Hellow ladies and gentlemen!,


I'm really hoping that one of you kind people will be able to help or advise me with my motor problem.


I've been flying my Phantom 3 Standard for about 3(ish) years now. I have previously had one crash from motor failure, which I had repaired. All was fine for months until I took her out of her case to go for a flight, and noticed that the back, left motor (anticlockwise) seemed to be spinning slightly slower than the rest. I stopped, found somewhere more level to sit her and tried again, and it still didn't look as fast.
Thinking there's no way I can eyeball how fast its spinning I had a look and noticed that there was a gap between the top of the motor (the bit that spins) and the bottom (the bit with the screw holes) that wasn't there on the others.
I've uploaded some pictures of the motor on this post. The first (titled M1) is the motor I'm concerned about the second (titled M2) is one of the other three that are ok.






I've been too scared to fly her every since, just in case something goes wrong and the quad crashes.


Is there any advice anyone could give me?
- Is it safe to fly?
- Is this likely to cause damage to the motor / issues with flying?
- is there a way I could repair it, if it's necessary to do so?


Many thanks in advance for any help you can give

As long as she flies, let it rip.

The c clip that holds the upper part on lower part may have come off. Pretty dicey to fly that way. You should pull the motor and turn it over, and there should be a small c clip under neath. The upper portion has a shaft that goes down thru the lower portion and is held on by the c clip. Had same issue with a larger 270 watt motor with a 16x10 prpop on. Scared h... out of me when it started to slide off under power.

I agree with the post above that the clip probably came off. I personally would not fly it like that.  As you noticed it is probably running slower because the windings are not sitting where they should be. You are also running the risk that the whole stator assembly will fly out.

Texas-Mark Posted at 2018-2-3 17:19
I agree with the post above that the clip probably came off. I personally would not fly it like that.  As you noticed it is probably running slower because the windings are not sitting where they should be. You are also running the risk that the whole stator assembly will fly out.

Actually, it is the rotor that may fly off. Stator means stationary.

Geebax Posted at 2018-2-3 17:54
Actually, it is the rotor that may fly off. Stator means stationary.

My mistake, you are correct. I keep forgetting how these motors operate differently than those that have the windings on the stator.

In any case, it can fly apart.

Texas-Mark Posted at 2018-2-3 18:46
My mistake, you are correct. I keep forgetting how these motors operate differently than those that have the windings on the stator.

In any case, it can fly apart.

Yes, it can most certainly come apart, so it should be replaced or repaired before any further use.

Sir, I would forward this situation for further analysis. Please wait patiently.

Carlisle, just confirmed with our engineers, I would recommend you send it back for check and start a case: http://www.dji.com/support I think our designated department will deal with it. Thanks for your support.

Apologies for ignoring everyone, it's been a busy two days.

Many, many thanks to all of you for your wisdom (and how fast it appeared :p) , it's much appreciated!

Elektra, that's great I'll get in touch, thank you

you can buy some c clips for motors on ebay no need to send it in for this.just google what type of motor it is and order the c clips for almost nothing.

The black part marked with red arrow is "C-ring". You are probably lose this part and now the rotor hold only a strong magnet.

Might even be lucky and find it laying under the motor.