Troubleshooting Thruster Performance Issues on BlueROV2

General Discussion
1

Hi everyone,

I recently started encountering some performance issues with the thrusters on my BlueROV2, and I’m hoping to get some insights from the community. Here’s the situation:

During a recent dive, I noticed that one or two of the thrusters seemed to be outputting less thrust than usual. Specifically:

  • Thruster 2 (starboard front) and Thruster 4 (port rear) don’t appear to be generating as much force as the others, causing a noticeable imbalance in movement.
  • The drone tends to drift slightly to one side during forward motion, and roll stabilization feels off as well.
  • I checked the wiring and connections, and everything looks solid at first glance.

I’ve already taken the following steps to troubleshoot:

  1. Calibrated the ESCs to ensure no settings were altered.
  2. Cleaned the thrusters to remove any debris or fouling.
  3. Tested each thruster individually using the QGroundControl joystick and noticed that they all spin, but the output doesn’t feel uniform.

Has anyone here encountered similar issues? Could this be related to worn bearings, ESC configuration, or motor degradation? I’m also curious if it’s possible to test and compare individual thruster performance more accurately.

If anyone can recommend additional diagnostic steps, replacement tableau parts to check, or potential fixes, I’d greatly appreciate it. I’m trying to get the ROV back in top condition for a deepwater project next month.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Regards
Emiliasen

2

Hi @emiliasen0612 -
Thruster 2 and 4 should have no impact on the roll stabilization, as this is only affected by the vertical thrusters!

Do you notice the movement is not balanced even when operating the BlueROV2 in stabilize or depth-hold mode?

Opening the thrusters and removing the rotor to inspect the stator and rotor for signs of corrosion would be a good troubleshooting step. You could also measure the resistance between each of the three motor wires of the suspected thrusters (with them disconnected from the ESC.) This should be comprable between thrusters, and only a few ohms.

If your tether is attached to one side of the vehicle, a drift to one side when driving forward is expected!