P4 Controller not charging

Alex in Devon · Jan 18, 2018

My controller unit has suddenly decided that it will only charge to two lights, not the full 4. I am not sure if this might be a battery issue or if the circuitry in the controller has done u/s

Has anyone else experienced the same? Whilst the unit is out of warranty, I am sure that it has only be recharged half a dozen times or so.

Also if there any way of establishing the number of hours that the drone has flown, since that would help me establish how much use the controller has had?

Thanks

Deleted member 62848 · Jan 19, 2018

Alex in Devon said:
My controller unit has suddenly decided that it will only charge to two lights, not the full 4. I am not sure if this might be a battery issue or if the circuitry in the controller has done u/s

Has anyone else experienced the same? Whilst the unit is out of warranty, I am sure that it has only be recharged half a dozen times or so.

Also if there any way of establishing the number of hours that the drone has flown, since that would help me establish how much use the controller has had?

Thanks

You can find by looking at your flights,on your home page (picture of p4)click 3 black lines top right of screen,your flights and hours are there

Sixgun89 · Jan 19, 2018

This is a known issue! Some folks are having success by reflowing some of the solder joints in the controller,you can fine the repair on YouTube

Sixgun89 · Jan 19, 2018

Just so you know DJI does not sell the battery as a service part

Mimoid · Jan 24, 2018

I believe that the battery is probaby OK, but the circuitry to measure the charge level and control the charging is busted. You could probably just use a soldering iron to bypass this whole circuitry to make a raw and unmeasured charging. Personally I wouldn't risk the battery to explode or catch fire. I would much rather send it back to DJI for repair. Or buy a new RC, which of course is more expensive, but may still be cheaper if the problem would return.

Mimoid · Mar 5, 2018

Still waiting for my RC to get back from DJI in Germany... been there for six weeks now. Tis getting a bit old.

Linuxglobal · Mar 5, 2018

The battery is the issue

You can do one of two things:
1. remove the balance port from the battery
2. replace the battery with a different 2s 7.4v lipo

Alex in Devon said:
My controller unit has suddenly decided that it will only charge to two lights, not the full 4. I am not sure if this might be a battery issue or if the circuitry in the controller has done u/s

Has anyone else experienced the same? Whilst the unit is out of warranty, I am sure that it has only be recharged half a dozen times or so.

Also if there any way of establishing the number of hours that the drone has flown, since that would help me establish how much use the controller has had?

Thanks

No way to measure the number of charges on the unit.

You can send it in for repair or try to find a replacement battery.

This is a battery issue, not a controller issue. I have fixed many of these units in the past.
It can also be a voltage regulator on the controller board, but that is quite rare.

I fix random drone parts, controllers, etc. Just come across variations along the way. But this issue affects all controllers including inspires.

Chopstix Kid · Mar 31, 2018

Sixgun89 said:
This is a known issue! Some folks are having success by reflowing some of the solder joints in the controller,you can fine the repair on YouTube

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I just did this to mine this morning and it fixed the issue. I made a separate post about it not realizing that this video had already made it here. I first found it on the DJI forum. In any event, I measured my battery voltage and it was fine but I bought a replacement battery anyhow and have the same problem with the replacement battery. Being out of warranty I figured what the heck I’ll give reflowing a chance. It made sense given my background in PCs. Worked like a champ.