Hello,
Hoping someone is willing to help look into this with me. Today while flying around, my motors just cut off multiple times. First for very short periods (attached log #1), and lastly for almost long enough to turn my Y6 into a paper weight. When i noticed from FPV the copter was falling, i put throttle to max and seriously hoped for the best. Here's a crazy video that will make any flyer cringe - includes 2 short clips of both attached logs. I was lucky! If you watch with sound you will hear the motors cut out.
I am using a 3DR DIY kit. 850 motors. APM 2.6 + external mag. 3DR power module. For these flights, batteries used: ZIPPY Flightmax 5800mAh 3S1P 30C
For those familiar with the 3DR power distribution board, the wires that are soldered on (which connect to the APM) are terribly flimsy. Before installing I fully secured them with hot glue to avoid them being pulled out or becoming frail. they are not loose in any way.
From what I can tell, the APM never lost power. It logs right through the crazy altitude drop (log #2) & recovery. I used 2 different batteries on each flight. I checked for bad solder points or the possibility of anything loosely connected. I'm at a loss!
I hope one of you log ninjas can give me some outside eyes, or help narrow down what could be causing this behavior.
I went through 4-5 batteries prior to these videos and didn't notice anything like this. Granted I was not FPVing so maybe would not have noticed a very short cutout. In these flights, I did not notice any instability either.
Thanks in advance for taking a look
Replies
APM 2.5, hex, x config, v3.0.1.
I had a very similar problem today...flying along in stabilize mode when the motors went to ZERO...hex tumbled from maybe 100 feet to 25 feet, then all of a sudden, the motors came back to life and the hex instantly righted itself and kept flying...this is all without me touching anything on the radio (Turnigy 9X)...then the hex flew along for a few more seconds, then motors went to idle again, this time with the hex tumbling right into the ground, breaking 3 arms...as I went out to find the hex, I armed the motors and throttled up a bit so I could hear where it was (I was in the woods), and the motors throttled up fine.
Anyway, very very disturbing to see your multicopter mysteriously go to uncommanded IDLE. I will check all my electrical connections and temps on the ESC's.
Were you deliberately invoking RTL at all? On several occasions over the two logs your throttle out (under CTUN) went to 0 immediately after the mode switched to RTL. There were no ERR flags so it doesn't look like you were failsafeing. It sorta smells like a faulty RC receiver or a bad connection between the receiver and the APM. But if you weren't actually throwing it into RTL, then it might be more interesting.