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I made a 3D-printed drone body and attached some MT2204-2300kv brushless motors. I have the standard yellow 30A ESC for each of the 4 motors. I also have an Arduino Uno running YMFC-AL and a FlySky FS-ia6b receiver. I have a FlySky FS-i6X controller. Lastly, I have a 3s2p, 12 volts, 2.2A LiPo battery powering it all. It is a 50C battery.

When I set up everything and power it on, all the motors make the arming tune and arm properly. Then when I give it some throttle, some start spinning while the others just stay there and vibrate. Occasionally, I can get 2 of the motors to spin up but I have to stop throttling and give it power a few times. I don't have anything connected to the shaft of the motor. I have fully charged my battery so I don't know what is going on. I am guessing it is a power issue but I don't know. I think it could also be the mounting screws at the bottom because somehow if I loosen or tighten them, the motor behaves differently and sometimes, starts working. I think this because even if one of the motors spins up, as I increase throttle, it sometimes speeds up and sometimes slows down. It is very unpredictable. If anyone has a solution or something they want me to attempt, I would appreciate it a lot. If you need any more information about the setup, please comment and I will provide it.

Motor: https://www.ebay.com/itm/224473754682?hash=item3443adac3a:g:iOMAAOSwo35grL03 ESC: https://www.amazon.com/powerday-Brushless-Controller-Helicopter-Multirotor/dp/B077Z7LWGQ/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=30A+esc&qid=1623632107&sr=8-6

Note: These links are not exact because I bought this stuff a few years ago.

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  • $\begingroup$ I've had a similar thing happen when an ESC is underpowered. It could also be the mounting screws; make sure they aren't long enough to touch/scrape the motor windings. $\endgroup$
    – Jacob B ♦
    Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 17:10
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, I shined a flashlight under the motor and the screw didn't even come out the other end. $\endgroup$
    – DragonflyRobotics
    Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 17:22
  • $\begingroup$ I can use a bench power supply and feed it 12v at 30A to test it. Is that a good idea? $\endgroup$
    – DragonflyRobotics
    Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 17:22
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    $\begingroup$ What ESC protocol are you using? $\endgroup$
    – Drones and Whatnot
    Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 21:14
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    $\begingroup$ I edited the question with the links! $\endgroup$
    – DragonflyRobotics
    Commented Jun 14, 2021 at 0:56

1 Answer 1

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This all sounds like it's the motor side of the ESC, not the power supply side. If the ESCs aren't rebooting, then they aren't browning out and your power supply is fine.

Check motor connections to the ESCs (how is your soldering skill?), and check the motor winding screws. Putting too long of a screw into a motor can permanently damage it, and cause this symptom until the motor is replaced.

Test each component individually if you can. Get a motor that appears to work, and try it on each ESC. Then, get an ESC you know works, and test each motor on it.

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