Motor Health

[seanhagerty]

I was watching my Inspire 1 v2 today as I was coming in for a landing and recognized that the aircraft was not pointing straight ahead, it was pointing to my right. The wind was very light from my left.

I go to wondering about the motor health, and was trying to find a way to look at the current I was drawing on each motor. I looked at the txt files on my tablet. Not there. I downloaded the DAT files from my aircraft and then viewed them on Maps Made Easy - Sign In No luck there either.

Is there a way to see the amp each motor is drawing?

Sean

 

[Mad_angler1]

I was watching my Inspire 1 v2 today as I was coming in for a landing and recognized that the aircraft was not pointing straight ahead, it was pointing to my right. The wind was very light from my left.

I go to wondering about the motor health, and was trying to find a way to look at the current I was drawing on each motor. I looked at the txt files on my tablet. Not there. I downloaded the DAT files from my aircraft and then viewed them on Maps Made Easy - Sign In No luck there either.

Is there a way to see the amp each motor is drawing?

Sean

Not really something you can easily do from logs, it can be done but tbh your absolute best way is feel them, compare how each one rotates and feels compared to the others, grab the bells and feel for horizontal slop, a little vertical movement is normal but they should not rock side to side.

Bearings are what your looking at and that’s all mechanical, that will show with your hands by feeling them.

 

[giumick]

Get a screwdriver and place the handle inside your ear. Use the fine end to judge vibration by placing in near the motor....It works very well as your ear bone picks it up like a stethoscope

 

[Steve@AerialImagesPro]

I've heard using one of those Infrared/Laser temperature guns ($15 or less) you can measure the temperature of each motor without needing to get glose to the spinning props. The if any of the motors temperature is higher than the others I would be concerned.

The only thing that can go wrong with the motors themselves are the bearings. That's the only moving part in the motor. So if bearing is bad or going bad, temperature will reflect that.

 

[giumick]

I've heard using one of those Infrared/Laser temperature guns ($15 or less) you can measure the temperature of each motor without needing to get glose to the spinning props. The if any of the motors temperature is higher than the others I would be concerned.

The only thing that can go wrong with the motors themselves are the bearings. That's the only moving part in the motor. So if bearing is bad or going bad, temperature will reflect that.

You motor would be seriously knakard before it gave off enough heat to show up in regular operation. Maybe with a decent flir you could get it but not a laser. I used to use both to monitor plant systems. The lasers are only good for obvious heat sources and large items.

 

[seanhagerty]

Thanks guys. Lots of stuff to look at and try.

 

[BudWalker]

I was watching my Inspire 1 v2 today as I was coming in for a landing and recognized that the aircraft was not pointing straight ahead, it was pointing to my right. The wind was very light from my left.

I go to wondering about the motor health, and was trying to find a way to look at the current I was drawing on each motor. I looked at the txt files on my tablet. Not there. I downloaded the DAT files from my aircraft and then viewed them on Maps Made Easy - Sign In No luck there either.

Is there a way to see the amp each motor is drawing?

Sean

CsvView will show the current for each of the motors. It can be obtained here
CsvView Downloads

 

[seanhagerty]

No luck. I already had the .DAT files downloaded, there is no information on motor current or amperage in the data fields

I downloaded the CSVView, didnt show any additional data.

 

[BudWalker]

No luck. I already had the .DAT files downloaded, there is no information on motor current or amperage in the data fields

I downloaded the CSVView, didnt show any additional data.

Well, it should work. Do you mean that you're seeing the motor current data but that it's 0.0? If so, then you're probably looking at the wrong .DAT. It's also possible that the I1 V2 is different from the V1 and the motor current, if it exists, is in a different part of the .DAT. I don't have any I1 V2 test data. Can you Dropbox the .DAT and provide the link so that I can take a look.

 

[seanhagerty]

I sent you a message with the link to my DAT file.

 

[APost]

You can upload your logs to air data and it will show your amps drawn by changing the color of your flight path on a graph. Don’t know if it breaks it down by motor. Have you tried the data view mode in the assistant software"

Also the laser thermometer would probably work. We used one on our x8 which showed all the top motors were running within a few degrees of on another as were the lower ones. But the lowere ones were significantly cooler.

 

[BudWalker]

CsvView can be used to get current data on a per motor basis. E.g. This plot can be produced from @seanhagerty 's flight above.

 

[Ralph thompson]

At the end of each flight, as I remove the battery I just grasp each motor, feel the temperature & give it a wobble. I think this would identify a motor bearing. Quick & simple part of my checklist.

 

[ghedgepath]

Also try taking the props off and spinning the motors quickly with a flick of your finger. I used to fly racing quads and would check them regularly with this method. The motors spin so fast and the quads crash so often that bearings go bad all the time. You can hear it in the way the motor "sings" as you spin it. I ended up stocking up on bearings and learned to replace them myself rather than throw out the motors.