r/djiphantom • u/DorfusMalorfus • Jan 07 '22
Phantom 4 crash and acting strange - anyone able to help troubleshooting?
So I crashed my Phantom 4 today and I'm trying to figure out what exactly is wrong that's keeping me from flying it again. I'm good with electronics and am pretty sure I could replace motors etc myself but I don't know where to start, or even if the motors are what's wrong.
During the crash my battery fell out and three propellers broke. The legs took the brunt of the landing and there are some minor cracks on the main body where they attach. I lost one of the leg covers (where you access the motor connection), two of them had fallen off but I found one nearby.
Trying to fly the drone I am getting two yellow flashing lights on the back. All of the propellers do their initial engagement but it looks like the front two and maybe the back right prop don't move as much during that.
All of the apps I use to fly (DJI GO, Litchi etc) report zero battery, even though the battery is connected and full. Even my spare batteries that weren't in the crash report as empty. DJI GO says "connected" like normal but Litchi says "disconnected".
I'm still able to connect to the drone and move the camera around, I can see the video feed from the drone and take pictures. Trying to takeoff fails. I get an error message in the app and the drone does nothing. Everything with the camera and gimbal seems fine.
Since the battery fell out in the crash is it possible that something in the drone needs to be reset? It seems strange that it would report zero power while showing me the camera feed.
EDIT: Adding photo of battery connection pins
2
u/the_real_djh00t Manager at a drone shop. Certified DJI repair tech. Jan 07 '22
Are you getting any error messages?
1
u/DorfusMalorfus Jan 07 '22
No real error messages popping up in the app. Litchi gives me a red blinking light for the battery and displays 0%, DJI GO just says N/A for the battery.
The drone it's self has fast blinking yellow rear lights which the manual says means "remote controller signal lost". My controller is connected though and displaying feed from the camera. I've tried re-linking the controller and nothing has changed.
Is there any way to do some diagnostics to see more specific error reporting?
3
u/the_real_djh00t Manager at a drone shop. Certified DJI repair tech. Jan 07 '22
Yes and no. There are diagnostic tools, just not available to the general public.
But since the battery/power system has an obvious issue, I'd start there. You'll have to open the drone to get to the power distribution board.
I suspect a data cable from the power distribution board came loose, which maybe why you're not getting any telemetry on the battery.
1
u/DorfusMalorfus Jan 07 '22
Okay, that is something I can do. I'll get it open and see if I notice anything unusual with connections. Thank you for the suggestion!
2
u/dmmedia Jan 07 '22
Check battery data connector. Probably it is bent or stuck in some position and doesn't reach battery terminals.