parameters accordingly?

  3. Adapter cables — are they mandatory? The Pixhawk 6X uses JST GH 1.25mm connectors, the T-Motor Cine55C uses 2.54mm servo-style pins. I don’t have adapter cables yet. Is there any way to connect without them, or are JST GH to 2.54mm adapters strictly required?

  4. DShot speed: cable runs under 20cm, BLHeli_32 ESC. DShot300 or DShot600 recommended?

  5. Any known issues with the T-Motor Cine55C 8-in-1 on ArduPilot with only 4 motors connected?

Thanks a lot. Happy to share photos of the setup once wiring is done.

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2

Not so, but use the Aux ports anyway and plan on configuring for bidirectional Dshot.

  1. Use any of the 8. 1-4 of course makes sense.
  2. Use any of the 1st 6 FMU outputs. 1-4 makes sense.
  3. Make whatever cables you need with the cables you have on-hand. Splicing and/or re-pinning the connectors.
  4. Dsho6 600. Again, flash the Bdshot firmware to the flight controller and configure for Bdshot.
  5. I can’t think of any.

Refer to this Arducopter board specific Wiki page for general info Pixhawk 6X

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