I had a weird landing with my copter where one of the legs got stuck in the ground and broke off. It wasn't really a rough landing, but ever since that time I have been seeing I2C errors in my gpx file with every flight. The number of errors I get, seems to be linear to the flight time. So for example, a flight that lasted 49 seconds had 52 I2C errors, and a 6.5 minute flight had 97 errors. Is this a cause for concern, or are the I2C errors normal? I did also just update my FC and Nav Controller so that may have something to do with it. But I just want to make sure that it's not a loose connection or something. What causes the I2C errors anyway?
Some I2C errors occur on startup as the MK boards are waking up. However, the threshold question is whether the I2C errors are increasing during the flight? If they occur at startup and do not increase, then that's no cause for alarm. If they occur at startup and increase during the flight, the you need to check all of the Molex connector (the small white connectors) between the GPS and Navi-Control Board, the two ribbon connectors from the Navi-Control back to the Flight control, and the Molex connector between the Flight Control and the Power Distribution board -- that is the I2C bus. It's also possible that the G-forces of the "weird landing" may have torqued some of the Brushless Controllers on the Power Distribution Board. Inspect them carefully and make sure that the Power Distribution Board is completely flat and not buckled or deformed in any way. Hope this helps. Andy.
Hi Mat, Andy steps look good, I would maby just ad to check the BL-Ctrl on the MK tools powering up the motors( its better with no props on) and checking the BL-Ctrl Errors. If any errors ocur, check the soldering on the capacitors and maby change them if the soldering is good. Are you getting an alarm similar to the Navi Calibration from the buzzer? Laters, Alex
Andy and Alex thanks for the quick replies. All of the I2C errors occur at startup and they do not increase during the flight. However, I will go over all of the boards and make sure there are no connection issues. Alex, I am not getting any alarms from the buzzer, but I will put it on MK Tools and check for any BL-Ctrl errors.
Never a bad idea after a crash/landing to "re-flow" your c and d connections on your brushless controllers even if you aren't seeing any i2c errors in flight. Sometimes if there was a cold solder on one of those connections, the frame flexing in the crash/landing can cause them to crack and break loose and cause issues as they start to break up more and more. Little preventative maintenance might save you later on.