I have had my P3 Professional for about 2 weeks now. After 1 week I crashed it pretty bad and broke the gimbal off completely. I tried fixing but in the end I replaced the entire gimbal/camera unit with a new one. I ALSO had to replace a motor that was sounding funky. At that point in time I did a few flight tests and all was OK and flying normally. Over the next 2-3 days I continued flying it and saw no issues. Then 3 days later all the sudden whey flying it seems to loose control and become very unstable. The first flight i had it about 20 meters up and was seeming to just go off on its own but I still had full control. It was just if I let go of the controls it would float off. Later when I tested and with all future tests, it gets off the ground 4 meters but then basically looses control after a few seconds (if not sooner) and lands roughly or flips or crashes. I would have thought it was from the crash to cause these issues but since it was fine for 2-3 days after fixing it is very odd. I am COMPLETELY clueless as to what is causing this. I checked firmware updates on the RC and P3 but all was current. I ran a full IMU and reset and checked everything else. I even opened up the drone to check if my motor soudering was bad but it is still attached just fine. And when you just turn the drone on from the ground the motors sound just fine. But once it flies it sounds a bit like it is hitting something but visually on inside and out it seems just fine!?!? Any advise is appreciated as I have had trouble finding any good answers to this kind of problem here or elsewhere on the P3. All indicators on the APP say everything is just fine, all of the ESC lights work just fine. The only discrepancy I can see is when I power off the motors, they all stop at the same time except for one? Maybe one is over powered somehow? I will note the one that stops last is not the one I replaced.
There are lots of things the crash could have messed up and many may not show when the P3 is not operating...that is, it's internal checking systems are not perfect. I suspect that the IMU was messed up in some way - it's a mechanical device as opposed to solid state like most other electronics. You should try recalibrating the IMU over and over again. Maybe 6-10 times. Even try to "cool" calibration by putting it in the freezer or a cooler for a while and then resetting. Then go to an open area and do a compass calibration 2 or 3 times. After that it's just a matter of luck...or not!
Thanks for the advise! My current working theory (and hopefully it is isn't just being hopeful as it is a very low cost fix) is that the compass is damaged. After looking closer at the legs/compass, that area did get bent a bit and had popped out during the crash. Not sure if all my symptoms could be caused single handily from the compass but it was only $15 to get a new one so that should be here tomorrow and I can get it a test. Since the compass leg was also th same side that had a ruined motor I think that helps the theory if that was the side that took the most damage, whereas the main body seemed to have taken no damage.
Update - I ended up ordering a new set of legs with a new compass (only $12) as the old compass did appear slightly damaged. After installing the new one and doing many compass calibrations it seems to be all back to normal!!!
