Aj637
 lvl.1
Flight distance : 54544 ft
United States
Offline
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8 months ago, while in Hawai'i, I sadly learned about this issue with my remote controller. Today, after giving it a shot to "reflow" as suggested from all the awesome users who posted about this and having success, I have a 100% battery reading on the RC, all 4 lights working and a flying Phantom 4 drone instead of a huge paper weight. Here is the video referred to for disassembly which was very helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxxkLe9eCT69HHlT-BnnAug
I used the exact same heat gun from Harbor Freight as Proudsuperior used above at the low setting which is said to be around 500+ degrees. I tried a couple times yesterday, heating areas by the charging port and battery connection for a minute hear and there but it didn't give me any results when I connected the charger. I just got one blinking light but I decided to leave it connected overnight. I woke up to the same RC, low battery warning when I turned it on. I almost gave in to purchasing a new one or a used one off of craigslist, but I figured to go for broke and heat it up again....I read that Proudsuperior focused the heat on the tiny (probably the smallest chip on the board) black chip with 8 silver connectors on the right of the last LED. I attached a pic of the location but the chip is on the other side of the board. Using the same foil method to focus the heat, I was about a 1/2 inch away from the chip for about a minute. I let it cool then plugged the charger in again and it actually worked yo! ALL 4 LEDs started blinking in sequence. I even melted the battery connector a little on the circuit board but I was still able to connect the battery to it. After putting it all back together, I let it charge again. BUT, after a couple minutes, the lights stopped. I thought it was a tease. I quickly disconnected the RC from the charger and turned on the RC. Again, all 4 lights popped on. It was already fully charged from being plugged in all night. I took the drone for a test flight, being that it was almost 8 months ago since the last flight, I got a warning that firmware was out of date. I disregarded the update and it flew perfectly. I may be missing some new features from the newest firmware but hearing about issues after updates is making me question updating it right now. "If it aint broke, don't fix it" right. Anyways, thank you soo much everyone for all the reviews and comments that help solve this terrible issue that seems to be ignored by DJI, by not issuing a recall. ALSO, I honestly feel that my RC did not charge fully from the day I bought it because when I charged it for the first time the fourth light seemed to be dim, but I just thought it was the light. It might have seem dim only because light from the 3rd light was hitting it and it was actually not on at all...SHM I wish I new about this issue then.
AGAIN, MUCH THANKS TO TRAVEL|PHOTO|FILM, PROUDSUPERIOR, AND RAINER1 AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO GETTING THIS FIX. Following the above information and video, any phantom 4 owner can fix their controller instead of sending it in.
Tools used were as recommended or used above:
Harbor Freight heat gun with foil https://www.harborfreight.com/15 ... 572-1112-96289.html
T-6 bit screwdriver for small plastic cover of USB
Skinny phillips screwdriver for 4 screws under rubber paddings that hold the body together and inside screws that hold the 2 circuit boards
Tweezers to pull black tabs/tape
I also used a dental pick to lift up on the tiny black plastic tabs that lock the black tabs/tape

Aj
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