One rotor appears to be slower than the rest

[j15big]

Hi guys,
Just got my phantom a few days ago. Love it! Still trying to get used it. I have a weird issue. One rotor appears to be spinning slower than the rest. It's clearly visible at half throttle and below. I thought this was reason why the phantom didn't seem to fly level and would immediately shoot to the left upon take off. However, today I hooked up to the software and calibrated the IMU which seemed to be off by quite a bit. After doing that, it flies much butter. During takeoff it goes straight up. However, I can still clearly see that one rotor is spinning slower than the rest. Could this be caused by a severely unbalanced rotor, or is it more likely a bum motor? Is there any way to check?

Another question. I know when in GPS mode, if you center both sticks, the phantom should stay within 10 feet horizontally of where it was when you centered the sticks. However, it seems that its not doing that. The LED on the back is blinking green only so I know it has plenty of GPS satellites. Is there anyway to troubleshoot this issue? It could also be that my judgement of what 10 feet is is way off.

I am going to upload a video of the vibration soon. Before half throttle its very shaky, after half throttle its stabilizes. Almost certainly due to the rotor spinning at a different speed.

 

[BruceTS]

spin motors by hand comparing the other 3 to suspect one. If it feels different, there's probably something stuck inside the motor, or defective bearings.

 

[j15big]

spin motors by hand comparing the other 3 to suspect one. If it feels different, there's probably something stuck inside the motor, or defective bearings.

Well, two of the rotors seem a bit stiffer than the other two, but its not drastic. I would assume if something was stuck in there or the bearings were defective the motor would have to be replaced? Could that be the only reason why this is happening?

Heres the video, not great but shows you the increased vibration in the beginning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pE00Q3F8lA

 

[Gizmo3000]

try feeling the motor after a flight as well, if it's hotter than the others,. you might want to get it looked at

 

[j15big]

try feeling the motor after a flight as well, if it's hotter than the others,. you might want to get it looked at

I'll try that tomorrow. If I do need to get it checked out, what a local hobby shop be the best place to go?

 

[Gizmo3000]

try feeling the motor after a flight as well, if it's hotter than the others,. you might want to get it looked at

I'll try that tomorrow. If I do need to get it checked out, what a local hobby shop be the best place to go?

well, they probably wont be able to tell you much.
unless they're a DJI dealer.

if the motor IS hot tho, you might need to replace the bearings or the motor itself.
(no need to take it to a shop in that case)

 

[j15big]

try feeling the motor after a flight as well, if it's hotter than the others,. you might want to get it looked at

I'll try that tomorrow. If I do need to get it checked out, what a local hobby shop be the best place to go?

well, they probably wont be able to tell you much.
unless they're a DJI dealer.

if the motor IS hot tho, you might need to replace the bearings or the motor itself.
(no need to take it to a shop in that case)

thank you for the information. it's only a few days old. should i contact dji directly?

 

[Gizmo3000]

thank you for the information. it's only a few days old. should i contact dji directly?

I think you'll have better luck contacting a DJI dealer (or the people you bought it from)