So a P2V+ and a tree meet at 98ft......

[SayntJ]

Boring story short: I was flying waypoints in GPS mode and didn't check all the altitudes before hitting GO. On the way to waypoint 3 at the default 98ft, there was a tree that was 120ft high. Not a pleasant sight to witness, especially the silence after the props lose lift and the rustling of leaves as gravity takes over. The Phantom landed on its back and the motors were powered for about a minute as I climbed a fence to get to it and shut the whole thing down.

The damage was
Camera: destroyed. The camera body itself was ripped off the gimbal and nearby in the grass.
Props: 1 broken
Motors: Felt very hot and the front right was twitching upon starting back up
Landing skids: 1 bent but still functional

I replaced the camera and all 4 props just in case, and did a test flight at about 5-10 feet over soft grass. No weird grinding sounds from the motors. The thing seemed to be flying like it never crashed. My question is, that front right motor still hiccups a little before it spins up with the other three, should I replace that motor? After it's up to speed, there are no issues seen or heard.

 

[mad in nc]

Is it a V3 version? .... it could be the ESC itself, not the motor. One way to check is take a know good motor and switch with the jerky one...

 

[RoyVa]

Depends on your pocket book and how you feal. The cost of a motor and ESC is much cheaper than having to fix a lot more if the motors causes another crash. Rule of thumb: if it doesn't start and stop the same as the others... Replace it.

 

[SayntJ]

Depends on your pocket book and how you feal. The cost of a motor and ESC is much cheaper than having to fix a lot more if the motors causes another crash. Rule of thumb: if it doesn't start and stop the same as the others... Replace it.

I bought 4 new motors thinking that the time the Phantom spent in the dirt might have burned them all out. I have no problem replacing that one motor. I'm not too confident with soldering electronics, so I may go with a splice.

 

[RoyVa]

SayntJ, don't want to pop your bubble but the majority of time the issue with motors turns out to be the motor controller.(ESC) no easy way to determine which it is. It's trial and error. My rule of thumb when I change a motor I change the ESC also unless I am 100% sure it's the motor. Sometimes you can turn the shaft and feal a grinding or a loose shaft then you may have the culprit. But if they all feal the same and tying the shat I'd smooth and free... Check the. ESC.
Solder is required. Go to YouTube and search on video Phantom change ESC and you can see what is involved.

 

[N017RW]

I bought 4 new motors thinking that the time the Phantom spent in the dirt might have burned them all out. I have no problem replacing that one motor. I'm not too confident with soldering electronics, so I may go with a splice.

The problem with splicing is workmanship is more critical. It can be done reliably but solder is the way to go.
Don't know anyone local??? RC shop, electronics repair, anything?

Motors can be tested with a DMM (ohm meter). They contain 3 coils which can be measured. They should all have equal value and will be very low. It's the all equal value that matters the most.

But as has been said the ESC is the most liklely problem if you have stalled a motor.