One of my phantom 2 vision plus' motor not spinning

[phantomnoobpilot]

I just couldn't log into the official DJI forums so I just had to post my issue here.

I just got my phantom 2 vision plus 3 days ago and flown it twice already. Except that what happened yesterday leaves me thinking whether I got a faulty set.

Okay, I flew my phantom just a couple of hours ago, all nice and steady, no crashes, but when it came to landing, which i'm not really good at, I powered the left stick down slowly but as it came downwards consistently at this really slow speed, it kept drifting sideways even when there is no wind around, odd, then the back two propellers hit into the grass first so the two propellers behind stopped first before cutting the power out completely. Anyway, it was quite a bumpy landing but in no way do i see it as a crash. Battery level was at 20% so the app kept notifying me with alarms but I wanted to drain it further so I powered up the motors again and THIS TIME one of the propellers at the back wasn't even spinning at all, only 3 were. I'm confused so i switched it off and went back home.

I let it rest for about 2 hours while i re-charge the battery, try it once more later and that one motor just wouldn't spin at all. Did i get a faulty unit? I tried updating my firmware on it and still that one particular motor at the back just wouldn't spin.
I'm really disappointed. Any way to remedy this?

 

[jonas111]

Try and smell around the arms where the motors are not turning. You will most likely smell some burnt electrical parts.

I had two units sent to me that did similar things and the ESC burnt out of them. Electronic Speed Controllers. The only difference is my unit would not even turn on. The battery would come on and then turn itself right back off. I had the dealer on the phone and he told me to hold the power button longer and thats when I witnessed the smoke coming out of one of the arms. The second unit turned on and burnt out right in front of me.

I sent the first unit back and the dealer was really good and sent me a second brand new unit, but the ESC burnt out on the first attempt of flying. I now have the second unit back with new ESC's in them and so far I have one successful flight under my belt.

I am just assuming there is some new Vision Plus's with similar issues. Good luck and hope you get back in the air soon.

 

[burlbark]

I just couldn't log into the official DJI forums so I just had to post my issue here.

I just got my phantom 2 vision plus 3 days ago and flown it twice already. Except that what happened yesterday leaves me thinking whether I got a faulty set.

Okay, I flew my phantom just a couple of hours ago, all nice and steady, no crashes, but when it came to landing, which i'm not really good at, I powered the left stick down slowly but as it came downwards consistently at this really slow speed, it kept drifting sideways even when there is no wind around, odd, then the back two propellers hit into the grass first so the two propellers behind stopped first before cutting the power out completely. Anyway, it was quite a bumpy landing but in no way do i see it as a crash. Battery level was at 20% so the app kept notifying me with alarms but I wanted to drain it further so I powered up the motors again and THIS TIME one of the propellers at the back wasn't even spinning at all, only 3 were. I'm confused so i switched it off and went back home.

I let it rest for about 2 hours while i re-charge the battery, try it once more later and that one motor just wouldn't spin at all. Did i get a faulty unit? I tried updating my firmware on it and still that one particular motor at the back just wouldn't spin.
I'm really disappointed. Any way to remedy this?

Did you ever use the prop guards?

Its an easy fix that cost $25 if you can do it yourself. The esc probably needs replacement. You will need to know what version you have by the part number on your existing ones. The ESC's are all over ebay and need to have the motor wires and the power leads soldered to the board. That usually runs $50 to send it to someone to solder on. I have seen a couple motors go bad but its usually the esc.

 

[phantomnoobpilot]

i bought prop guards but have yet to install them. oh god, so it's better for me to replace the ESC myself instead of sending it back?

 

[N017RW]

If you can solder than you probably have the experience necessary.

 

[justin00]

Hmm do you hold it longer on the first or second press of the battery? And how long extra? Did it just start smoking as you were still holding it?

Can anyone confirm what the holdibg power button longer thing is for/does?

Thanks

Try and smell around the arms where the motors are not turning. You will most likely smell some burnt electrical parts.

I had two units sent to me that did similar things and the ESC burnt out of them. Electronic Speed Controllers. The only difference is my unit would not even turn on. The battery would come on and then turn itself right back off. I had the dealer on the phone and he told me to hold the power button longer and thats when I witnessed the smoke coming out of one of the arms. The second unit turned on and burnt out right in front of me.

I sent the first unit back and the dealer was really good and sent me a second brand new unit, but the ESC burnt out on the first attempt of flying. I now have the second unit back with new ESC's in them and so far I have one successful flight under my belt.

I am just assuming there is some new Vision Plus's with similar issues. Good luck and hope you get back in the air soon.

 

[jonas111]

The dealer was on the phone with me and told me to hold the power button down after the second time pressing. When I did that it started to smoke. Before I did that I tried to turn it on and it would just shut right off. I told dealer what was happening and that's when he told me to do that. And yes it started smoking as I was holding it.

Do not do what I did. If battery shuts itself off the ESC is already bad but not burnt. I'm guessing a bit.

The second unit got in the air and I landed it (not very good) and it toppled over very lightly and props hit the ground. When I picked it up it turned itself off. When I turned it back on it instantly burnt out the ESC.

Hmm do you hold it longer on the first or second press of the battery? And how long extra? Did it just start smoking as you were still holding it?

Can anyone confirm what the holdibg power button longer thing is for/does?

Thanks

Try and smell around the arms where the motors are not turning. You will most likely smell some burnt electrical parts.

I had two units sent to me that did similar things and the ESC burnt out of them. Electronic Speed Controllers. The only difference is my unit would not even turn on. The battery would come on and then turn itself right back off. I had the dealer on the phone and he told me to hold the power button longer and thats when I witnessed the smoke coming out of one of the arms. The second unit turned on and burnt out right in front of me.

I sent the first unit back and the dealer was really good and sent me a second brand new unit, but the ESC burnt out on the first attempt of flying. I now have the second unit back with new ESC's in them and so far I have one successful flight under my belt.

I am just assuming there is some new Vision Plus's with similar issues. Good luck and hope you get back in the air soon.

 

[justin00]

Cool thanks for the additional info. Was just curious what the actual function of holding it in longer is.

mate of mine from here might potentially have a bad ESC.. either that or a motor issue... If the ESC is a little faulty (and has potential to get worse and fail) it could be better to kill it now than have it fail when its off the ground.

Just one last thing.. On your second unit, how did you identify the ESC had burnt out when you powered it back on?

Thanks again.

 

[jonas111]

No problem at all.

Second unit started to smoke out of one of the arms as soon as I powered it up. First one didn't smoke until I held the power button on longer. It just wouldn't turn on. Almost like it was shorted out and tripped something.

My dealerhad said he sold hundreds of the vision plus 3.0 and he had 7 return. He was working with DJI to get it figured out.

 

[AHill]

i bought prop guards but have yet to install them. oh god, so it's better for me to replace the ESC myself instead of sending it back?

If you only had it 3 days I would return it, why spend more on parts and time to repair it and take a chance on it having more problems. It is an easy repair if you are beyond the warranty and have soldering skills but it would take just as long to order parts as it would to return it and get a replacement.

 

[phantomnoobpilot]

hi guys, thanks for the inputs, currently updating the status of my issue here.

So far, doesn't seem good here.

As i said earlier, i bought my drone last Monday (15 Dec), exactly a week ago, one of the ESCs died for no apparent reason last Wednesday, on my second flight which was on the third day after purchase.

Since there was no crash, I thought I probably got a bad set, so I assumed I could get a one to one exchange from the DJI authorized dealer here since I read through the exchange policy on the official DJI site and even confirming that I've met the conditions but I was wrong.

Apparently, after-sales service in my country is terrible.

I brought it back to the DJI authorized dealer the day after one of the ESCs failed (4th day after purchase), the sales staff kept emphasizing that there is "no warranty" for this product and went to ramble on saying that any damages is the result of the pilot's error. She proceeded to check my phantom in front of me, and as usual, one of the motors didn't spin as confirmed and she told me it's a spoilt motor, and I have to pay for a new one. I was flabbergasted, since I was pretty sure it is one of the ESCs since you guys here have pointed out, but I assumed this staff knew her stuff, so I reluctantly paid up and was told to come collect it tomorrow or latest, the day after tomorrow.


Next day, I got a call from the store saying that the problem doesn't lie with the motor but with the ESC instead (like you guys mentioned), and they currently don't have stock for the ESC at the moment and would only come in next week. I'm annoyed, really. And also mentioned that they would call me up again on Monday (today) to update me on the status. Well, today is Monday and I got no call from the store at all. Just great, I wonder why am i forking out money for repairs when it is clearly a bad set.

 

[justin00]

You are getting screwed over!! Dont pay them anything.
There is a warranty on everything..

Is the place your getting to fix it the place you got it from??
Also how did you pay? Credit card? If so... threatrn a charge back if they dont fix.

friend on mine here in Australia had 2 motors go bad 2 months after he got. Shop he got it from replaced/installed 2 new motors for free under warranty.

You could probably send it back to DJI to get fixed.
thing is though the ESC is only like $20 and DJI could take months.. but just the principle of the isssye I woukd also be very angry. Ask them to proove how it was your fault.

Surely your country has some laws aswell regarding warranty?

Wouldnt be surprised if your place charges you for the motor aswell... dont pay that either.. they didnt diagnosw it correctly..not your fault.