phantom 4 pro - phantom 4 pro V 2 repair advice

adidrone · Mar 12, 2021

Hi, I am writing here hoping that someone who has experience repairing phantom drones could give me an advice:

I had crashed a phantom 4 pro drone and it is quite damaged:

- one of the drone arm bent so at least the upper shell should be replaced
- both skid landing suports are broken and dettatched from the drone so new replacement for the landing suport is necesary
- camera rippen of and dettatched from the drone so yaw arm replacement and wire replacement necesary
- one of the proppeller motors is stuck (cannot be freely spin by hand more than 1 or 2 degree angle) so new motor for replacemet needed

In order to save the situation, I found on sale another damaged drone this time a phantom 4 pro V2 drone wich has no camera (was rippen of during the impact with a building and coudn`t be found). This drone has the landing suports in good shape, the shell is not bent, and look as a good one to put the camera from my phantom 4 pro drone and to have a good functioning drone.

The only concern with the phantom 4 pro V2 drone is that at start it shows ESC error instead GPS signal ok
Also, when you try to start it, only 2 of the 4 motors spin and on the display shows the error: " Takeoff error. Check the motors and propellers"
You can see a videoclip with tis phantom 4 pro V 2 here:
Can I take parts from my phantom 4 pro and replace on phantom 4 pro V2 to make a good fliyng drone ? I mean propeller motors, the camera. Are these spares compatible between these 2 drones ? (I know that the remote controls are not interchangable, but this is not an isue as the seller stil has the remote controll)

I attached photos with my phantom 4 pro damaged drone

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Starz · Mar 13, 2021

There are parts of these two ac that are interchangeable. Based on your descriptions, repair may not be worth your time. The V2, if it truly is a V2, sounds like a good candidate for a wall hanger. Based on your pictures, even your P4P would be questionable for repair. The damaged pieces can be replaced, but still a lot of hardware inside that may be damaged also. Hope you get it solved!

jephoto · Mar 13, 2021

don't know if you want to spend it, but I've had a few major crashes over the years, and I always send mine to Camrise (Formerly STC Electronics) in NYC.

Camrise DJI Drones Service, Drone Accessories & Parts, Drones For Sale

Professional DJI drone service, drone accessories & parts, cameras & stabilization systems. DJI premier authorized sales & service center based in NYC.

djinyc.com

They have always done a great job for me. I pay for it, but $700 beats $1500 for a new one every day. And that's about a $700 repair there - unless you have a working camera & gimbal there to give them. Might take some off.

my last crash I was flying inside a church (they asked me...) and was doing just fine, getting some real nice video clips. But I forgot to put it in Tripod mode and was doing a dolly shot from the front to the back - and didn't stop in time & hit the stone wall, and fell 12-15' to the very hard marble floor.
Still hurts to think about it.
Anyway, they fixed it. New shell, new camera & gimbal, legs, few other items. But I got my drone back - not a refurb off the shelf with someone else's problems.
That was Sept. 2019.
This is from this morning. Still kicking....

Now its possible that with the spare parts from the 2 drones you have, it could save you some of that. Don't know. But I bet they would work with you. With a try.

Starz · Mar 13, 2021

Ehlert said:
What did you do? A crash of this magnitude is inexcusable. Sounds like you trashed your perfectly good drone and ruined it. Good job Sherlock.

Some of us aren’t perfect.

jephoto · Mar 13, 2021

Ehlert said:
What did you do? (Reply removed by moderator)

When I started flying in 2014, I talked to a local guy who did Real Estate work, DSLR and Drone. And his stuff is excellent. In high demand with high end realtors. And a very careful guy.
He told me at the time "If you fly , eventually you will crash. Count on it"

And he was right. I am pretty careful. I don't hot dog. Don't speed race.
Don't try to go miles away. I do my art, do my jobs. Try not to have my drone hurt anyone. I treat my drone like my other equipment - its a $1500 camera, that flys. And could do a lot of damage if Im not careful.
But if you fly enough, eventually you WILL crash. Your fault or not.

And its really a drag to hear you say such mean petty crap to someone who's just had an accident.
Says more about you than him.....

adidrone · Mar 13, 2021

My only excuse for this accident is that I am a beginner with drones, so no much experience in the field.
Also a big mistake was that after a few flights on flat terain, I gain so much confidence that I swithced to sport mode and this was fatal on slopy terain where the accident happend.

jephoto, thank you for your advice with the Camrise service, but this would very expensive for me as I am located in Europe. No to many DJI services here unfortunately, only local geeks who are fond in electronics repair these drones.

jephoto · Mar 13, 2021

Ah. Good luck with that. Sorry about your mishap. Beginners aren’t the only ones who crash...
But, sport mode does take some experience.

Droneted · Apr 5, 2021

I have been at this for a few years now. I get lots of crashed drones for repair. It just happens and sometimes there is a reason and sometimes shite happens.
If I had the p4p v2 in front of me I would open it up and check the thin ribbon cables on the side where the 2 motors show esc errors. 2 and 4 or 1 and 3. You can buy a cable kit for very little money. If they are ok check the leads to the motors. That is a very nice drone. well worth repairing if it is just motors or the cables. I have seen a lot of ripped ribbon cables after a crash. I assume it also needs a shell. If you try to replace it yourself, DO NOT Cut and splice the motor leads. You have to un solder them from the esc boards. You will need a good soldering station and not a cheap soldering gun. If you like I can advise you as you work on it. I am just sitting here with nothing else to do.

DaShu · Apr 12, 2021

adidrone said:
Hi, I am writing here hoping that someone who has experience repairing phantom drones could give me an advice:

I had crashed a phantom 4 pro drone and it is quite damaged:

- one of the drone arm bent so at least the upper shell should be replaced
- both skid landing suports are broken and dettatched from the drone so new replacement for the landing suport is necesary
- camera rippen of and dettatched from the drone so yaw arm replacement and wire replacement necesary
- one of the proppeller motors is stuck (cannot be freely spin by hand more than 1 or 2 degree angle) so new motor for replacemet needed

In order to save the situation, I found on sale another damaged drone this time a phantom 4 pro V2 drone wich has no camera (was rippen of during the impact with a building and coudn`t be found). This drone has the landing suports in good shape, the shell is not bent, and look as a good one to put the camera from my phantom 4 pro drone and to have a good functioning drone.

The only concern with the phantom 4 pro V2 drone is that at start it shows ESC error instead GPS signal ok
Also, when you try to start it, only 2 of the 4 motors spin and on the display shows the error: " Takeoff error. Check the motors and propellers"
You can see a videoclip with tis phantom 4 pro V 2 here:

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Can I take parts from my phantom 4 pro and replace on phantom 4 pro V2 to make a good fliyng drone ? I mean propeller motors, the camera. Are these spares compatible between these 2 drones ? (I know that the remote controls are not interchangable, but this is not an isue as the seller stil has the remote controll)

I attached photos with my phantom 4 pro damaged drone

Thank you in advance for your answers.

If you haven't resolved your issues yet, hit up "DroneTed"...very reliable and trustworthy. He fixed my gimbal assembly.

Droneted · Apr 12, 2021

The v2 is a different bird. Takes a different controller and the parts are not interchangeable for the most part.

Droneted · Apr 16, 2021

yes props, the gimbal and even the body are the same. The legs are different. The main board and most electronics are different

Droneted · Apr 16, 2021

I watched the video and I suspect the small ribbon cable on the side where the motors don't work, are ripped. They are very thin. A cable kit is very cheap.You have to open it up to check all the cables.

adidrone · Apr 19, 2021

Hi again, I have searched for spares for repair the drone and I found an official dji web page pricing the spares: DJI
Do you have an ideea if I can buy spares from them ?

adidrone · Apr 19, 2021

Droneted said:
I watched the video and I suspect the small ribbon cable on the side where the motors don't work, are ripped. They are very thin. A cable kit is very cheap.You have to open it up to check all the cables.

Hi Droneted, I come back after a while and I want to take it seriously trying to repair the damaged drone. Can I have your contact email in order to ask you for advices if your`re still available to help me ? Thank you

Droneted · Apr 19, 2021

Of course. It is easier to email photos etc.
[email protected].
I am actually working on a p4p v 2.0
Right now. Replacing cables etc. we can do them together.

adidrone · Apr 19, 2021

Droneted said:
Of course. It is easier to email photos etc.
[email protected].
I am actually working on a p4p v 2.0
Right now. Replacing cables etc. we can do them together.

Thanks a lot; I have first to buy the broken parts IE: yaw arm, ribbon camera cable, motor, shell and I hope it will not take long to arrive

Droneted · Apr 19, 2021

When repairing the gimbal do not throw away anything.

adidrone · Apr 19, 2021

Ok, that`s good to know, thank you. Where do you buy your spares for repair ? I mean for example the yaw arm or ribbon cable for camera, or even the upper or bottom shell. I found an official DJI link with a list of prices for all the drones component but I don`t know if I can buy it. The link is: DJI

Droneted · Apr 20, 2021

I buy most of it on ebay. Most comes from China and I buy several at a time. If I were you I would try to find US suppliers. Saves time but costs more. Only buy OEM DJI ribbon cables for the gimbal.most motors are used so check them carefully. You can get the drone body on eBay or Amazon. Replacing the body takes some skill.

adidrone · Apr 29, 2021

Droneted said:
I buy most of it on ebay. Most comes from China and I buy several at a time. If I were you I would try to find US suppliers. Saves time but costs more. Only buy OEM DJI ribbon cables for the gimbal.most motors are used so check them carefully. You can get the drone body on eBay or Amazon. Replacing the body takes some skill.

Hi, I am looking for spares now to buy from Aliexpress or Ebay. Also I have a local suplier here in my country who takes peices from damaged drones and he told me that for my model (phantom 4 pro) there are 3 versions for propeller motors. Is this true ? I send him pictures with my motors and he told me my drone has the most expensive motor version which are also on phantom 4 pro V2. If this is true, how can I tell which propeller motor is the one I need for my drone?