Servos move while Disarmed, but cannot complete ESC Calibration or Arm

ArduCopter Copter 4.6
1

I am troubleshooting a quadcopter build (Pixhawk 2.4.8, ArduCopter 4.6.3) and experiencing a state where the flight controller seems “locked” out of motor output despite showing “Ready to Arm.”

I have completed all prearm and calibration checks and only the servo switch responds while the the motors do not. In the messages tab, it shows ready to arm.

Whenever I manually do a ESC calibration

  • Unplug Battery and USB
  • Power RC and Throttle up
  • Plug in Battery
  • Unplug Battery for “1212, 1212” Beep on the RC
  • Plug in Battery and lower throttle to lowest position

The ESCs do calibrate and allow me to only raise the throttle and spin the motors up/down however I do not have control to move it left or right using the roll stick.

The servo motor also no longer works and I can not get Mission Planner to connect with the pixhawk again. I have to disconnect the power to regain the connection, but the ESC calibration state is lost except the servo, and the motors remain unresponsive. In the video, I show the calibration and checks all function but the motors fail to arm.

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2

Do the motors spin when you run Mission Planners Motor Test? Forget about using the Transmitter to test the motors.

1 Like
3

I realized that I was suppose to arm the motors by moving the throttle to the lower right instead of just raising it directly upwards.. After I did this, I was finally able to arm the drone.