Motor or ESC or Motherboard burned out?

[drudis]

Currently all green lights, ready to fly... just motors "twitch" and wont spin nor takeoff.

Background: removed the prop guards and the plastic mounting brackets, then mounted the motors with the same LONG screws... (believe the long screws interfered with magnetic field of motors, and now does not fly).

Motors were never stuck (zero movement), but just hand spun - slower and stickier. Since then, I reassembled with prop guard mounds, but she doesnt fly... all green lights, ready for takeoff... just one motor twitches, and none of them spin.

What might I have burned out?

 

[N017RW]

If you used the long screws without the prop guards you have damaged the motor coils.
End of story.

The screws extend into the motor severing coil wires which permanently and irreversibly damages them.

 

[drudis]

Is there any more that may be burned out? ESC or Motherboard?

Should I just go and replace 4 motors ONLY? (or part this out, and buy another one... dont want more and more issues, by spending all sorts of money, only to replace almost a whole new quad).

 

[N017RW]

The ESCs are supposed to have over-current protection so they should be OK but, hey, I can't guarantee you anything but that the motors are ruined from where I'm sitting.

Motors are about $20US each.

 

[eaglegoaltender]

then mounted the motors with the same LONG screws

Yikes, that's a tough break! Like N017RW said - you have possibly toasted your motors. On the other hand if you noticed there was some tightness when you turned by hand - there could be (if you are lucky) some binding going on since you have likely pinched the bearing enough that it will turn by hand but not without feeling a restriction.

Question: did you notice if you had a "motor warning" (as to obstruction) on your device when you fired it up? If there was no smoke from the motors when powered up - it could be they are completely toast or you are "bearing bound" from the long screws. Have you tried the other screws again?

Or try backing off the ones you have in there (loosen them) - remove props and see if they turn free by hand and if so - fire it up and see if they spin (without smoking on ya). If they feel free when turning by hand then you were just bearing bound - one can only hope that is what happened.

 

[drudis]

So I re-installed the prop guard plastic mounts, with the LONG screws.
Never saw any smoke, and get zero warnings, all green lights, ready to fly.
Hit takeoff mode, and one motor twitches (epileptic back-n-forth), but NONE of them spin.
You can HAND-spin, and they move freely. Compared (1/2 way thru re-assembly) that 2 motors with long screws had more drag on them (IMOHO a magnetic not physical drag), and the ones properly assembled had less drag = normal. So if you "flick" the props by hand, 2 would spin like 3/4 of a revolution, and 2 would spin like 3 revolutions...
Now that all of them are assembled properly, they all spin freely (3-4 revolutions by hand-flicking the props), but takeoff mode, just sits there are nothing (except one motor twitches a bit, like from 12:00 to 1:00 to 12:00 positions).

Hmmmmm, just dont know if I wanna try to repair for $80 in all new motors (and time), then buy a whole new P3S for $400 from Craigslist. Hmmmmm.

 

[drudis]

Good news - tested with 980KV motors I had laying around from another hex... and when wired in (with alligator clips) they spun up.
So the issue is just 4 faulty (burned out) Phantom 3 Standard motors, already ordered DJI factory 800KV replacements for under $60 shipped.
Whew! (that was cheap)

 

[N017RW]

Glad you got it sorted out. Many have had the same problem by using the long screws without the guards.

 

[ruvym1324]

Whew! I did the same mistake and glad to her its just a simple motor replacement!!