Two flights and two crashes !!

[Cockney Boy]

The first flight of my Disco Pro ended with it crashing from about 5m it was hovering perfectly but then inverted and landed bad. Post crash checks and everything looked good, apart from a broken prop.

Today on its second flight it did exactly the same. This time it broke the rear starboard arm. The odd thing is a friend noticed that the motor momentarily stopped.

I';m going to strip it down and check everything but any pointers in what to look for as the cause?

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[Jumpy07]

If you are using bullets check them first...    if not double check all the solder joints and also make sure none of the wires have been damaged or chaffed..    could be faulty esc or motor.. no way of checking without changing to a spare etc.

[Hands0n]

And .. with the solder ... I';m still smarting from this ... did you use Lead Free solder or the usual Tin/Lead combo.  If Lead Free then maybe change it out for Tin/Lead...

[cosmorogers]

If your flight controller has any logs they can help shed a little light on the situation to.

[Cockney Boy]

Both crashes happened after about 8 minutes flight time. No heavy turns of silly stuff just hovering. Could it be the motor or ESC getting hot?

The motors are on bullet connectors and the ESC is soldered. Not sure what type of solder tho


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[Hands0n]

It could be motors or ESC overheating as you say - the only way to find out is to run it again to see if there is any extraordinary heating.  You could tether the Disco down securely and then arm and run the aircraft at 50% (hover speed) for 5 minutes or so, then disarm and feel if any components are heating up (including wires).

Heat can be a cause and a symptom. A poor electrical joint could cause ESC or Motors to heat up and fail. That could be a push fit connectors or solder joints (these should be shiny, not dull and flat).

[kilby]

I tend to put shrink wrap over bullet connectors just to make sure they don';t go anywhere..

Similar thing happened to me last year and it turned out to be a faulty esc. Originally they where secured with a single cable tie across the centre of the esc and seemed to lost an esc after crashes.

Started to secure the ESCs with a cable tie at each end and haven';t lost an esc since (though I do crash less often too)

I figured I';d the board of the esc flexed during a crash then the solder could cracking but securing at each end reduces the potential for flexing

[cosmorogers]

Originally they where secured with a single cable tie across the centre of the esc and seemed to lost an esc after crashes.

Started to secure the ESCs with a cable tie at each end and haven';t lost an esc since (though I do crash less often too)

I';ve switched to electrical tape after I killed an ESC with cable ties. Must have pulled it too tight or something. No problems since going back to electrical tape :)

[andythilo]

I';d go through all the joints to make sure solder is good. Even flow the joints again to make sure it';s all good (may require removing the ESC shrink wrap). Check motor bullets (remove heatshrink) and reflow. Check all your receiver wires to the 8-way block on the top, and same again underneath. Meter through all pins end to end, there is a chance one could be poorly crimped and occasionally looses connection. Also consider soldering the motor wires direct to the ESC';s. PITA but ensures a good connection.

Don';t get caught up on the ';coincidence'; of it happening at the same time. It could really just be a coincidence. When you';re 100% happy that all wiring is good, props off and run it up at full speed for a few minutes. Check each ESC';s temperature.

Hope that gives you something to look at.

[Cockney Boy]

Cheers guys. I know it';s much moola but I';m going to buy a new set of motors and controllers. It';s painful and expensive but it';s just not worth it crashing each time

Insulation tape sounds a great idea and re soldering all the joints just to make sure.

When all done I';ll secure Dicso to a table and run at 60% and see what happens

[Hands0n]

It needn';t be terribly expensive - I fly EMax 2213 930KV motors and 10x4.5 props on my Disco and its a dream to fly.  They';re widely available in the UK (well, they were!) for about £14 each. 

[Cockney Boy]

It needn';t be terribly expensive - I fly EMax 2213 930KV motors and 10x4.5 props on my Disco and its a dream to fly.  They';re widely available in the UK (well, they were!) for about £14 each.

When it';s fixed I wouldn';t mind you running through mine to see if anything else could be improved :)

[Hands0n]

I was going to mention Afro ESCs - they SimonK and designed from scratch with multi-rotor use in mind. I';ve coupled them with my EMax 2213 935KV motors. Its a new build but so far has been rock solid, even with me dumping it in the long grass twice in the past few weeks! ::)

What FC are you using, Naza or something else?