Anybody have an issue with Fan after crash

[dawolf12w]

So I did something stupid crashed my drone. I fixed the obvious damage to the gimbal (it works great), but the fan won't engage. Anybody have a similar experience and solved the issue?

To save some time, no I don't have refresh or insurance. No I haven't run a firmware update.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Former Member]

Your fan not working can be caused by a bent fan blade or other fan problem, but also could be caused by a damaged core board electronic thermostat. You can take the top cover off and try to turn the fans blades with a small screwdriver and see if they turn smoothly, and if there are any broken ones. If anything is broken, best thing to do is remove and inspect the entire fan. You can get a fan on eBay, or have someone install it for you. I have done many.

If the blades become slightly off center, they will seize the fan and then your components could rise above the mfg specs and fry something important.

Replacing the fan isnt extremely complicated if you have the right tools and steady hands.

 

[dawolf12w]

Your fan not working can be caused by a bent fan blade or other fan problem, but also could be caused by a damaged core board electronic thermostat. You can take the top cover off and try to turn the fans blades with a small screwdriver and see if they turn smoothly, and if there are any broken ones. If anything is broken, best thing to do is remove and inspect the entire fan. You can get a fan on eBay, or have someone install it for you. I have done many.

If the blades become slightly off center, they will seize the fan and then your components could rise above the mfg specs and fry something important.

Replacing the fan isnt extremely complicated if you have the right tools and steady hands.

Thanks Thunderdrones. I was suspecting something like a possible bent fan blade. I had been hovering for several minutes just before the crash so I'm pretty sure the fan was spinning when the drone impacted which could have possibly damaged a fan blade or threw it out of balance. If it is a bad thermostat can that be replace or would that mean a core board replacement?

 

[Former Member]

If it is a bad thermostat can that be replace or would that mean a core board replacement?

It is usually a bad fan or fan blade, depending on how bad the crash was. My experience has been 90% of the time it's a problem with the fan itself if it doesnt come on after a crash. The other 10% where the core board is the problem is if it stopped after a crash that damaged the core board, or if the drone landed in the water. Then its time for a new board.

Unfortunately, if it's the thermostat, the core board will need replacing, but you can probably sell the old one for good money "as-is" for parts online somewhere as long as you let the buyers know that the fan doesnt kick on with this core board. On the upside, a core board replacement is just a handful of screws, a few connectors and you are back in the air in under an hour. No soldering needed. It's just the price of the part thats a killer.

 

[dawolf12w]

Thanks for the information. The impact was towards the front. The gimbal took the brunt of it but amazingly the only thing broken was the vibration board. From the looks of how they designed that mount I think it's meant to break away. Gimbal and camera still work. I was amazed that even the ribbon cable still worked.

It crashed about two feet away from salt water so I count myself as lucky and stupid for dumb mistake that caused the crash.

Again ... Thank you.

 

[Former Member]

From the looks of how they designed that mount I think it's meant to break away.

Thats exactly right. The gimbal plate breaks away, and the Mavic will even sacrifice the ribbon cable to save the rest of the gimbal. Sort of like a crumple zone in a car. Yes you are very lucky for those 2 feet, could have been alot worse.

 

[AMann]

It is usually a bad fan or fan blade, depending on how bad the crash was. My experience has been 90% of the time it's a problem with the fan itself if it doesnt come on after a crash. The other 10% where the core board is the problem is if it stopped after a crash that damaged the core board, or if the drone landed in the water. Then its time for a new board.

Unfortunately, if it's the thermostat, the core board will need replacing, but you can probably sell the old one for good money "as-is" for parts online somewhere as long as you let the buyers know that the fan doesnt kick on with this core board. On the upside, a core board replacement is just a handful of screws, a few connectors and you are back in the air in under an hour. No soldering needed. It's just the price of the part thats a killer.

Just curious, what does the thermostat look like? Is it a surface mounted tiny little grain of rice, or something more significant? I’ve never tried doing board level repairs on these things so wouldn’t be too familiar with where that part may be.