Here's a question for the Brushless experts

[BrianG]

Hmm, then the ESC must be always energizing the coils trying to spin the motor a little (maybe trying to get a feedback signal?), but not quite enough to get it to move.

What happens when you remove the pinion from the motor (unloading it and able to spin freely)?

Either way, this is definitely a system where you don't want to forget to unplug your batteries even for 10 minutes!