Repair problems.

Hi folks. I'm new to this site and (fairly) new to quad flying. I have a problem and I hope some-one out there can help.

I have a Parrot AR Drone 2.0 power edition, and whilst still learning to fly it, suffered a bad crash. One of the legs of the central cross was broken but not severed. After a few unsuccessful attempts to glue the break, I decided to replace the Central Cross and bought the upgraded Sports Cross. Using appropriate videos on Youtube to guide me I installed the new Cross and rebuilt the drone.

However, when it came to test flying, a problem occured. Every time the drone takes off, it flips over on its back and crashes. It is as if there is too much power going to the front-left (No1) leg and not enough going to the othe legs. Every fourth or fifth try the opposite happens and the rear-right (No3) leg seems to have too much power.

I've tried everything I can think of including changing the props, balancing them, checking trim etc, but nothing seems to work. Can anyone help please. Many thanks.

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  • What I'm going to describe applies to some parts of the country, but not to all parts.

    I live in the western high desert and it is common here to have what I call "magnetic dirt".  This can be identified by placing a magnet on the ground (parking lot, roadway, etc.) and picking it and up  examining it closely.  If it is full of small particles that are hard to remove from the magnet, you have "magnetic dirt" all around you. 

    Now imagine if your brushless motors crashed into the ground and some of these particles adhered to the inside of your motor(s).  They may generate the symptoms you describe.   The solution is to disassemble your motors, clean them out (not an easy task) re-assemble and go on with flying. I have found "magnetic dirt" in decorative fill from landscapers and other places. It is common in tailings (waste) from abandoned mines. 

    Good luck in your investigation......

    Paul

  • I am having the same problem with my AR 2.0 parrot in regard to flipping over the back right prop every take off and it was right after the crash and battery disconnect. I was hovering over a tall grass river bank...no water under me just soft grass. From about 25 feet while i had my hands off the controller, it spun 90 degrees sharply, hovered for a second and nose dived into the grass.

    i ran in grab it, disconnected the battery and tried to see if it will still hover, all it does is flip over the back right prop now....  

  • Bob:

    Lets do the check list for the basic things first;

    1.  Check that the proper propellers are installed on each arm.  You must have two CCW and two CW props on opposite arms. Make sure they are fastened tightly.  CCW motors take a CW fastener, and vice vcersa.  Many vehicles have color code schemes to indicate which prop goes where.

    2.  Start the props, and observe the rotation of each motor-prop combination.  If any is turning backward, simply swap two of the three wires going to that motor from it's Speed Control.  

    3.  Insure the legs of the vehicle are not caught in the turf.  The use of a small board on top of turf is recommended.  

    4,  Be sure the vehicle is on level ground and NOT MOVED in the 15 seconds after its battery is connected.  This time period period is when the vehicles sensors' are determining what is level, where up is, and so on.  This point is contained in every user manual I have seen, but it is often missed by the operator. 

    I hope this helps...

    Paul

    • Another thing is to ensure that the flight controller board was installed the same way around that it came off the other frame. The usual flip issue is motor order or direction issues, and just having props arranged for downward thrust doesn't necessarily make things work if everything isn't right. The Parrot uses conventional quad direction for motors, so looking down from above with camera pointing away, and camera being front, the front left motor needs to rotate clockwise, front right motor counterclockwise, rear right clockwise and rear left counterclockwise. If your motors are brushless and have three wires to the esc, to reverse direction swap any two of the three wires, if they are brushed with only two wires, swap the two, but only if the direction does not conform to the layout mentioned. First thing though is the main board mounted the right way, then go from there. Good luck.

  • Sounds like you nned to check motor connection order
    • Thanks. I'll give it a go.

      • Don't know if I'm too late to offer any help, but I'll offer this anyway:

        It's possible that in the crash, one or more motors may have been damaged, particularly if the ground or some other object was preventing the motor from spinning while power was applied.

        Another basic, bus sometimes overlooked problem might be putting the wrong prop(s) on the motors - make sure that the props are spinning in the proper direction for each motor.

        • Hi there. Many thanks for your suggestion. I had thought about the props being wrong, but careful checking revealled they are ok. However, I had not thought about the motors possibly being damaged so I will check that out. Thanks again.

          • The motors may be okay, though you can't tell from looking at them. I crashed a quad into a tree - flying a mission autonomously and was too low... The branches got in the way of two props and it was awhile before I found the aircraft and disarmed the motors.

            They looked okay and even spun, when armed. but they were toast.

            One other thing to check is the alignment of the motors - make sure that they are all level. I know that you replaced part of the frame, but it would be good to make sure that all four motors are properly aligned...

            Don't know if you can or need to recalibrate the ESC's...

            Hope you get it fixed soon!

            • Many thanks for your help. You've certainly given me plenty to think about and to work on. Just hope I can get this sorted before the weather breaks. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again.

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