Bad Motors? Or Is It Just Me?

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Carter7868

Well-Known Member
For my first quad, I decided to build a 450 and go with some cheap Emax xa2212 980kv motors (starting to regret this now :(). I have simonK 25A ESC's and an APM 2.6 my props are APC 10 x 4.5. When I first put together my quadcopter I got it all working and then all of a sudden the motor started twitching and quit on me. I later ordered some replacements and I ended up going through 3 motors that only lasted a couple of flights. I know I must be doing something wrong but I cant figure It out. When the motors stop working I checked the resistance on the leads and found out that every time one of the wires is not connected to the other 2. This must mean that the wires are breaking inside of the motor. Are the motors just cheap so the wires vibrate apart or is this some how my fault? I spent lots of time trying to fix the motors but I haven't had any luck since it is nearly impossible to get at the part where the wires are connected since the casing is in the way. I am really hoping that I can solve this issue soon and get on with flying since this is really frustrating:mad:. If the problem isn't me and its the motors could I replace them with SunnySky X2212's? They are a little more expensive but they seem to be what I am after. Or should I skip the china motors?
 
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Carter7868

Well-Known Member
I am mounting them using the normal mounting holes and the screws that came with them. I made sure that the screws are not touching the windings on the frame.
 
Jackson

Jackson

USA member at large
Is there a lot of pressure on the wire bundle where it exits the motor, does it end up strongly pressing against the arm?
 
Gyro Doctor

Gyro Doctor

Electronics Tech for over 45 years
:rolleyes: ... What "Cowboy" (Jackson) is attempting to discern is whether the malfunction is attributable to some physical stresses,
rather than an electrical issue. I'm inclined to agree with him that it's something physically happening because I've watched a video
of those same motors and the same rated ESCs carrying a 500gram hammer around, so it's not likely that you're frying them and more
likely that some how the connections are being stressed. ;)
 
C

Carter7868

Well-Known Member
Gyro Doctor said:
:rolleyes: ... What "Cowboy" (Jackson) is attempting to discern is whether the malfunction is attributable to some physical stresses,
rather than an electrical issue. I'm inclined to agree with him that it's something physically happening because I've watched a video
of those same motors and the same rated ESCs carrying a 500gram hammer around, so it's not likely that you're frying them and more
likely that some how the connections are being stressed. ;)
Click to expand...
Hmmm, well I may have been a little to hard on those motors but they must be fairly easy to break then. Is there a easy way that I can fix these motors? I’d rather not wait 4 weeks for a new motor.
 
Gyro Doctor

Gyro Doctor

Electronics Tech for over 45 years
Carter7868 said:
Is there a easy way that I can fix these motors?
Click to expand...

Not really, you'd hafta disassemble the motor to do it and be very careful not to damage the bearings in the process.
Then you could carefully cut off the heat shrink that covers the heavier wires where they go into the motor and
look for a break there .... Otherwise it's a break in the smaller wires some where inside that are wound to make the motor coils.
It's possible the solder connection where the heavier wires meet the fine wires is bad. If that's the case gently scrape the fine
wire first, just at the end, to remove some of the enamel coating before trying to solder them back together. If all that looks ok
then forget about it, you'd hafta unwind, repair, then rewind the motor. While it's not impossible to fix it's certainly NOT easy.
 
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Carter7868

Well-Known Member
So, If I were to go ahead and order those sunny sky's do you guys think I would have less trouble with the wires breaking or should I just stick to the emax motors?
 
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