Problem with the motor?

[Francine]

I got my P3 Standard for Christmas and of course went out to fly it right away. We did two flights, both without any issues. We recharged it even though it still had some battery and packed it in a backpack specifically for drones. It fit well and seemed to be well protected. The next time we went to fly it later that day, I pressed the take off button but before it could even get off the ground it flipped over. We turned it off as quickly as possible and took off the blades, which sustained some damage. We were trying to figure out what could have.gone wrong and noticed that one of the motors (excuse me if I don't remember all the accurate terms of the parts yet) is making a clicking sound when we turn it. The other 3 are fine. I imagine this caused an issue with the spinning of the blade and was the cause of the flip.

I've contacted DJI support and am hoping it was a malfunction with the motor and they'll replace it. What else could we have done wrong? It was carefully stored so I can't imagine anything happened during transportation and we made sure the blades were put on properly (and color coded to the correct sides.) We used the take off button so it wasn't anything with how we were controlling it. The plastic piece holding the camera steady was removed and we didn't have anything on it that didn't come in the box. I can't figure out what we could have done wrong. And I'm a little heartbroken over my little quad I'm really hoping they get back to me quickly and this is resolved because I can't wait to get her back into the air!

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Possibly a small rock or other object is stuck inside it. Use compressed air to blow it out while turning the shaft.

 

[GMack]

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You can buy the P3 motors for about $19 on Amazon too. Need to get the correct rotation one though.

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Replace the props!

 

[Francine]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Would something like this cause enough resistance to completely flip the drone? And what could have caused this to happen? I don't know how a rock or something could have gotten in there. It flew perfectly the first time, taking off and returning to a concrete patio.

I definitely can't use the props I was using when it happened. They all sustained a little damage, with one having a piece completely break off it came with a second set and I'm going to buy another when I hear back from DJI. I'm also worried about the camera because when it was upside down it was kicking up some debris from the road. There's some dirt on the camera and gimble. I'm not sure if there's any damage.

When my husband gets home I'll see if he can help me take off the motor and see what's going on in there.

 

[GMack]

Personally, I've never used the auto-takeoff button. I just hit the up stick and "get it quickly up" into the air to about 10 feet and then see how it settles in and hovers, and set up the camera, horizon if tilted, exposure, etc. If you do the take-off too slow, wind can knock it over if you are too gingerly with the stick. Mine this AM popped up sideways and was tilted into the wind as it hovered (Wind was about 15-20 MPH) and the horizon never was level when I yawed it around so I had to do the right roller and C2 button to get it leveled far too much.

You may have knocked a magnet loose in the motor too. I think there are some that also have some balance weight glued to the motor too with some sort of blue goo. Don't know, but you might be able to peer inside there and see what the issue is. If the RC isn't throwing up some ESC error on the screen you might be able to just repair or replace the motor and get it airborne again cheaply. An ESC error might mean the motor speed control circuit took a hit too.