Hi Everyone,

Please help!  My left rear motor is sputtering and the led underneath does not light up.  Tried re-calibrating in basic and advanced mode.  Have had zero crashes.  Was working fine the first two times I've flown with it.  
Video here

For now, best not run the motors till you get to the bottom of this.

Did you land in a sandy or dusty place? Try holding the quad upside down and gently tapping on that arm. Perhaps a grain of sand or grit is grinding around in there.

In actual fact, it could be any one of a host of issues in that arm, all of which are outside my job scope. But I'm sure the tech chaps will come in and give you a hand any moment.

insitb@singnet. Posted at 2014-10-26 11:34
For now, best not run the motors till you get to the bottom of this.

Did you land in a sandy or du ...

Thanks for the reply.  No landing in sand or dirt. As I investigate more and more it seems like a bad motor.

I <think> the LEDS are part of ESCs.  The fact that the LEDs are out makes me suspect <just guessing> the problem may well be upstream of the motor.  

Time for service, or opening her up yourself.  

away-point Posted at 2014-10-26 14:14
I  the LEDS are part of ESCs.  The fact that the LEDs are out makes me suspect  the problem may well ...

Your assumption is probably right. My first guess was the bearings but I noticed the L.E.D. issue too.
LEDs are connected to the ESC so that's probably your problem.
I would just open her up and check everything from motor to ESC connections to the board.

Make sure nothing's in the bearings while you're at it (green)
Check the solder points from the motor to the ESC (red)
Check connections between ESC and the board (yellow)

If all looks well, chances are the ESC needs replacing.
You could test it on another arm just to be sure, but that might be asking too much for someone not familiar with the insides.

Let us know what you find.

Cloud9 Posted at 2014-10-26 14:48
Your assumption is probably right. My first guess was the bearings but I noticed the L.E.D. issue  ...

Interesting. The LED lights up when it's doing its pre flight checks.  It just doesn't light up when I idle the motors.  I would have thought it wouldn't work entirely if it was the ESC?

derekmiw@hotmai Posted at 2014-10-26 15:03
Interesting. The LED lights up when it's doing its pre flight checks.  It just doesn't light up wh ...

ESC's can go through a "dying" process where their performance diminishes until they completely give.

If your lights work from just powering on the Phantom (low power consumption) but cut off on engine revs (higher power consumption), this in combination to a stuttering motor could be a dying ESC.

You can test both the motor and ESC by testing them on a different arm, but I wouldn't recommend unless you're familiar with the parts.

But you may open the lid and eyeball a bad solder point, in which case would be a quick and obvious fix.

Sth. is wrong with the ESC, please contact your dealer for a check.

Wanted to let everyone know that it ended up being a bad motor. Replaced it and good as new.

Although I don't know much about, but I help you to let more people see it