I'm out of ideas...

[Themechnic]

Specs:
Omnibus f4 v5
Typhoon32
Dys sanguk 2306 2500kv


I've flown this drone for about 30 mins before experiencing this problem. I can fly around no problem but I can't do snap tricks of my front right has to do any " catching." So doing left snap rolls no problem but if I try a right snap roll it immediately spins out of control. I can visibly see its the front right motor. All flying has been los. I switched motors and the problem persists. So it seems to me it should be the esc... But it's a new esc and I have visually checked it multiple times, no solder spatter, no caps popped, I can't seem to find any problem.

Anything I can do to test it further? Maybe so!egging in betaflight needs changed? It's weird it happened randomly while flying...

 

[tevek]

Specs:
Omnibus f4 v5
Typhoon32
Dys sanguk 2306 2500kv


I've flown this drone for about 30 mins before experiencing this problem. I can fly around no problem but I can't do snap tricks of my front right has to do any " catching." So doing left snap rolls no problem but if I try a right snap roll it immediately spins out of control. I can visibly see its the front right motor. All flying has been los. I switched motors and the problem persists. So it seems to me it should be the esc... But it's a new esc and I have visually checked it multiple times, no solder spatter, no caps popped, I can't seem to find any problem.

Anything I can do to test it further? Maybe so!egging in betaflight needs changed? It's weird it happened randomly while flying...

Have you calibrated the esc’s in betaflight? Props off, go into motor tab. Click to confirm, slide master slider up, plug in battery, wait for the beeps, slide master back down and you should be calibrated. You can go into BLHeli if you have it and update firmware on the esc’s to bring them all up to the latest FW.

 

[Themechnic]

I'm running dshot600 so is there a need to calibrate? Also the fc has to have a battery plugged in to connect to betaflight. It has the latest blheli on it also.

 

[rtkDarling]

I'm running dshot600 so is there a need to calibrate? Also the fc has to have a battery plugged in to connect to betaflight. It has the latest blheli on it also.

Calibration is worth a try.
You're running a 32 bit ESC, why not use Dshot 1200?
You could also take a look at your motor timing and PWM in BL_Heli

The Best BLHeli_32 Settings - Oscar Liang

I will show you the best settings in BLHeli_32 to achieve better performance for your mini quad, including 48KHz PWM frequency, Auto motor timing and ESC protocol.

oscarliang.com

When odd things like this happen I back up my settings in betaflight and reflash as well. It's exorcized gremlins for me in the past. What version of betflight are you running?

 

[Themechnic]

Calibration is worth a try.
You're running a 32 bit ESC, why not use Dshot 1200?
You could also take a look at your motor timing and PWM in BL_Heli

The Best BLHeli_32 Settings - Oscar Liang

I will show you the best settings in BLHeli_32 to achieve better performance for your mini quad, including 48KHz PWM frequency, Auto motor timing and ESC protocol.

oscarliang.com

Is there another way for me to calibrate? My FC had a little accident.... and I can't power my FC through the USB port, I have to plug a battery in. But everything works fine from there(flashing, tuning etc)

I am definitely a noob so I just went with dshot 600, I will switch it to 1200 to see if there's a change.

I really don't know what I should set the motor timing to... What should I try?
I did change the PWM Frequency to 48. I haven't been able to test it yet though.

When odd things like this happen I back up my settings in betaflight and reflash as well. It's exorcized gremlins for me in the past. What version of betflight are you running?

So I originally ran the Betaflight firmware right before 4.0 came out. I was able to fly really well but during a flight I did a snap trick no problem but the very next one it FOD and has ever since. If I don't invert the drone I don't have an issue.... So I went ahead and updated it to the latest and the problem persisted. I will try reflashing... I also tried a reflash of the ESC.

I have a new list of things to try but I feel lost and frustrated. First drone. First build. Really making me want to sell my crap off and return to cars.

 

[RENOV8R]

BF 4.0 did have some throttle issue. Make sure to flash with the latest 4.0.2, it's gooooooooooood!

 

[Themechnic]

BF 4.0 did have some throttle issue. Make sure to flash with the latest 4.0.2, it's gooooooooooood!

Yep, I'm on the latest and greatest betaflight.

 

[Themechnic]

Update.
-Changed my PMW frequency to 48 instead of 24 in blheli.
-Changed rates to 690 or so to roll and pitch.
Ran a low battery ?(haven’t turned on osd and thought it was a charged battery) and it flew normally and actually flipped and rolled. No problems. I'll try to narrow it down from there.

1. So the rates were at 920 or so for pitch and roll. Could lowering those down show a problem present in the system?
2. Could the low battery mask the issue?
3. I want to believe the frequency change is what made the difference. I'll try to test when the weather clears.

I've seen similar problems to me but the difference is when they go full throttle it'll spin out too. In every case it's a bad motor. I'm ruling that out because of swapping motors, am I right in thinking this?

 

[Scv Flyer]

It is very possible the frequency change made the difference. I would checkout Joshua Bardwell’s videos on Blheli 32 he explains every adjustment you can make and what it does, very informative.

 

[Themechnic]

Update:
I am definitely thinking there is something hardware related going on with this setup. From what I can tell the frequency change fixed a dsync issue that is occurring.

Changed the following setting.
Increased rates about 100
Changed from dshot 600 to 1200
Changed Demag from low to high
Decreased idle up % from 7% to 6.5%
I left the PWM Frequency at 48.

I flew through 2 4s packs without issue. Flips, rolls, split s, and hard acceleration. As I got into my 3rd pack however I started experiencing problems again towards the end of it. If I rolled it would do a triple before it would catch itself. So I pulled it in and started looking things over. The front right motor was noticeably hotter than the rest of them. That is the same side that has been giving me issue all along. I didn't think to check the motor heat before the 3rd pack... I glanced over the machine between packs.

As per Joshua Bardwell (long live the king) I got my multimeter out to start checking for continuity between the frame and the motor. It wouldn't beep but I did get some number fluctuation with the front right motor where as the other three I didn't get anything. So I am gonna guess that was the problem? Is there something else I can check maybe? I really want to rule out this bad 4 in 1 esc that's $60.00... That I don't want to rebuy or replace. Typhoon 32a 4 in 1 ESC

After fixing the ground issue I took it out to fly it again. The same motor is getting hot but I didn't fly for long. I checked the motor windings and I have 3 coils that are a little burnt(I test flew anyways). They aren't black but the coating has definitely seen some bubbling.
-Will that cause that motor to get hotter than the rest?
-Would it be okay to fly on that motor until the replacement comes in?

It is very possible the frequency change made the difference. I would checkout Joshua Bardwell’s videos on Blheli 32 he explains every adjustment you can make and what it does, very informative.

Awesome information, I did in fact go through half of this series after the suggestion.

 

[Scv Flyer]

Oh if that motor is hot and the windings are burnt that’s your problem. I would stop flying until you get it replaced. I had a motor go bad mid flight and the results were horrible. I would recommend wait till you get the new motor and see if the problem goes away. Also high d gain (I’m pretty sure it’s D) can cause motors to get hot but it wouldn’t be just one. Also you could short the esc if the motor lets go under heavy load.

 

[Themechnic]

Oh if that motor is hot and the windings are burnt that’s your problem. I would stop flying until you get it replaced. I had a motor go bad mid flight and the results were horrible. I would recommend wait till you get the new motor and see if the problem goes away. Also high d gain (I’m pretty sure it’s D) can cause motors to get hot but it wouldn’t be just one. Also you could short the esc if the motor lets go under heavy load.

Okay, I am kinda thinking it wouldn't be great to fly on it...
The PIDs shouldn't be a problem. From what I understand it won't make just one motor hot, but all 4 would be hot.
What do you mean "short the esc?" Do you mean the esc has a short in it? I continue to look it over looking for damage but I can't find anything. Any testing I can do on the thing?

 

[Scv Flyer]

No I’m saying it could short it. I’m sure the esc is fine just the motor is bad.

 

[Themechnic]

No I’m saying it could short it. I’m sure the esc is fine just the motor is bad.

OOOOh I understand. Thanks for the info. Landing this thing until Tuesday...

 

[Themechnic]

Update:
Okay, new motor installed. Double checked for any unwanted grounds to the motor and flew it. This time I checked the motors... Again the same motor feels like it is hotter than the others. I have a good feeling that if I try to push this drone it will kill another motor.
Probably the ESC?
Any reason it could be the FC?
I also noticed the windings on this motor are thicker. Will I run into any issue there?

Side note: thanks everyone so far for helping me diagnose this thing.

 

[rtkDarling]

I can't think of how the FC could do that...
There's a way to buy a single ESC and put it on the arm to bypass the bad corner on your 4 in 1. It's not for everyone, but it could save you a buck (I haven't tried it yet)

 

[Scv Flyer]

Really strange. One more thing to check. Check that none of your motor screws are touching the windings. A slightly long screw would cause the hot motor and would eventually smoke a motor.

 

[Scv Flyer]

Check this video from JB.

 

[Themechnic]

Okay so update on this almost dead thread.
I kept tinkering and flying and I was able to get dsyncs to go away along with keeping motors from getting too hot. For about a week.
Out of no where desync, and my typhoon32 popped 2 caps. Immediatly, the quad fell to the ground.

I am pretty much betting at this point that the ESC was bad from the get-go, the tinkering must've lengthened the life of it.

Side note, the setting I think helped the most is the Demag Compensation in BLHeli32.

Well feel free to lock this thread. The drone has been reoutfitted with new hardware. Individual ESC and what not. Wish me luck.