How long until the motor bearings need to be oiled/serviced?

How long until the motor bearings need to be oiled/serviced?

Read your manual and do exactly as it tells you.

I do mine every Tuesday

Wednesday mornings for me.

And always anti-clockwise as you work around the aircraft, Southern Hemisphere I assume clockwise.

I dont know, but definitely dont use a wet lube like oil.

In normal service they don't need it ....
As to if they do ... I'm tired of explaining to people that they are SHIELDED not SEALED ....

Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. With regards to this inquiry. I hope that our valued DJI co pilots can provide you the best information regarding this query. In addition, it is not necessary to apply any type of oil or lubricant on the motors of the said drone. Thank you for your valued support.

DJI Paladin Posted at 2-7 09:07
Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. With regards to this inquiry. I hope that our valued DJI co pilots can provide you the best information regarding this query. In addition, it is not necessary to apply any type of oil or lubricant on the motors of the said drone. Thank you for your valued support.

https://sunnyskyusa.com/pages/return-and-warranty

I was thinking about building up my old quad, SunnySky 3108 900kv w/ Betaflight and the latest FC for fun, but I think the motors aren't built as good?  They recommend oiling.  Some DJI drones have failed after 900+ successful flights.  Probably due to bearing wear?

You will get a lot of answers .... you have to decide who to believe.

solentlife Posted at 2-7 09:54
You will get a lot of answers .... you have to decide who to believe.

The idea is to be proactive about bearing wear though.  We know the drones are very reliable but later on they fail and people don't know why.

flybot01 Posted at 2-7 07:31
I dont know, but definitely dont use a wet lube like oil.

Definitely do not agree.

Sewing Machine OIl or Light Cycle Oil is excellent for the job as it does not create a sticky residue nor does it hold grit like a grease or thicker oil would.

But its only needed if motor really gets abused or used in such that warrants it. For most people the motor will outlast their ownership.

Labroides Posted at 2-7 05:14
Read your manual and do exactly as it tells you.

The manual may not be complete for certain "secret" reasons.

AntDX316 Posted at 2-7 09:55
The idea is to be proactive about bearing wear though.  We know the drones are very reliable but later on they fail and people don't know why.

I think applying no lubrication is proactive in this case.  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-7 15:55
I think applying no lubrication is proactive in this case.

It would be nice to know how many rotations the motors can do before the bearings fail.  The equipment is usually proprietary and the limits are known somewhere.  It would be nice to know how much less it would fail if proactive action such as adding a drop of quality lubricant oil were to be taken.

AntDX316 Posted at 2-7 15:59
It would be nice to know how many rotations the motors can do before the bearings fail.  The equipment is usually proprietary and the limits are known somewhere.  It would be nice to know how much less it would fail if proactive action such as adding a drop of quality lubricant oil were to be taken.

I've got 1300 miles on my P2V and it still flies like a dream (one original motor as the others were damaged in crashes).  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-7 16:02
I've got 1300 miles on my P2V and it still flies like a dream (one original motor as the others were damaged in crashes).

Yeah, crashed how come?

AntDX316 Posted at 2-7 15:59
It would be nice to know how many rotations the motors can do before the bearings fail.  The equipment is usually proprietary and the limits are known somewhere.  It would be nice to know how much less it would fail if proactive action such as adding a drop of quality lubricant oil were to be taken.

It would be nice to know how many rotations the motors can do before the bearings fail.  The equipment is usually proprietary and the limits are known somewhere.
According to the spec sheet for the motors that DJI uses, they will fail at 18, 326, 509, 655 revolutions.
Now that you have the information, what are you going to do about it?

It would be nice to know how much less it would fail if proactive action such as adding a drop of quality lubricant oil were to be taken.
What makes you so sure that adding lubrication is what's required?

AntDX316 Posted at 2-7 16:06
Yeah, crashed how come?

Which of the dozen crashes do you want to hear about?  

Labroides Posted at 2-7 16:32
It would be nice to know how many rotations the motors can do before the bearings fail.  The equipment is usually proprietary and the limits are known somewhere.
According to the spec sheet for the motors that DJI uses, they will fail at 18, 326, 509, 655 revolutions.
Now that you have the information, what are you going to do about it?

18, 326, 509, 655 revolutions? revolutions of what? earth rotations around the sun?

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-7 16:35
Which of the dozen crashes do you want to hear about?

all the crashes

AntDX316 Posted at 2-7 16:38
all the crashes

I don't think so.  But here is a quick brief summary.

None were due to a bad motor or bad ESC.  

One was because a prop spun off at 400'

One was because my aftermarket battery shut itself off for no reason at 400'

One was because my replaced FC came loose from the CB in cold weather at 400'.  It came loose because I reused the same spongy tape.  

One was because I hit a tree on a waypoints mission.  200' wasn't high enough.

Add 3-4 more where I hit trees within a 1000 feet of home.  

Other crashes were very minor.  

Sometimes motors/ESCs tend to burn up after the crash because motors won't shut off.  Those have been replaced but I still have one original.  


All of my crashes were pilot/operator error.  I've only had one crash the past two years and that was when the FC came loose.  

All my drones are 100% and still flying with no issues.  Haven't lost one yet.  :-)  

Here's one light crash/tumble:  

AntDX316 Posted at 2-7 16:38
all the crashes

Double post

AntDX316 Posted at 2-7 16:37
18, 326, 509, 655 revolutions? revolutions of what? earth rotations around the sun?

Do you do this on purpose?  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-7 17:05
I don't think so.  But here is a quick brief summary.

None were due to a bad motor or bad ESC.  

How did you get the telem overlay?

Also, that is a smooth flying no jello P3P.

AntDX316 Posted at 2-8 01:40
How did you get the telem overlay?

Also, that is a smooth flying no jello P3P.

Dashware...

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-8 04:07
Dashware...

How did you do it with dashware?

Dashware is very powerful and versatile but it has a long learning curve.  You download and install dashware to your desktop/laptop.  It's free.  You load your video into Dashware which will become a project (I add music to the video first).  You load your csv log(s) into the dashware project.  You must have a profile on Dashware for whatever log you're using so that Dashware understands your log.  Unfortunately, there is no profile for any of the DJI logs, so you must figure that out on your own - it's easier if you know dashware.  Fortunately, the litchi logs should work by using Dashware's Flytrex profile because the logs - the column headings - are very similar.  So I would do it that way to start.  There are pre-made gauges with Dashware that you can then move into your project which will recognize your Litchi log data columns via the flytrex profile and work right away seamlessly.  So that will get you started.  Then sync the logs with the video in the project so it's perfect.  Then create the new video.  

Subsequent videos are easy because you simply use the template you used before.  If you made the gauges correctly, with all the column mappings correct, you can just add the template, video, log(s), then sync, and you're done.  Dashware will do all the tedious work for you.  But learning how to map all the input correctly so it works seamlessly takes some time.  

Here is a simple example using stock gauges - this would be very easy and quick to create:



The above vid is kind of interesting because you can see the little red triangle in the upper right facing the wrong direction and moving chaotically in the beginning, and then it behaves better in the middle.  Why?  Probably because the wrong column is assigned to it.  He is probably using the "heading "column instead of the "yaw" column.  Probably because his flytrex log doesn't have a yaw column.  The litchi log does.  He could have fixed it by using a round graphic instead of the triangle which would make the spinning invisible.  Or he could have used a litchi log.  

Once you get familiar with dashware, you can do more advanced stuff and create your own gauges or modify existing gauges and also start using DJI logs including the DAT logs.

Good luck

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-8 05:59
Dashware is very powerful and versatile but it has a long learning curve.  You download and install dashware to your desktop/laptop.  It's free.  You load your video into Dashware which will become a project (I add music to the video first).  You load your csv log(s) into the dashware project.  You must have a profile on Dashware for whatever log you're using so that Dashware understands your log.  Unfortunately, there is no profile for any of the DJI logs, so you must figure that out on your own - it's easier if you know dashware.  Fortunately, the litchi logs should work by using Dashware's Flytrex profile because the logs - the column headings - are very similar.  So I would do it that way to start.  There are pre-made gauges with Dashware that you can then move into your project which will recognize your Litchi log data columns via the flytrex profile and work right away seamlessly.  So that will get you started.  Then sync the logs with the video in the project so it's perfect.  Then create the new video.  

Subsequent videos are easy because you simply use the template you used before.  If you made the gauges correctly, with all the column mappings correct, you can just add the template, video, log(s), then sync, and you're done.  Dashware will do all the tedious work for you.  But learning how to map all the input correctly so it works seamlessly takes some time.  

So you have to use Litchi to get the right logs as the DJI Go4 one does not work?

I'm trying to get Betaflights CSV but I can't get it to work.

AntDX316 Posted at 2-8 11:01
So you have to use Litchi to get the right logs as the DJI Go4 one does not work?

I'm trying to get Betaflights CSV but I can't get it to work.

I use DJI logs exclusively for the P3 flights.  I'm just saying Litchi would be easier for a beginner because Dashware is ready to work with Litchi via the Flytrex data profile.  Any log will eventually work - you just need to make a data profile for whatever log you have.   Main thing is it needs to know what column it can use for a time scale so it knows how to run the data log alongside the video.   Read the FAQ for more clues.

http://www.dashware.net/faq/

Also F1 is a great help.  Tap it when you are stuck and it'll try to give you an answer to whatever you're working on.

Good luck

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-8 12:17
I use DJI logs exclusively for the P3 flights.  I'm just saying Litchi would be easier for a beginner because Dashware is ready to work with Litchi via the Flytrex data profile.  Any log will eventually work - you just need to make a data profile for whatever log you have.   Main thing is it needs to know what column it can use for a time scale so it knows how to run the data log alongside the video.   Read the FAQ for more clues.

http://www.dashware.net/faq/

yeah, I don't really have use for the telems for DJI drones because when you DIY you are on your own so having certain info matters like this

Most of that kind of data is available in the DJI Verbose CSV files and the rest of it such as the motor rpm data is found in the DAT files.  That spinning drone graphic is pretty cool.  I'm not sure Dashware can do that one, but the data is definitely there in the DJI logs.  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-8 16:48
Most of that kind of data is available in the DJI Verbose CSV files and the rest of it such as the motor rpm data is found in the DAT files.  That spinning drone graphic is pretty cool.  I'm not sure Dashware can do that one, but the data is definitely there in the DJI logs.

in the DAT, it contains more than the CSV?

AntDX316 Posted at 2-8 17:24
in the DAT, it contains more than the CSV?

I don't think you understand DJI logs.  

There is a file on your mobile device and a file on the AC.  Both are logs of a given flight.  Neither are readable as is.  Neither are CSV files.

The file on the mobile device can be converted to two CSV logs via phantomhelp.com.  There is at least one other way to convert the file to CSV logs.

The file on the AC can be converted to a CSV log via a software program called DATCON.  See datfile.net for more info.  

The file on the AC has more data in it.  It also has the advantage of being onboard, which means no lags or breaks in the data as one would get from a log that comes by a radio signal.  

Mark The Droner Posted at 2-8 18:46
I don't think you understand DJI logs.  

There is a file on your mobile device and a file on the AC.  Both are logs of a given flight.  Neither are readable as is.  Neither are CSV files.

yeah I mean, the logs that come off Go4 as flightlogs and there is another that is DAT in another area that need to be exported