2 motors not spinning

[bterrier]

Just got my P3P mostly functional. (compared to the condition I got it in)

Anyways Im almost ready to put it in the air for a test flight. But upon arming the motors, only 2 motors spin and I get a motor obstructed error. (the 2 right motors power up)

Both of the non-working motors spin fairly free by hand. Would 1 bad motor cause both to not work? Could it be something on the board or is it the motors?

 

[Oso]

Just got my P3P mostly functional. (compared to the condition I got it in)

I am very impressed with your persistence.

Would 1 bad motor cause both to not work?

The motors are controlled independently, so I'd have to say that one motor being bad in and of itself would not cause any of the others to be bad.

Could it be something on the board or is it the motors?

Often times it's the ESC which unfortunately is not a separate board on the P3s. The motors are very cheap however, so replacing one could be a good check unless you see something obviously cooked on the main board. If you choose to replace one or more motors, be careful to order the correct motors, new design vs. old design.

 

[N017RW]

Were prop guards ever fitted?

If the wrong screws were used without the guards they can extend into the motors and damage the coils. This cannot be detected by simply spinning them by hand.

 

[bterrier]

I am very impressed with your persistence.


The motors are controlled independently, so I'd have to say that one motor being bad in and of itself would not cause any of the others to be bad.


Often times it's the ESC which unfortunately is not a separate board on the P3s. The motors are very cheap however, so replacing one could be a good check unless you see something obviously cooked on the main board. If you choose to replace one or more motors, be careful to order the correct motors, new design vs. old design.

I like to figure out how to fix these problems so I don’t necessarily have to buy nee equipment and also so I have the knowledge to repair the same issue in the future, but I never would have been able to repair the issues with my controller or P3P without all the help received from everyone on this forum. Thanks for that.


Thanks for this info. Is this ESC part of the main board on the P3P?

 

[bterrier]

Were prop guards ever fitted?

If the wrong screws were used without the guards they can extend into the motors and damage the coils. This cannot be detected by simply spinning them by hand.

I just took a look at the motor screws. You were right, they were too long.

I removed the long screws and attempted to arm the motors again. Now none of them spin, I just get an ESC error.

So I am assuming it isn’t an esc issue, but a motor issue. How can I pinpoint which motor is damaged, or should I replace all of them?

 

[Oso]

I just took a look at the motor screws. You were right, they were too long.

I removed the long screws and attempted to arm the motors again. Now none of them spin, I just get an ESC error.

So I am assuming it isn’t an esc issue, but a motor issue. How can I pinpoint which motor is damaged, or should I replace all of them?

Sadly this has happened often. So much so that I included a reference to it in my tips post that I share as often as I can. Unfortunately, the guy who sold you that P3 must not have read this forum so the damage was already done when you got it. People think that if they spin motors to check for free movement that all is good to go. In fact, the motor housing spins but the windings are static and the windings are what gets damaged as was noted earlier by @N017RW.

In this case, I would at a minimum replace the two that did not start up initially. Best case is to replace all since as we've seen from your posts the original owner of that P3 seems to have jacked it up in a few areas. I'd just feel more confident with all new motors. Again, keep in mind the new motor design vs the old design as the ESC circuits are part of the main board in a P3 and there is more than one model of main board / motor design combo.