Inspire 1 landing gear stuck worm drive motor spinning

[Palliz]

Hi guys just signed in - already member of Phantom Pilots & Mavic Pilots having owned & flown all but mostly fly my Mavic (portability)
OK - hoping for a little help & direction here as I know we're always out to help wherever possible. Was GIVEN an Inspire 1 on a deal that if I can fix problem ( didn't know what is was ) then the owner would hire me to fly HIS drone as he had bought it but having crashed a few times was now afraid to fly it ( gotta love it huh)?
OK so stripped off the X3 gimbal mount got to the manual up/down screw which was nice & free NOT stuck as I had feared.
Cranked it up & immediately heard the landing gear motor whirling away but nothing happening with regard to the landing gear moving either up or down so I am figuring the motor has damage as the worm drive through the center looks really good & straight - having gone through the whole up/down range manually with a screwdriver travel was very smooth without glitches.
Anyone stripped down the motor drive gear that can give some advice before I go ahead & strip it down?
What to look for / what to mark if microswitches involved / Travel of wormscrew etc
Truly appreciate anyone's input as this is a really cool deal - hey the guy has an X5 camera - never used it!
Thanks in advance for help
Cheers
'Fly safe'

 

[Ewan Haggarty]

Hi guys just signed in - already member of Phantom Pilots & Mavic Pilots having owned & flown all but mostly fly my Mavic (portability)
OK - hoping for a little help & direction here as I know we're always out to help wherever possible. Was GIVEN an Inspire 1 on a deal that if I can fix problem ( didn't know what is was ) then the owner would hire me to fly HIS drone as he had bought it but having crashed a few times was now afraid to fly it ( gotta love it huh)?
OK so stripped off the X3 gimbal mount got to the manual up/down screw which was nice & free NOT stuck as I had feared.
Cranked it up & immediately heard the landing gear motor whirling away but nothing happening with regard to the landing gear moving either up or down so I am figuring the motor has damage as the worm drive through the center looks really good & straight - having gone through the whole up/down range manually with a screwdriver travel was very smooth without glitches.
Anyone stripped down the motor drive gear that can give some advice before I go ahead & strip it down?
What to look for / what to mark if microswitches involved / Travel of wormscrew etc
Truly appreciate anyone's input as this is a really cool deal - hey the guy has an X5 camera - never used it!
Thanks in advance for help
Cheers
'Fly safe'

Sounds just like the issue I had. I stripped down my I1 to replace the screw-jack frame, then stripped the old frame to find why it had stuck with the motor spinning.

The frame holding the screw is a U-shape, with a ball-bearing in the middle of the bottom of the U. The U is capped with a bar which has another ball-bearing in the middle, a reduction gearbox driving the screw and the motor, which is in the trapezoidal box on the top. The bar is held on the U with 2 Allen screws and lots of threadlock. The motor box is held on with 4 long and skinny cross-head screws also threadlocked in.

I found that the travelling nut on the screw-jack was stiff with collected muck - dust, sand and grass fibres. You will have to split the U and the bar to get the screw-jack out to clean the travelling nut. Unfortunately this means you have to strip the I1 down almost completely as the screw-jack frame is the central load-bearing part all other structure hangs off.

Once the motor box was off, I found that the drive gear pressed directly on to the motor output shaft had come loose. It's tiny! Make sure you don't lose it!

As the drive gear is brass and the shaft steel, the spinning motor had overcome the friction of the press-fit and now the drive gear just span on the shaft. I cleaned the drive gear and shaft with alcohol and used thread-lock to fix it back on. With a replacement screw-jack frame fitted on my I1, I have not tested my repair but feel confident using thread-lock to hold the output drive gear onto the motor shaft would work as I've done similar fixes on lots of other mechanisms.

Key points:

1. Use a dry Teflon-type spray lube on the screw-jack in maintenance - I think grease traps muck in the travelling nut causing eventual seizure and failure. (Note to self).

2. A deep strip of an I1 is pretty challenging - obviously you will need a good set of drivers and log where all the screws come from. The other essential tool is angled point - nosed tweezers to release and refit the ribbon cables and the RF connectors.

3. The threadlock holding the screw-jack frame bolts and motor box screws is very strong. Holding the unit in a vice to get secure purchase is needed.

Have fun!

 

[Ewan Haggarty]

Sounds just like the issue I had. I stripped down my I1 to replace the screw-jack frame, then stripped the old frame to find why it had stuck with the motor spinning.

The frame holding the screw is a U-shape, with a ball-bearing in the middle of the bottom of the U. The U is capped with a bar which has another ball-bearing in the middle, a reduction gearbox driving the screw and the motor, which is in the trapezoidal box on the top. The bar is held on the U with 2 Allen screws and lots of threadlock. The motor box is held on with 4 long and skinny cross-head screws also threadlocked in.

I found that the travelling nut on the screw-jack was stiff with collected muck - dust, sand and grass fibres. You will have to split the U and the bar to get the screw-jack out to clean the travelling nut. Unfortunately this means you have to strip the I1 down almost completely as the screw-jack frame is the central load-bearing part all other structure hangs off.

Once the motor box was off, I found that the drive gear pressed directly on to the motor output shaft had come loose. It's tiny! Make sure you don't lose it!

As the drive gear is brass and the shaft steel, the spinning motor had overcome the friction of the press-fit and now the drive gear just span on the shaft. I cleaned the drive gear and shaft with alcohol and used thread-lock to fix it back on. With a replacement screw-jack frame fitted on my I1, I have not tested my repair but feel confident using thread-lock to hold the output drive gear onto the motor shaft would work as I've done similar fixes on lots of other mechanisms.

Key points:

1. Use a dry Teflon-type spray lube on the screw-jack in maintenance - I think grease traps muck in the travelling nut causing eventual seizure and failure. (Note to self).

2. A deep strip of an I1 is pretty challenging - obviously you will need a good set of drivers and log where all the screws come from. The other essential tool is angled point - nosed tweezers to release and refit the ribbon cables and the RF connectors.

3. The threadlock holding the screw-jack frame bolts and motor box screws is very strong. Holding the unit in a vice to get secure purchase is needed.

Have fun!

Forgot to say - no microswitches or position - sensing found in the strip. I think the stalling of the motor is sensed at the end of drive to cut the power.

 

[Palliz]

Sounds just like the issue I had. I stripped down my I1 to replace the screw-jack frame, then stripped the old frame to find why it had stuck with the motor spinning.

The frame holding the screw is a U-shape, with a ball-bearing in the middle of the bottom of the U. The U is capped with a bar which has another ball-bearing in the middle, a reduction gearbox driving the screw and the motor, which is in the trapezoidal box on the top. The bar is held on the U with 2 Allen screws and lots of threadlock. The motor box is held on with 4 long and skinny cross-head screws also threadlocked in.

I found that the travelling nut on the screw-jack was stiff with collected muck - dust, sand and grass fibres. You will have to split the U and the bar to get the screw-jack out to clean the travelling nut. Unfortunately this means you have to strip the I1 down almost completely as the screw-jack frame is the central load-bearing part all other structure hangs off.

Once the motor box was off, I found that the drive gear pressed directly on to the motor output shaft had come loose. It's tiny! Make sure you don't lose it!

As the drive gear is brass and the shaft steel, the spinning motor had overcome the friction of the press-fit and now the drive gear just span on the shaft. I cleaned the drive gear and shaft with alcohol and used thread-lock to fix it back on. With a replacement screw-jack frame fitted on my I1, I have not tested my repair but feel confident using thread-lock to hold the output drive gear onto the motor shaft would work as I've done similar fixes on lots of other mechanisms.

Key points:

1. Use a dry Teflon-type spray lube on the screw-jack in maintenance - I think grease traps muck in the travelling nut causing eventual seizure and failure. (Note to self).

2. A deep strip of an I1 is pretty challenging - obviously you will need a good set of drivers and log where all the screws come from. The other essential tool is angled point - nosed tweezers to release and refit the ribbon cables and the RF connectors.

3. The threadlock holding the screw-jack frame bolts and motor box screws is very strong. Holding the unit in a vice to get secure purchase is needed.

Have fun!

Hey thanks appreciate you getting back to me & yes I was afraid it may end up being a complete strip down but thankfully seems not to be too complicated where failed parts are concerned. Now just gotta find the time AND concentration to get it done! Cheers.

 

[Palliz]

Forgot to say - no microswitches or position - sensing found in the strip. I think the stalling of the motor is sensed at the end of drive to cut the power.

Great! That is what I was hoping for - nice one - thanks again.

 

[Palliz]

Sounds just like the issue I had. I stripped down my I1 to replace the screw-jack frame, then stripped the old frame to find why it had stuck with the motor spinning.

The frame holding the screw is a U-shape, with a ball-bearing in the middle of the bottom of the U. The U is capped with a bar which has another ball-bearing in the middle, a reduction gearbox driving the screw and the motor, which is in the trapezoidal box on the top. The bar is held on the U with 2 Allen screws and lots of threadlock. The motor box is held on with 4 long and skinny cross-head screws also threadlocked in.

I found that the travelling nut on the screw-jack was stiff with collected muck - dust, sand and grass fibres. You will have to split the U and the bar to get the screw-jack out to clean the travelling nut. Unfortunately this means you have to strip the I1 down almost completely as the screw-jack frame is the central load-bearing part all other structure hangs off.

Once the motor box was off, I found that the drive gear pressed directly on to the motor output shaft had come loose. It's tiny! Make sure you don't lose it!

As the drive gear is brass and the shaft steel, the spinning motor had overcome the friction of the press-fit and now the drive gear just span on the shaft. I cleaned the drive gear and shaft with alcohol and used thread-lock to fix it back on. With a replacement screw-jack frame fitted on my I1, I have not tested my repair but feel confident using thread-lock to hold the output drive gear onto the motor shaft would work as I've done similar fixes on lots of other mechanisms.

Key points:

1. Use a dry Teflon-type spray lube on the screw-jack in maintenance - I think grease traps muck in the travelling nut causing eventual seizure and failure. (Note to self).

2. A deep strip of an I1 is pretty challenging - obviously you will need a good set of drivers and log where all the screws come from. The other essential tool is angled point - nosed tweezers to release and refit the ribbon cables and the RF connectors.

3. The threadlock holding the screw-jack frame bolts and motor box screws is very strong. Holding the unit in a vice to get secure purchase is needed.

Have fun!

Hey Ewan
OK so it happened! Stripped it down so the motor blts were exposed - applied pressure to the bolts & SNAP! Tool broke off in the bolt head.........!
I didn't wanna do a deep strip & from what you had already figured out from your problem I figured ( drive gear spinning on the shaft ) should be quick to remove the motor check it out clean/fix & reattach to see if it solved the problem.
My problem now is WOW those mounting bolts are in there real tight & now have to find a way to get the broken bit out of the bolt?
Center popped the broken bit ( which was encouraging at first as the bit is hardened steel ) Nope my carbide drill bits don't even begin to bite into the broken bit so.....................HELP!!!!!!!!
Is there a special bit to remove these motor mounting bolts ? At 1st thought they were hex heads then realized was type of star head? Any advice at this point would be extremely helpful - just getting the broken bit out would be a healthy start..........lol
More disappointed than anything else as snapping of a bit in the process of removing the motor was the LAST thing I had figured on happening.....DAMMIT!
I'm sure with your expertise we can work out something..........kinda pleading right now if you can't tell ..................lol
Cheers
Paul