P3 Standard Motor Replacement nightmare

[ChadAmerica]

First of all hello fellow enthusiasts! What a time we live in to be able to join such wonderful tech.

So, bare with me but I need help. First of all a serious warning to any of you that will need to remove your shell to access your motors and circuit board. It all started by simply wanting to remove the guards and clips that are attached with screws that also secure your motor. All I wanted to do was remove those and fly the bare drone safely in an open area. Seems simple enough! NOPE!! I reinserted my screws and they protruded through the base of the motor to secure and some... They went so far up and pushed the motor coils into the prop and motor is toast. I bought a replacement and secured it with electrical rosen core solder. Now when I start the drone, only one motor twitches back and forth. Everything is updated and calibrated. I cannot get the engines to start. I decided to secure the guard clips back on to prevent the little bastard screws from destroying another motor.
That being said, is there a way to check if the power is going to each motor before securing the shell a second time? The led's light up but again, no response. I did not buy this drone brand new and got a screaming deal on ebay. It worked like a charm until I screwed the screws into the engine coils and I am now grounded indefinitely. I am so bummed that I am considering blowing my check on another one to get rid of this headache and keep this one for spare parts. Your help is appreciated and thank you in advance fellas and ladies

 

[Just_nick]

How did you replace it? Did you cut the wires, or did you solder it directly to the ESC?

 

[RunningWithScissors]

It all started by simply wanting to remove the guards and clips that are attached with screws that also secure your motor.

Nope, the prop guard screws are longer than the original screws and will mess up your motors. It happens far too often. Sorry you found that out the hard way.

 

[PhantomHero]

Sounds like another thread here. And sounds like when you ruined a motor you ruined the ESC as well.

1 Motor "Twitching"

Sorry you found out like that. You’re not the first one that has done that.

 

[ChadAmerica]

Nope, the prop guard screws are longer than the original screws and will mess up your motors. It happens far too often. Sorry you found that out the hard way.

Thanks bro. If only I would have known... still working in the shop tryin to figure it out. It seemed like I had everything connected but motors still wont turn. I probably need to replace all of them even though only the one locked up. After all, they all had the screws put back in them.

 

[ChadAmerica]

Sounds like another thread here. And sounds like when you ruined a motor you ruined the ESC as well.

1 Motor "Twitching"

Sorry you found out like that. You’re not the first one that has done that.

Is there a way to find out if i ruined my ESC? Or is the twitching the sign? I was worried about that but I never considered the ESC... At least the motors will let you know. Lights and stuff work on ESC so I dunno... ugh

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Thanks bro. If only I would have known... still working in the shop tryin to figure it out. It seemed like I had everything connected but motors still wont turn. I probably need to replace all of them even though only the one locked up. After all, they all had the screws put back in them.

Don't beat yourself up over this. Believe or not, this topic shows up on this site on a regular basis, so you're definitely not alone. I'm not aware of anything that warns you about the screw length, so anybody could make that mistake. Unfortunately, you don't realize the error until it's too late.
If the motor connections are securely connected, I'm inclined to agree with PhantomHero, it sounds like your ESC may be toasted. Again, this sort of thing happens far too often. Good luck.

 

[captainmilehigh]

Is there a way to find out if i ruined my ESC? Or is the twitching the sign? I was worried about that but I never considered the ESC... At least the motors will let you know. Lights and stuff work on ESC so I dunno... ugh

Sent you a PM.

 

[Oso]

Don't beat yourself up over this. Believe or not, this topic shows up on this site on a regular basis, so you're definitely not alone. I'm not aware of anything that warns you about the screw length, so anybody could make that mistake. Unfortunately, you don't realize the error until it's too late.
If the motor connections are securely connected, I'm inclined to agree with PhantomHero, it sounds like your ESC may be toasted. Again, this sort of thing happens far too often. Good luck.

Agreed. We've seen it and we've warned about it here countless times over the years. Its just too easy to do so it will unfortunately continue to happen.

@ChadAmerica - you've probably seen in your research that there are literally hundreds of posts about this. Many of them sound similar to this one. Maybe it will help with your troubleshooting.

 

[ChadAmerica]

How did you replace it? Did you cut the wires, or did you solder it directly to the ESC?

I cut, spliced and soldered the splice with flux and placed a heat wrap over the splice then heated tight. The lights signal the drone is working but I cant start the motors yet... Getting nervous but I read somewhere that I need to re-pair the controller since the little light under the craft to the right of the gimbal is red. I did buy another p3s craft only, never used and in "mint" condish on ebay for $140 so one way or another, I will be flying by end of week.

 

[ChadAmerica]

Agreed. We've seen it and we've warned about it here countless times over the years. Its just too easy to do so it will unfortunately continue to happen.

@ChadAmerica - you've probably seen in your research that there are literally hundreds of posts about this. Many of them sound similar to this one. Maybe it will help with your troubleshooting.

Thanks! Super helpful

 

[Just_nick]

I cut, spliced and soldered the splice with flux and placed a heat wrap over the splice then heated tight. The lights signal the drone is working but I cant start the motors yet... Getting nervous but I read somewhere that I need to re-pair the controller since the little light under the craft to the right of the gimbal is red. I did buy another p3s craft only, never used and in "mint" condish on ebay for $140 so one way or another, I will be flying by end of week.

Splicing the wires is probably your issue. You need to unsolder from the ESC and solder the new motor directly on.

 

[ChadAmerica]

Don't beat yourself up over this. Believe or not, this topic shows up on this site on a regular basis, so you're definitely not alone. I'm not aware of anything that warns you about the screw length, so anybody could make that mistake. Unfortunately, you don't realize the error until it's too late.
If the motor connections are securely connected, I'm inclined to agree with PhantomHero, it sounds like your ESC may be toasted. Again, this sort of thing happens far too often. Good luck.

Thanks pal. I will update the thread after pairing the remote. If it works it could give some assurance to fellow pilots who made this horrible mistake as well. I did buy another p3s drone only brand new on eBay so i will fly again soon one way or another

 

[Oso]

Thanks! Super helpful

You're welcome sir. In that thread, pay close attention to the sound that each motor makes at start up and also about the best practices of soldering wrt the enameled wires.
Good luck.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Splicing the wires is probably your issue. You need to unsolder from the ESC and solder the new motor directly on.

I recall someone else having the same problem when they spliced the wires instead of soldering them directly to the ESC.

 

[ChadAmerica]

You're welcome sir. In that thread, pay close attention to the sound that each motor makes at start up and also about the best practices of soldering wrt the enameled wires.
Good luck.

Will do!

 

[ChadAmerica]

Splicing the wires is probably your issue. You need to unsolder from the ESC and solder the new motor directly on.

That could mean that I bought 4 new motors and cut them to splice and ruined them. Thus needing to buy 4 more... gulp. I appreciate your input but man I hope you are wrong... Fingers crossed mate

 

[captainmilehigh]

That could mean that I bought 4 new motors and cut them to splice and ruined them. Thus needing to buy 4 more... gulp. I appreciate your input but man I hope you are wrong... Fingers crossed mate

That’s why I suggested the item I mentioned in the PM. No soldering anywhere. Been there....tried that....didn’t work.

Still, good luck with your repairs. [emoji106]

 

[Just_nick]

That could mean that I bought 4 new motors and cut them to splice and ruined them. Thus needing to buy 4 more... gulp. I appreciate your input but man I hope you are wrong... Fingers crossed mate

The wiring on these is extremely fickle, and others have had the same issues because they thought they could simply splice and solder, but soldering directly to the ESC is what fixed their issue. I also hope it’s not that, since 4 motors would be quite expensive.

 

[ChadAmerica]

The wiring on these is extremely fickle, and others have had the same issues because they thought they could simply splice and solder, but soldering directly to the ESC is what fixed their issue. I also hope it’s not that, since 4 motors would be quite expensive.

Thanks... Unfortunately the 4 new motors were all spliced. I am one sad dude and realize I should have checked the threads first. Who would have thought ugh