ESC Error On New Motor [SOLVED]

[Zoidsfan77]

Greetings! Looking for some advice with my delima.

I will start with the generic help format:

Problem? Left rear motor won't start - ESC error.

Was unit in a crash? Yes, but was operable after.

What have you tried so far?: Replaced motor.

What device are you using? Galaxy S6

What firmware are you running ( aircraft, remote controller)? newest

What Go app version are you using? newest version

Any modification? Stock aside from new motor.

Did you change anything or install any apps? No.

Do you have a video or pictures of the problem? See below.

This Mavic Pro has over 50 flights and 11 hours of flight time. My issues started when I clipped a small twig during landing. The aircraft fell approx. 6 feet. The aircraft seemed OK and I packed it up, as it was my last flight of the evening.

The following day I flew through 3 batteries. I flew her very hard in sport mode, running at the limit of the stock firmware. Everything was going well. Landed the drone and did a quick inspection. This is when I noticed the structural hard-stop for the left rear arm had a severe crack. I moved it slightly and it snapped off with almost no effort.
The damage must have occurred when I crashed the day prior. It is amazing it did not fail mid flight, and I am very thankful for it.

So I ordered a new arm from Amazon. Today I installed it, all seemed well until I attempted to start up.
The new motor shows no signs of life, it does not twich when the drone starts up. I also get an ESC Error on the DJI app.

I will try installing the old motor, to see if it will boot, but until then what do you guys suggest?

 

[Zoidsfan77]

Update:
Installed original motor, still no dice. Did I ruin my ESC? That would be a bummer.

 

[Former Member]

Since it was working before with the old motor, make sure your BWG motor leads are soldered on to the correct places on the ESC board. Sometimes the white and gray wires look similar. I dont think you ruined your board.

 

[Zoidsfan77]

Update:
I now have motors running! You won't believe what caused the failure.

This little solder bit stuck to one of the small SMD capacitors:


I must have nicked it with the iron. I feel quite dumb. She is all operational now though!

I ball soldered the motor leads and secured them with salastic and conformal coating. Hopefully it will be close to an OEM repair.

 

[Former Member]

That was a needle in a haystack! Glad you found it. Solder splatter can cause all kinds of problems and then you think you are going crazy. Splatter usually wont stick to the board since the board is covered with conformal coating, but it can find its way into nooks and crannies.

 

[Former Member]

Funny, I just commented on someones post yesterday who was looking to do a self-repair on his MA. Im glad you found your little bit of solder.

"If you make a mistake and get solder on any adjoining components, it could cause an electrical short and you will never be able to find the problem."

 

[Zoidsfan77]

In my case I only found it because I went at it with a magnifying glass, trying to see if there was anything wrong with the nearby surface mounts. Sure enough, there was!
I got lucky several times. First when the broken rear tab survived 3 batteries worth of full power without breaking, only to crumble in my hands.
Secondly when I by chance noticed the tiny solder bridge.
I was actually worried I had somehow cooked the ESCs and would need a whole new board.
Thanks for your input!

 

[amaceing]

Thanks Zoidsfan! Thank you so much for your description! I just experienced exactely the same and only your hints with the solder saved me buying a new ESC!
Thumbs Up!
Cheers

 

[Zoidsfan77]

Thanks Zoidsfan! Thank you so much for your description! I just experienced exactely the same and only your hints with the solder saved me buying a new ESC!
Thumbs Up!
Cheers

Awesome!
I had hoped this post would help others with the same issue.

 

[kidroc]

The following day I flew through 3 batteries. I flew her very hard in sport mode, running at the limit of the stock firmware.

LMAO Not to be an *** but what do you mean by that statment and how do you know know you reached the aircrafts flivht software limits?

 

[Zoidsfan77]

LMAO Not to be an *** but what do you mean by that statment and how do you know know you reached the aircrafts flivht software limits?

I just meant I flew is about as hard as you can without modifying anything.
I.E. lots of sudden direction changes, full stick climbes, etc.
The purpose of that statement was to support the later claim about how I was lucky that tab did not break in flight. It was weak enough by the time I had inspected it, it broke off easily in my hands. If it broke off mid flight, the drone would have crashed.

 

[Turn11]

Soldering is an artform and even an artist has to sometimes make a correction. Well done everyone.