Dissecting DJI phantom 3 remote repair

[@barfonne]

Thanks for the vid. It helped me take mine apart. Now I am in it I've found that I don't have a bettery charging problem. The battery is just fine. Terminal voltage was 8.22V and if I connect the charger it rises to 8.39V so it's charging but the battery monitor is saying the battery is flat. When it's on charge I only get 2 leds max and when it starts beeping the battery is at 8.3V. Comments on your video. The volt meter shows a bar before the reading which is actually a minus sign, connect the + probe from the meter to red wire on the battery and the - probe to the black wire and the bar will go away. . The two red wires from the battery are joined together at the battery as are the two black wires. Most likely done like that because a single wire of that gauge will not carry the required current .

[@BBCOutdoors313]

Good video for any one just wanting a good look inside their remotes too. For any future projects

[@Nipuna_Galhenage]

Does the charger output to controller is 17.4V?

[@TRAW94]

Where would I find the lipo battery for the remote control?

[@BBCOutdoors313]

Maybe ebay but make sure you get the same four wire plug, most 2s batteries would be three wire. Might get in touch with DJI but good luck with that though. Great drones but pitiful customer service

[@solentlifeuk]

The 4 wire plug is actually a 3S (3 cell) balance plug but wired to the 2S pack. With a standard multimeter you can identify which is which.

[@whosatube2008]

Hello, 
 Could anyone please tell me what the part is called with the camera tilt wheel and the small ribbon with number 2 on it inside my DJI Phantom 3 advanced controller? I have broken the ribbon while removing the old antennas and I assume I now need replacement wheel and ribbon as a one piece. 
 Hope you can help

[@newharishkala2370]

You have saved me a lot of time and effort. I have the same issue and was going to do exactly what you just did. Any more ideas anyone?

[@BBCOutdoors313]

+Newharish Kala After some more experimenting I dont believe the battery was bad I bought another remote and with my fingers crossed I purposely let it die to see if it would recharge and it did. so after all the testing I think there was something in the remote that made the battery critically low and I dont think it was from me leaving it on. However I am much more cautious now about leaving it on. Im glad the video saved you some frustration

[@newharishkala2370]

+BBC Outdoors Mostly RC I took apart the battery as it was impossible to find the exact same battery. It has an electronic board between the cable connector and the battery. Possibly for balancing etc. One of the packs was oozing white toothpaste like stuff which was probably the fault. I have ordered 2 x 3.7v standard Lipo from eBay and I hope to just replace the actual cells. I will let you know how it goes.

[@BBCOutdoors313]

+Newharish Kala Please do. I am curious to how that idea turns out. I ended up buying a new remote but now my video signal is much weaker then it was before. If I could get the old remote to work again I would go back to that. For some reason it had a much stronger signal.

[@WilliamLevasseur]

I wrote my previous comment before reading this... so... I was right I guess... I would advise you AGAINST doing what you are proposing. Without that protection circuit, if you plug in a regular lipo, you are going to get FIRE! The remote won't charge it, it will probably just dump 12V into the cells until they burst.

[@newharishkala2370]

Hi there, just letting you know that it worked. I got the cells last week and I soldered them on over the long weekend. It is working like new so far. I removed the old cells and soldered the new ones to the chip, plugged it in and it just worked. Hopefully this will save someone a lot of hassle and money. Cheers!

[@1amarAmar]

Can I increase the plane's range?

[@nenolima5595]

my phantom 3 pro just arrived but the image signal in the liveview is freezen with different color. the place we connect the usb cable is warming up so much. DO you think to warm up like this is normal? or the image problem in my mobile is coming from this part of remote control? another think that can be the cause of the problem maybe is the board in the gimbal. what do you think dude? thanks

[@suadqorraj8548]

i hit my antena with a ball ( phantom 3 standart ) and now the thing is loose i think. should i open it

[@BBCOutdoors313]

If you feel comfortable with it. I was trying to remember but i dont think there is way to tighten them. but you could replace it pretty easy

[@TheBjornarv]

Any update on this? My battery wouldnt charge. Same problem. Bought a new one, Gens Ace 3500mah 7,4, soildered it on. Gave me 50% battery. Bought a new battery, the 5000mah, still 50% battery is the maximum juice after charging it... want it to go to 100%.

[@BBCOutdoors313]

There are a couple of different helpful comments that folks have posted on here but I just replaced the remote when it was all said and done.

[@stubaby777]

lol sizzle and POP im suprised the lipo didnt spark when you touched the wires togethere earlier in the vid

[@BBCOutdoors313]

+Stuart Tanguy no it was completely dead, but I dont think it was just the battery. something just isnt adding up and im not sure what

[@WilliamLevasseur]

The only reason it would not spark is if there is a protection circuit on the lipo. Four wires for a 2S is weird. I would hypothesise that those 2 black and 2 red leads are not connected directly to the cells, but rather to a circuit... In fact, I believe I can see that the top of the battery is square shaped, as if there is a board there under the wrap. So the problem might not even be with the cells, but with that circuit. That would also explain why it didn't spark when you touched the wires and why it won't charge on your lipo charger. That also means it's going to be hard to replace that battery without an original part.

[@MeandMrsJones]

William Levasseur actually if you solder a 2S battery into a Phantom 3 advanced/professional or Phantom 4 controller it will work. Just mate red to red and black to black. The balance board will be loose.

[@NoahBeez]

Ok, can you show us a 2S battery with the right specs (and dimensions to fit the case) that has a 4 wire connection?

[@aminphoonix9481]

thanks for video why you say Lipo ?!?!?!? it's lithium ion battery i have problem with phantome 4 remote control , the controller won't fully charge. but charger charge drone battery . charger output voltage is correct. you think battery is problem? I find replacement battery in Iran

[@BBCOutdoors313]

my bad its more of a habbit. The majority of all my batteries are lipo. mine ended up being the battery. I found a used remote on ebay cheaper than I could find a battery at the time but the phantom 3 stuff has come way down in price. I have the 4 now and knock on wood no problems so far.

[@solentlifeuk]

LiPo is a Lithium Ion battery with Polymer .....

[@erico7797]

I have the exact same problem. Barely flown and had to have it repaired once. The warranty is up so I'm trying to do it myself now.

[@isaiahschenk6064]

try plug in the battery when you have the charger connected mine does the same thing the problem is the mother board where you hook up your phone to that needs replacing

[@southparkchef5942]

how do you remove it I dont have 3 screws on the sides to open

[@BBCOutdoors313]

The screws should be under the rubber pads you will need to remove the pads from the sticky back stuff.

[@ThaKennster]

I didn't read all the comments and I'm sorry If I'm repeating an answer someone already gave , but my controller had this same issue also and I was able to resolve it . If your controller will not charge and it will also not power on at all (completely non responsive ) what I had to do was drain the battery COMPLETELY out and then it would allow it to charge after that . There is an easy way to tell if this is the problem your controller is having. Go into your phone (or whatever you are using as your monitor) and go into your wifi setting. Search for wifi sources...is your phantom showing up in the list ? DING DING! This is the problem . Despite your controller being dead it is still sending out a wifi signal . I believe this is confusing the controller Into thinking that it is still on. What you need to do is connect your phone or tablet to this wifi sent out by your drone controller. Once connected it will begin using up any remaining battery power. Once the wifi source disappears on your phone or tablet, that means the controller is now officially completely drained of power. You should now be able to charge it again. This has happened two times now to my controller and this is the only way I could resolve it. It takes a long time to drain it out but once I did it the first time it didn't do this again for a very long time ( 8-10 months)

[@BBCOutdoors313]

Thank you, Im sure a few folks on here will find that very helpful.

[@KevinStewart7]

Where can I buy replacement battery?

[@BBCOutdoors313]

Maybe batteries plus and if not there I would see if you could get in touch with DJI, But there not known for their customer service

[@SKANDALO7]

I have the same problem and i send the control back and they say nothing was wrong but that happened again and im going to send the RC back and see what happend

[@BBCOutdoors313]

Let us know what they end up finding out. Thanks for the comment and for watching

[@ericgorospe4582]

Worst thing todo is leaving it on. DJI charger rated at 17.5v. RC 7.4. Lipo. My guess it a cell lipo. Max voltage is 4.2v per cell. You leaving it on drained the cell below 3.0v. Maybe 2v. Once it happen you know lipo they don't take a charge. You tried reviving tham by using your NiMh charger, but at 1amp you are maybe stong at 1 amp. You should try one cell at a time at .5a, babysittin it every 30sec. and rest 30sec. Once voltage at 3v, it'll start taking a charge. But still playing the dice. Once you see 4.2v per cell you're full charged

[@BBCOutdoors313]

+Eric Gorospe You would think for what these cost DJI could put a lipo low voltage cut off in them like we have in our cars. I can t be the first person to have left one on. I think if I hadnt gone a 2 week without flying it and checked on it sooner it may have been ok.

[@ericgorospe4582]

Yeah! I'm a rookie also, just have my P3Pro 4 months. 2 flights of practicing my landing, one video around my neighborhood. Battery we only have the LED on RC. If left on RC start to beep continuously after I think 3 minutes left on. My beef is upgrades. After purchase it, 2 upgrade of Ver1.07, aircraft upgade well, but RC didn't. Started beepn after 15sec, saying it not communicating with drone, and no video. After a few DJI support email, 3 different guys said the same thing of watch tutorial. ended up taking to local DJI Rep. worked fine after $90 charge. and a week in the shop. For days later upgrade for Ver 1.08. YESTERDAY!!!! No Video and Beeps continuously after 15 sec. Only to watch for RC battery life are LED & on your Smartphone or tablet on the upper rt corner, set up to monitor volage not only %'s.

[@BBCOutdoors313]

+Eric Gorospe Sorry to hear about your upgrade man. Mine has been yelling at me to update too and now Im afraid to do anything to it. I was thinking about upgrading the phantom 4 But Ive been hearing problems about them too.

[@ericgorospe4582]

+BBC Outdoors Mostly RC After I upgraded v1.7, lost video communication. Brought it to local Drone Shop that does DJI Manufacture. Took a week at $90. It was fine. 3 days later, upgrade of v1.8 came out, did the same thing. 3 weeks went by, I just got it back, Installed my tablet, and no video. Then remembered when using tablet to turn off the WiFi and turn on GPS on Tablet. Thing are normal now. Procedure of upgrades, they change it. dl UPGRADE and install on aircraft, 20 minutes. RC completely different!! Your tablet will show upgrade required. You Upgrade the rc by doing it on APP now!! not by your SD!! Follow the latest KZbin procedure. I don't know why they change it, and didn't tell us!! Shop said it worked for them!! but I didn't know!! P4 They will have problems like P3. I probably wait 6 months before purchasing.

[@artccie]

less overall amp hours 5000 mAh vs 6000 mAh but same # of cells[2S] and voltage 7.4 v, and also the 50C rating [50x5amps=250amp max discharge rate] is more then capable to power this remote

[@NoahBeez]

Ok, but the dimensions look wrong.

[@TheBjornarv]

Noah Buxton it still fits. Even if its a little bit too big

[@marianohernandez198]

the battery did you tried it was 2s or 3s

[@BBCOutdoors313]

it was a 2s battery

[@535wa]

The board that is connected to the battery goes out. Its most likely a buck to 3.3 or 5V. Thats why it wont charge and it wont output any voltage and it drains the battery as well. A quick fix is to cut the barrel plug of the charger and connect a 4S lipo. The remote has another regulator that bucks the voltage to supply the system and another to charge the battery (which in this case will be removed). This is the issue i had with my remote, it started dying from one day to another and wouldn't charge until i unplugged the battery. Then finally the board blew out.

[@georgewheeler158]

will u sale that remote

[@BBCOutdoors313]

I have since upgraded to the phantom 4 so I might be willing to sell it, whats it worth to ya.

[@Silencio2100]

BBC Outdoors Mostly RC you still got it?

[@BBCOutdoors313]

Sorry no, I sold it all with a new remote and upgraded to the Phantom 4

[@BBCOutdoors313]

Sorry sold it with the drone when I upgraded

[@paulantonucci6933]

This guy is all over the place

[@ferdinandjove]

Thanks bro.nice video

[@jackevans2386]

WTF ?? It's too late now but why didn't you just test the LIPO with a damn multimeter ?

[@solentlifeuk]

If you are having recurring problem when only a couple of flights - then I suspect the charger itself. If the charger has failed and the LiPo been reduced to near Zero - then you will not recover the LiPo ....

[@StephenStanforth]

I am having the same issue with my RC .... guess I am going to have to send it in.

[@BBCOutdoors313]

+Stephen Stanforth Let us know what they say when you send it in.

[@StephenStanforth]

DJI didn't give me a reason. Today, I just received a brand new in box RC, no explanation. Not complaining, but would have liked to know. So I guess the will just replace no questions asked.

[@BBCOutdoors313]

+Stephen Stanforth im sure they wouldn't take mine back now that it's been opened. I already bought a new one anyway but a spare would have been nice. Oh well curiosity got me again. I just can't leave stuff alone lol

[@southparkchef5942]

I removed the pads I found out its because I have the gl300B model instead of A thank you though

[@artccie]

Did you try and order a new battery? equivalent model is found here: www.ebay.com/itm/Gens-Ace-2S-5000mAh-7-4V-50C-2S1P-HardCase-Lipo-Battery-with-Deans-Plug-/131920567956?hash=item1eb7141e94:g:bQkAAOSw44BYYDUG

[@BBCOutdoors313]

thats still only a 3 wire 2 cell it takes a 4 wire. I have already upgraded since this video, But im still curious to wery one comes up with. In the end I found a good deal on a new remote and went with that

[@NoahBeez]

Again, the dimensions look wrong. Can anyone find a battery that will work?! The fix is so easy with the right battery! :(

[@georgewheeler158]

would you be interested in darling the hdmi ribbon out of that bad controller

[@BBCOutdoors313]

I have since upgraded to the phantom 4 so I might be willing to sell it, whats it worth to ya.

[@MeandMrsJones]

Red to red, black to black. If you are trying to juice a 2 cell lipo use a micrometer. There are 2S 4K batteries that fit in the case. Jumping black to red is not only ignorant, but foolish.

[@artccie]

Get a free voltmeter from harbor freight and measure the voltages across the pos and neg wires...find the pair that gives you 7.4V and find the inner cells that give you 3.7v. ...that way when you get the replacement you can rewire correctly.. helpful links www.tjinguytech.com/charging-how-tos/balance-connectors rogershobbycenter.com/lipoguide/

[@jeffmorrison579]

when the battery runs down you need to jump start it like a car .

[@ThaKennster]

How exactly do you do this ?

[@davvvvooooo]

Buy a new battery