ESC Failure, black wire broken. Need info on MOD

[IamTheOneWhoKnocks]

Hello,

Yesterday I fell victim to the solid wire in a vibrating device issue, my ESC wire broke at solder point on ESC. The bird fell about 30-40 foot, doing flips or loops twice before hitting mother earth. Overall there isnt any real damage to the shell, just the failed ESC inside. Ive already done the GPS MOD, and did separate the wires leading to the ESC, but did not replace them to the stranded wires as talked about in this thread --> If you just purchased a brand new Phantom 2 Vision+ V3 READ!
http://www.phantompilots.com/thread...d-a-brand-new-phantom-2-vision-v3-read.32368/
I looked but am unable to find any pictures, or thread on the MOD itself. Can anyone recall the link to this MOD, the replacing of the solid wire to the stranded wire? I really hate to replace the ESC and have another wire break off and take another fall. I was lucky this time that I was over a empty lot that is overgrown with weeds.

Thanks!

 

[J Dot]

Hello Iam.........,
( longest name EVER! ) A+

Ok
As for the wires, that post was from Jan. 2015. When V3 first came out,
They did have a problem with a few first run birds, but I believe they replaced the v2.0 esc with the 2212 motors, with a v2.1 esc, and 2312 motors. ( can't remember exactly when the swap was made? ) but anyhow, on the newer v3 models, DJI ran a bead of caulk/glue of some sort, across all 3 motor leads, to help strengthen them, and keep solder cracks from forming, as I have an early v3, and a later v3, one has no caulk, other has it!
Now that being said
I have a theory:
I have repaired several p2v+'s, ( crash due to wire failure ( wire coming loose from esc )), now out of SEVERAL, I've repaired, only 1 was bad solder, all the rest, simply snapped off at solder joint, but solder stayed? Hmmmmm?
Upon further inspection, I noticed this:
The motor leads ( 3 wires ( black/yellow/red ) black being common, red/yellow polarity ) as you'll notice the black wire on all escs are in the same spot, only yellow/red swap ( for direction of rotation ) motors are also identical, only the bell ( outer housing with threaded tip ) is different, you can swap a cw bell to a ccw motor, and simply swap yellow and red wires, and now you have a cw motor!
Ok back to wires
Wire ends are stripped of insulation via a machine, and I'm sure tinned as well via machinery, and most likely soldered by machine. But when wire ends are stripped, I noticed a ding or dent or crease ( if you will ) right at the point where insulation ends and bare wire starts , I think some ended up with a deeper crease causing a weak point on solid wire, then add vibration, can break easily, I actually tested it , bent leads back and forth until they broke, some did not want to break, where I found 1 to just snap off with minimal force ( others I had to bend back and forth to break ) so this adds to my theory! I think a few leads are prone to a weak spot caused by insulation stripping? I could be wrong? But I believe I'm not! But I did see one where solder gave out ( was still attached to wire end and not esc! )

Personally
I'd solder it back on, test all other wires, just wobble slightly, you'll feel if they are weak or not, if weak, break it off ( strip only what you need ) resolder all weak or busted wires!
Then reinforce with caulk across all leads ( you can even make the ends touch the esc board for added strength ) 2 of mine are floating across wires, other 2 attach to esc one side! So use your best judgement on that ( let COMPLETELY dry before attempting to start it up )
You should be just fine!
I've never had a problem with the ones I've repaired as of yet! But any free repair is a great repair! At least the bird survived the crash! That wire is nothing! Just resolder it, check everything else out while she is open ( as impact could have Jared a connector or wire loose, inspect GPS ceramic antenna for cracks.

Lastly BEFORE YOU FLY AGAIN,
After it is fixed
I do a Tx calibration through RC assistant, then again in PC assistant, while there, I do advanced IMU calibration, and finally a fresh compass calibration! Never had an issue, following those rules!
( things can get bumped around, Jared in a crash ) so some values may be off, always a good idea to do an IMU cal after any crash or hard landing, and always follow any IMU calibrations with a compass calibration!

Try this out and let us know how it turns out! But seriously an easy fix!
I would not do any mods to it! Just something else to potentially go wrong! Up to you, my friend!

Hope this helps
J Dot

 

[IamTheOneWhoKnocks]

Hi J Dot,

Thank you the informative post! The black wire on the rear right ESC did just that, break off at the solder. The solder bubble is still in tact, doesn’t look heated at all, and all wires appear fine from heat stress. That post with the MOD, I read that when I got my bird, and I had separated the wires, as there was fear that the touching wires will melt under the heat stress and cause a short. So it is quite possible my moving of the leads weakened the now broken wire. I have ordered a new solder gun as my old one just doesnt get hot enough. I had a heck of a time doing the GPS replacement MOD with it! What you are saying makes perfect sense though. I work for the phone company, and when I strip cat5 pairs if my stripper doesnt grab the wire just right the wire will easily break when attempting to bend it around the terminals. As far as just re-soldering the wire on, the ESC is blown as well. I was able to get the bird open, with the top loose, remove the top once the motors were running and touched the wire to the solder bubble. The motor was still doing the confused motor dance

edit...ive got the v2.1 esc, and 2312 motors, no caulking

 

[J Dot]

Lol
That is funny, I started doing GPS mods a while ago too, it sucked with my crappy soldering gun with titanic sized tip! Now I have a EXTREMELY nice soldering station ( look it up $70 ) ( model # 853d ) solder station, heat gun/rework station, voltage tester, as well as power supply! Very cool comes with 10-11 tips for solder, 4-5 tips for heat gun. Not bad for $70 free ship! ( eBay )
I also now have a solder SUCKER $15 aluminum one, ( eBay, I found a nice German made one, very heavy duty and easy to clean! It is a must have for GPS mod! As it sucks up the melted solder leaving a nice clean pad, anode, whatever!

Make sure you get the v2.1 again with those 2312 motors, but please keep up update! Looking forward for you getting in the air again!

Best of luck to you, my friend!
J Dot

 

[IamTheOneWhoKnocks]

**UPDATE**

I got the new solder iron the other day, fired it up and began to inspect my wiring while it heated. Upon closer examination I found the black wire had not broken off as previously thought. The wire had come right out of the solder bubble! I was not able to locate the point where the wire was soldered into this bubble with the naked eye, rather than attempt to continue the search I did what anyone with a new tool would do. I melted the existing solder bubble and stuck the black wire right in the middle After cooling I fired the bird up, to my surprise it was working perfectly again!

My question is now...
Can I leave it like this, or do I remove this old solder and create a new bubble of solder?
I havent flown yet since doing this, but would like to fly here in the next couple days.

Thanks!

 

[J Dot]

You should be fine, solder is solder, if it works and wire is tight and won't pull out, than you are ok! I've never had a problem resoldering them, good show, glad it's working again!


J Dot

 

[tcope]

My recommendation is to also apply some hot glue around the three solder points. This will help stop the wires from pulling or wiggling loose. I installed a new ESC on this P2V+ and applied hot glue. Once the hot glue is applied, the wires don't wiggle at all around the board. I've also done the same where the ESC wires leave the board and connect to the middle.

 

[IamTheOneWhoKnocks]

Just a little update...

I checked all the wires, a small wiggle to them, all checked OK. I added Hot Glue to the base of the solder points, and where the wires meet the ESC. I also put a dab across the middle of the wires, probably a little overkill there but its done. Put the bird back together and did all the calibrations and went flying! It was a bit worrisome at first, but I slowly ventured further and higher as time went by. By the end of the flight it was like the crash had never happened.

Thanks for the help here, I appreciate it!