I lost a blade hit a brach of a tree with the consequence that my phantom landed upside down in a sandpit. I can rotate only one rotor other three just barely. Would probably need to open the rotors to fully clean? Or what are my options?
how to clear sand when can not even rotate rotors
- Thread starter Arcticexpert
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Wow. Bad news. I crashed one of my RC aircraft in the mud/sand once and used a can of air to blow as much of the grit out as possible and then sprayed electric spray to further remove the grit. Oh. Do not rotate the motor until you flush the motor with the electric spray. Let the motor thoroughly dry before applying power. If there is any kind of grinding at all, repeat cleaning process. I would also order 4 new motors or make a decision where you can send for repair if cleaning does not work. Hopefully cleaning works. Test motors thoroughly before flying a mission if you elect to keep the original motors. If in doubt, replace all 4 motors. Good luck.
OK, thanks Graig, obviously one step at a time. My own hunch was that it would be necessary to open the top of the quad to sufficiently access to clean. Is this an option at all, then at least it is possible to see what the status is at the motors? Is it possible to purchase those custom keys that open the system? Or is it even advisable to try to do it self?
I heard caned air can dissolve your phantoms shell. It may not be true but you just never know.
If that was true you phantom shell would dissolve without needing the can.
Remove motors (you wont need to unsolder from PCB)- there is a circlip on the base of the motor, remove that and take the rotor off. Clean away.
You can take the motor off from the arm and use water to clean them. A strong jet from the sink sprayer works. It won't hurt the motors. The windings are coated. I used to do it all the time with my 250mm quad (race) it would get full of mud and dirt.
It may be chemicals they put in them (not saying they do but they might, but like I said, that's just what I heard. It may not be true, but you never know. Better safe than sorry.
The phantom has similar motors to the UPair one which I had a similar problem with. There is sand caught in the rotor of the motor that can be blown out with air if you gently work with the motor while applying the air. I used high pressure air from my compressor and gently rotated the prop as I was blowing it out. Eventually it cleaned up perfectly and I was able to fly another 85 flights that motor before another issue grounded the UPair. I'm flying a P3P now and loving it!
Aviator67's Drone Log: Second flight - Oops!
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