Phantom 3 4K took a bath ! ..... UPDATE.

[headonz]

The P3 4K took a quick swim in salt water by previous owner.I got it as a fixer.
Is it worth getting a replacement ESC board from China ? Do they work ? Or am I likely to run into further problems ??

It shows solid red and slow flashing geen.Motors wont start.
Should I just keep it for parts and buy a good one ?

This is my first start into the drone world and I like the Phantom series over the new stuff , especially for the price.They still seem great value for the money if I can get a good one.

 

[RodPad]

Welcome to the Forum!

Any electronics that have had contact with salt water are going to get worse.

Search results for query: salt water

Rod

 

[headonz]

Thanks ,looking at them now ,some good , some not so good

Took the top cover off and everything looks surprisingly ok apart from the GPS unit had been reinstalled up side down by the last 'technician' ?! and a few sand particles still stuck to the grey shield material.

Someone did an ok job of flushing the salt water as I see no sign of any residue anywhere .I will let it bake in the sun for awhile and think about the next step.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

The P3 4K took a quick swim in salt water by previous owner.I got it as a fixer.
Is it worth getting a replacement ESC board from China ? Do they work ? Or am I likely to run into further problems ??

It shows solid red and slow flashing geen.Motors wont start.
Should I just keep it for parts and buy a good one ?

This is my first start into the drone world and I like the Phantom series over the new stuff , especially for the price.They still seem great value for the money if I can get a good one.

View attachment 116188
View attachment 116189

Ok front lights are always red,slow flashing green is GPS and ready to go,,did you get any book with it,,it should have come with quick start guide,,,,are you trying to start correct way....

 

[Alan Russel]

On a positive ,a bath is better than a ditch in salt water..least you have a phantom.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Water isn’t your problem, the salt is. Don’t invest much into it. I wouldn’t invest anything into it. I had a P3 in water one time for over an hour and after drying it out it flew great. Another time with the same P3 it was under water for 3 days. I didn’t give it any hope and bought a P4. After a year I got a battery for a P3 and it powered up. What a surprise. Again water isn’t your problem.

 

[KachemakDiver]

Ya, it’s like getting your truck stuck on the beach below high tide line and then after it soaks for a one tide change, drag the truck out and hose it off. In a couple weeks start it up and see how far you can drive it. Don’t forget to bring your wallet for the tow truck driver!

 

[headonz]

Hi ,
Thank you to every one for your reply's , I have dug deeper and found salt crud under the GPS metal cap plates.Have washed and scrubbed and now all looks clean.
The DJI app was giving me 'GPS not connected' sign when trying to power her up.
Every other function seems be functioning.Camera ,gimbal all good.
Have solid reds front and slow double green at rear.
Does everything but power up the motors at this stage.

Just to check ,which way up is for the GPS ,hard to find image anywhere ?

 

[tunadoctor]

The good news is that you are learning to work with the drone under the hood. I wouldn’t invest much money into it. Salt water is a killer of electronics.

 

[headonz]

Its all back together and all systems are go except take off lol. 'GPS unconnected' message pops up when I try to start the engines.

Would the drone normally fly without the gps or is this a definate non starter ?

 

[WV. Rootman]

Just switch it out of GPS mode. I have had to do that to take off in a canyon.

 

[headonz]

How would I do that ?

 

[RodPad]

I think he means switch it to ATTI on the remote?

But, I'm sure you can start the motors no matter what the remote setting is, of coarse not auto take off.

But #2,
'GPS unconnected' could be different then no GPS signal, when starting the motors?

Anybody else got some thoughts?


Rod

 

[KachemakDiver]

I agree with RodPad!
Awhile back, I was working on a esc board and went to start the motors without the top shell on. Being the gps module is on the top shell, I had it disconnected. The screen showed GPS disconnected and the motors would not start. Plug in the GPS to the esc board and all worked good.

 

[headonz]

Orderd used G434 module.I will update if it works.

 

[KachemakDiver]

?. Please do!

 

[headonz]

UPDATE .................
Found used GPS unit G434 , same for standard and 4K .
Plugged in and now all systems working ,ready for take off.Just fit props and go.

The previous owner had washed the board well but had not taken the GPS unit apart.
You need to flick off the stainless caps and wash under ect.

One motor sounds a little noisy ,probably replace.

The body shell is very second hand looking now so will look at replacing those.

Are the body shells the same for all models ?? I see many for sale but non stated for P3 4K ??

May just use this drone for those dangerous high risk missions as if lost/crashed not out much $$$$$$

 

[KachemakDiver]

???

 

[KachemakDiver]

Don’t hold me to it, but I think that the shells of a P3 Standard is the same for a P3 4K.