2014 3DR quad issue?

I am hoping someone could maybe give me a few ideas on some problems I have been having with my new build:

2014 3DR Quad Frame Kit
3DR APM 2.5 w/external compass/gps (trace cut on APM board)
3DR 880Kv black motors
QBrain 4x20A ESC (all calibrated)
4S 5200mAh liPo battery pack
10" x 4.7 APC Props from 3DR
The apm was on an older 3dr quad, so I reset everything to factory defaults and started over. I also upgraded to the latest non-beta firmware today which is 3.15.

I have done all calibrations(accel/compass), compassmot shows 11%, vibrations are low and I am still fine tuning the pids. I did try auto-tune a couple times, but after calibration was done and I had tried the new settings, my quad would wobble like crazy, totally bad settings.

I've noticed that the motors get very warm, almost too hot to touch. Today I was testing out RTL and just before it touched down, less than 3ft from the ground one motor(front right) went completely out, no power so it ended up flipping over. After removing power then plugging the lipo back in, everything is fine, motor starts along with the rest without any problems, I did a short hover and it's fine?

I attached the log from todays tests, I am wondering if I should be going with better esc's, maybe 30amp ones? Possibly different props like possibly CF 10x4.5 ones? The motor temps I am not used to , most the time with my other quads the motors are warm, but not to the point where these ones are.

If someone could please take a look maybe someone can see something I missed, I would really appreciate it.

I had started another post a few days ago from here: http://diydrones.com/forum/topics/3dr-2014-quad-frame-kit-pid-settings

2014-05-27 13-27-45.log

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      • I am still looking for my logs, I downloaded them but they are not in the log folder. I then upgraded to the latest firmware, I will check on the SD card later today to see if they are still there.

        I am going to request 3DR actually build a 2014 X4 with what they are suggesting to determine the right configuration, I can't keep buying parts.

        • I would really like to see 3DR actually do that and see what they end up with for settings/recommendations. This thing weighs 5lbs with a 5100mAh LiPo battery and I would think something in the 700kv range for motors would work better with this setup

  • Can you see what your current draw is from the logs? That would nail down an over amp issue if it existed. Could also be the timing if the ESCs if your motors are heating up.
  • Sorry mispost!

    • Hi Tim,

      I'm lost here, did you post this by accident??

      • Yeah sorry!

  • Developer
    I think your problem is that you have a very big 4S 5200mAh battery. Its heavy. I've had 10min flight time with 2200mAh batteries with a GoPro attached, no gimbal. With a 4500 4S battery i was seeing a few minutes more, but really what i had was a more punchy acceleration. This is using 850kV motors. Your motors are getting warm, hot even, as they are really having to work to lift the weight. I would suggest using a smaller, no lighter, battery and see how it works out.
    • Hello,

      That's one of the things I didn't mention before, 3DR suggested using a 4s 6000mAh pack with the 2014 quad, however I have tried a 4000mAh 4S pack and then a 3200mAh 4S pack and the only difference was that the flight time was reduced quite a bit.

      The 5100mAh 4S pack I am using now is 200g lighter than the 6000mAh pack andf I get about 8 minutes of flight time.

      This is one of the reasons why I decided to remove the 4 in 1 esc and go back to 20amp SimonK esc's which I hope to test today along with the smaller liPo packs

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