PHANTOM 4 trouble

bullerman1946 · Jun 6, 2020

Having trouble with my Phantom four standard. Battery won't charge up al the way on the controller. I flowed the board and it helped . Would charge to 95 % or so but now it's back to charging up to 60%.
Also.when flying if I am up 150 or so when I start coming down it doesn't want to stop like it should. Then after I do stop it it might rise on it's own. Flies good other than that. I was thinking about sending it back to dji and let then go over it. Was wondering about their charges and how long it takes. Do they send you a estimate or something after they get it or how does it work. Any information appreciated.

PhantomWetSuits · Jun 6, 2020

bullerman1946 said:
Having trouble with my Phantom four standard. Battery won't charge up al the way on the controller. I flowed the board and it helped . Would charge to 95 % or so but now it's back to charging up to 60%.
Also.when flying if I am up 150 or so when I start coming down it doesn't want to stop like it should. Then after I do stop it it might rise on it's own. Flies good other than that. I was thinking about sending it back to dji and let then go over it. Was wondering about their charges and how long it takes. Do they send you a estimate or something after they get it or how does it work. Any information appreciated.

Before you do that, you might want to just try a new fresh updated battery .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Phantom in the Rain.

bullerman1946 · Jun 6, 2020

I did put a new battery in it to start with. I thought that's what it was but it still did the same thing. That was before I read about reflowing the board so I am pretty sure that's not what it is. I just don't want to send it back to dji and spend more than what it's worth.

bullerman1946 · Jun 6, 2020

I did put a new battery in it to start. Didn't do any good
Still wouldn't take a good charge. I thought I might send it back and let them fix it if it's reasonable.

Dennis Frantz · Jun 7, 2020

bullerman1946 said:
I did put a new battery in it to start. Didn't do any good
Still wouldn't take a good charge. I thought I might send it back and let them fix it if it's reasonable.

I have exactly the same issue. Please let me know if you solve it. Thanks

Jan Verkooijen · Jun 8, 2020

Dennis Frantz said:
I have exactly the same issue. Please let me know if you solve it. Thanks

Jan Verkooijen · Jun 8, 2020

Same problem here since few weeks. Charges only to 2 lights an I can fly only about 10 minutes until it,starts bleeping at me.

Capt KO · Jun 8, 2020

Others here have sent there remotes to DJI for charge problems. Most repaired for under $100. Worth a ticket to try. Some get a New remote return/replacement too. Open a repair ticket with DJI. They send a shipping label and instructions. Frt included.

The P4 sounds like the bottom sensors are blocked. Are you using a gimble guard underneath? It would explain your up/down flight problems. If not, turn the sensors off and retry.

bullerman1946 · Jun 10, 2020

Yes it does have a gimble guard on it. I can take it off and try it and see if that helps. Don't know about the charging part.

Capt KO · Jun 10, 2020

bullerman1946 said:
Yes it does have a gimble guard on it. I can take it off and try it and see if that helps. Don't know about the charging part.

That will solve the flight problems. Very few guards are narrow enough to Not block the landing sensors. Up, up and away!
Still think DJI is best for the remote. Fast turnaround. Should be under $100.
Good luck.

bullerman1946 · Jun 11, 2020

I will do that. THanks for the information.

toddff · Jun 11, 2020

I reflowed it again, and now it is fine....again. It just maybe it didn’t getting fully reflowed. This time I concentrated on the little resistor to the right of 4 lights. That seems to be the trick. The first time I did I was kinda all over in one area. But that little resistor I think was the trick. One video on you tube shows that area. Another shows doing it in a bigger area.

Brockrock · Jun 11, 2020

toddff said:
I reflowed it again, and now it is fine....again. It just maybe it didn’t getting fully reflowed. This time I concentrated on the little resistor to the right of 4 lights. That seems to be the trick. The first time I did I was kinda all over in one area. But that little resistor I think was the trick. One video on you tube shows that area. Another shows doing it in a bigger area.

The issue will likely return. I did the same thing with my original RC - reflowing the main board twice thinking I fixed it, but the problem returned both times. I then gave up and bought a new RC on Ebay for $200. If I did it over again, I'd just send it to DJI for repair. Probably the cheapest option. Hopefully you got lucky the second time though...

bullerman1946 · Jun 15, 2020

Can I buy a new Rc for 200 form DJI? If I send it back to them do I call them first and tell them what the problem is. Anybody got any idea what the turnaround time would be. I am not flying much but I don't want it gone for months.
I agree it certainly is not a toy.

Capt KO · Jun 15, 2020

bullerman1946 said:
Can I buy a new Rc for 200 form DJI? If I send it back to them do I call them first and tell them what the problem is. Anybody got any idea what the turnaround time would be. I am not flying much but I don't want it gone for months.
I agree it certainly is not a toy.

Call DJI customer support and open a repair ticket. They will discuss the problem but no advice. Might have to be on hold, but worth it. Turn around could be as little as a week, all depends. They pay both ways.

Brockrock · Jun 15, 2020

bullerman1946 said:
Can I buy a new Rc for 200 form DJI? If I send it back to them do I call them first and tell them what the problem is. Anybody got any idea what the turnaround time would be. I am not flying much but I don't want it gone for months.
I agree it certainly is not a toy.

I just bought my new one on EBay for $200. I don’t think DJI even sells them anymore, but you may end up with a new one or like new if you send yours in.

bdooley · Jun 18, 2020

What do you mean by flowing the board? Never heard of that.

bullerman1946 · Jun 23, 2020

Sorry I haven't answered back. You take the controller apart and put heat with a heat gun on the board. There is a video on you you tube about it.

bullerman1946 · Jun 23, 2020

My controller has never beeped while I am flying. At what point does it start beeping and how long do you have to get back home. I have flew to down to like 40 % I think. Will it automatically return when the battery gets to low.

Jan Verkooijen · Jul 6, 2020

Capt KO said:
Others here have sent there remotes to DJI for charge problems. Most repaired for under $100. Worth a ticket to try. Some get a New remote return/replacement too. Open a repair ticket with DJI. They send a shipping label and instructions. Frt included.

The P4 sounds like the bottom sensors are blocked. Are you using a gimble guard underneath? It would explain your up/down flight problems. If not, turn the sensors off and retry.

Capt KO said:
Call DJI customer support and open a repair ticket. They will discuss the problem but no advice. Might have to be on hold, but worth it. Turn around could be as little as a week, all depends. They pay both ways.

I sent my RC to DJI support. As it was no longer under guarantee I had to pay for shipping and an investigation fee. Also they found "microcracking" in the body of the RC. An excuse for having me pay another 10 Euros or so. The charging problem they took on their account, so that must be a build fault. Anyway, I received a, as far as I can conclude brand new RC for under 100 Euros. . Glad I followed the advice to send it to DJI.

Jan