Motor won't spin after crash (Holy Stone HS200W)

Devil Incognate

Devil Incognate

Member
Hey guys, I get that this is an incredibly noobie question, but I'm hoping someone can help me anyway. I just received and flew my first quad, a Holy Stone HS110W. It's a pretty basic drone, but I think it would've been a decent one... had I not failed to attach the rotor guards and crashed it into my dog and a tree basically immediately. To be fair, the dog did his best to make this happen.

My issue is this: three of the rotors spin up correctly, but one of them only spins a few degrees and then stops. When I try to spin it by hand, it will spin 360 degrees, but it "catches" repeatedly along the way, where it gets stuck, and then if I push harder it will continue to spin. Apparently the motor isn't strong enough to spin it past these catches.

I took the housing apart to try to get a better look at the motor, but I can't really make heads or tails of it. One thing I noticed is that both the large gear and the small gear will spin freely when they're independent from each other, but when you line the teeth up and try to spin them, it catches. I've made sure there isn't any debris stuck in the teeth. The other motors spin freely. See the picture below for a look at the gears.

mEq6lCW.jpg


I suspect that, for someone with a basic understanding of motors, this behavior (gears spinning freely when separate but sticking when together) might be a giveaway as to what the problem might be. For me, however, it's a mystery.

I'm hoping someone might be able to give me some suggestions to get things spinning again, or let me know if I've borked the motor and need a new one. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Rick M

Rick M

Absent-minded professor
Sounds like it might be a bent motor shaft. I would buy some replacement motors and try swapping the one that's not spinning. I'd also spin the main gear (the big one) in place and look for any 'wobble' that would indicate the main gear shaft is bent. It's not likely, but I'd check.

Edited to add: Crashing and fixing is part of the learning curve. You will learn a lot with the small fixes along the way. :)
 
Devil Incognate

Devil Incognate

Member
Thanks so much for the response, Rick. I suspect you're correct, and that either the motor shaft or main gear shaft is bent. It makes sense that the bend would cause the gears to turn freely for part of the rotation, and then stick where the bend pushes the teeth closer together. I'll check for wobble on the main gear shaft, though I think you're right that it's probably the motor shaft, based on the thicknesses.

Luckily replacement motors are available online - looks like I'll be ordering one. Looks like this will be the first of many fixes to come. The 60 seconds or so of flight that I did get got me hooked - hopefully this doesn't end up being too expensive an obsession!

I appreciate the help.
 
Rick M

Rick M

Absent-minded professor
Spare parts are your friend for sure. I'd do a little research on the motors on that quad, since so far I have only found them available as part of a larger kit that only includes one of each motor. It is likely they're a standard size brushed motor that is readily available for a lower price like $10-12 per 4 motors.
 
Devil Incognate

Devil Incognate

Member
That's a good idea. I did just find that crash kit, which does have one of each motor, along with a bunch of other parts, for about $13. That's better than what eBay was asking (about $16 for just two motors). But as you said, if the motors are a standard size, that'd probably be the more affordable way to go. Now I just need to try and find some info on the motors. I'll report back if I do.
 
Devil Incognate

Devil Incognate

Member
Jackson said:
I'm pretty sure your quad is this one. Holy Stone is not a manufacterer, they just re-badge older models..

Does this look right?
http://www.mjxtoys.com/goods/show-X400-V2-FPV.html

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...+400+motors.TRS0&_nkw=mjx+400+motors&_sacat=0
Click to expand...

It looks quite similar, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was from the same manufacturer. The quad is this one (the HS110W, which is functionally identical to the HS200W): https://smile.amazon.com/Holy-Stone...8&qid=1494536220&sr=1-1&keywords=hs110w+green

The motor you linked has 13 teeth on the gear, while mine has 9 teeth. I'm not sure, but I suspect that would be an issue. I wonder, is it possible to switch out the gears on the motor shaft?
 
Devil Incognate

Devil Incognate

Member
Jackson said:
LOL, not even close. Why the hell did you post the wrong model #?

That looks like a Syma. They use 9T pinions on the X5 stuff.
http://www.gearbest.com/syma-x5c-motor-_gear/

Good luck.
Click to expand...

I see I did post the wrong model number in the title, but it doesn't matter - the company's own manual states the HS110W and HS200W are the same. See the bottom of page 1 where it says to refer to the manual for either the HS110W or HS200W because they're equipped with the same functions. They've got all the same parts, other than the outer shell, so yeah, they're basically identical.

You're right that the Syma X5C and HS110W look very similar - I think Holy Stone may just have rebranded Syma's stuff. The motor also looks like it has the same number of teeth on the gear, so it's possible it could actually work. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
P

Pbot

Member
Got the same one and crashed it on 4th flight with the same symptoms replace the motor. And was all good. O know this is not a high end model but as it's my first try I would like feedback from experienced flyers as to how good or bad this drone is will be getting a more up market drone when I have stopped loosing and crashing this one. Comments please
Holystone HS110w
 
Rick M

Rick M

Absent-minded professor
It should be a good quad to learn on and have fun with. Don't expect much from the WiFi FPV. At best it will be laggy and have poor range. At worst, it can interfere with control signal. If weird things start happening as you get a bit farther out, suspect that first.

As previously mentioned, it looks like Syma X5C parts will fit, which is great because they're very common. Are the battery connectors the red JST-RCY type, or the white micro Losi type? Either way, you should be able to fit up to about a 720mah battery in it and get a little more flight time. They are readily available on Amazon. Be sure you buy ones with the correct connector.

Have fun!
 
P

Pbot

Member
Rick M said:
It should be a good quad to learn on and have fun with. Don't expect much from the WiFi FPV. At best it will be laggy and have poor range. At worst, it can interfere with control signal. If weird things start happening as you get a bit farther out, suspect that first.

As previously mentioned, it looks like Syma X5C parts will fit, which is great because they're very common. Are the battery connectors the red JST-RCY type, or the white micro Losi type? Either way, you should be able to fit up to about a 720mah battery in it and get a little more flight time. They are readily available on Amazon. Be sure you buy ones with the correct connector.

Have fun!
Click to expand...
Thanks it seems to,be pretty good for a $90 drone will get some fly time in before getting something more professional, have an idea to,use it in my real estate dealings.
 
P

Pbot

Member
Some are mentioning that parts are interchangeable with the syma X5C if so I need some rotor gaurds where are these available from as holystone won't sell them alone only as a kit. TIA
 
Rick M

Rick M

Absent-minded professor
Pbot said:
Some are mentioning that parts are interchangeable with the syma X5C if so I need some rotor gaurds where are these available from as holystone won't sell them alone only as a kit. TIA
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I've seen them anywhere except as part of a kit with other parts. Check on Amazon, perhaps? You can buy a lot of Syma parts there, ditto Ebay.
 
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