Howdy all. I'm not here to trash the design of the P4 shell, just to point out we experienced stress cracks in the shell. This bird is flown by a professional pilot with 100's of hours flight time for a areial video business. The P4 is guesstimated to have about 120 flight hours on it. Once the cracks appeared we ordered a new shell and replaced it. Just a heads up!

Brian

That's exactly how mine cracked and some here say I had to have crashed it but I know better. And you do too know don't you.

Sprtbkrydr Posted at 2017-4-5 14:46
That's exactly how mine cracked and some here say I had to have crashed it but I know better. And you do too know don't you.

Sorry to hear the cracks, have you contacted our tech support to help you handle it?

what do dji charge to supply and fit a new shell ?

DJI Natalia Posted at 2017-4-5 23:28
Sorry to hear the cracks, have you contacted our tech support to help you handle it?

Natalia, no we did not. The turnaround time on the shell replacement from DJI would have left us without the phantom for too long. We were able to source a new shell locally and I replaced it. I'm fully expecting the problem to arise again due to the flexible softer bottom half of the shell. It's much softer then the top half which is rigid.

Brian

Jcostello Posted at 2017-4-6 02:08
what do dji charge to supply and fit a new shell ?

Jcostello, Not sure if your question was directed at me, but we paid $65 for the shell and I replaced it myself.  

Sprtbkrydr Posted at 2017-4-5 14:46
That's exactly how mine cracked and some here say I had to have crashed it but I know better. And you do too know don't you.

Sprtbkrydr, having experienced the cracks with the Phantom 3 early last year I cant say I was surprised when the stress cracks showed on the Phantom 4. What really surprised me was the softness in the lower half of the shell. When we bought the replacement and I unboxed it I was stunned it had so much flexibility and play to it.

Brian Liem Posted at 2017-4-6 07:27
Jcostello, Not sure if your question was directed at me, but we paid $65 for the shell and I replaced it myself.

Sorry no i was asking a DJI rep....................thanks

Jcostello Posted at 2017-4-6 10:02
Sorry no i was asking a DJI rep....................thanks

The cost for shell replacements is normally pretty cheap. If the unit wasn't crashed and this occurred pretty quickly, it could potentially be covered under warranty.

Brian Liem,

I have two questions for you:

1- Did you replace both the upper and lower sections of the case or just the bottom section?

2- What was involved in replacing the case?  Specifically, was any soldering required?

Thanks!

Well I replaced mine myself as well so I can tell you that there is soldering involved. You have to un-solder the motor wires from the speed control board.

Sprtbkrydr Posted at 2017-4-6 13:01
Well I replaced mine myself as well so I can tell you that there is soldering involved. You have to un-solder the motor wires from the speed control board.

Soldering is not an issue for me ............. I was just curious. Overall, would you say the shell replacement was an easy and straightforward task?

tvl Posted at 2017-4-6 14:07
Soldering is not an issue for me ............. I was just curious. Overall, would you say the shell replacement was an easy and straightforward task?

Yes. Just take your time and it's not bad at all.

DJI-Jamie Posted at 2017-4-6 12:26
The cost for shell replacements is normally pretty cheap. If the unit wasn't crashed and this occurred pretty quickly, it could potentially be covered under warranty.

Hi jamie can you give me an approx in gbp for an uncrashed one just a supply and fit price as pretty cheap is not really the answer
thanks

tvl Posted at 2017-4-6 14:07
Soldering is not an issue for me ............. I was just curious. Overall, would you say the shell replacement was an easy and straightforward task?

TVL, here is a real good video showing the shell being replaced.

Thanks Sprtbkrydr!

I came across that video last night and saved it. Thanks for the follow-up!

Jcostello Posted at 2017-4-7 10:05
Hi jamie can you give me an approx in gbp for an uncrashed one just a supply and fit price as pretty cheap is not really the answer
thanks

Here is a link for price comparisons:

https://repair.dji.com/en/SelfRepair/PriceQuery

If it was a full hour of work and just the middle shell component, it's somewhere around $73. If there are more components, it can go up from there.

Thanks jamie

TVL, I replaced both upper and lower shells. When you purchase a new one you get both, so it only makes sense to replace both. The replacement as a whole isnt bad if you have some electronic experience and are mechanically inclined. There are four tiny screws that hold brackets in place, one over the antenna connections, the other over plugs. Be careful with these as they are small and just asking to be dropped into a
almost reassembled unit. A good magnetic screwdriver is a good idea with these. Be careful with your antenna wire routing and make sure they are clear of the frame tabs before tightening. you dont want to pinch them. As mentioned, yes there is soldering involved and its fairly easy providing you are decent with a soldering iron. The hardest part is getting the frame in a good position to get at the contacts. Good luck if you decide to do the job yourself.

Brian Liem Posted at 2017-4-10 14:52
TVL, I replaced both upper and lower shells. When you purchase a new one you get both, so it only makes sense to replace both. The replacement as a whole isnt bad if you have some electronic experience and are mechanically inclined. There are four tiny screws that hold brackets in place, one over the antenna connections, the other over plugs. Be careful with these as they are small and just asking to be dropped into a
almost reassembled unit. A good magnetic screwdriver is a good idea with these. Be careful with your antenna wire routing and make sure they are clear of the frame tabs before tightening. you dont want to pinch them. As mentioned, yes there is soldering involved and its fairly easy providing you are decent with a soldering iron. The hardest part is getting the frame in a good position to get at the contacts. Good luck if you decide to do the job yourself.

Brian, I made the mistake of cutting the motor wires and after I spent two days scraping wires and getting them back together I ended up with an "ESC Error on motor 4"! Had to buy all new motors and resolder them back to the SC board. I learned my lesson on that one. Guys DO NOT cut the motor wires!! Unsolder them from the speed control board. You will save yourself a lot of time and trouble as well as a few bucks.

Sprtbkrydr Posted at 2017-4-10 15:14
Brian, I made the mistake of cutting the motor wires and after I spent two days scraping wires and getting them back together I ended up with an "ESC Error on motor 4"! Had to buy all new motors and resolder them back to the SC board. I learned my lesson on that one. Guys DO NOT cut the motor wires!! Unsolder them from the speed control board. You will save yourself a lot of time and trouble as well as a few bucks.

Sprtbkrydr,

If I ever need to replace the shell covers, I will certainly unsolder and solder at the speed control board as that would certainly be the "cleanest" method. However, I would not have suspected that cutting the motor leads and splicing would have introduced an issue. I'm curious if you know why this occurred???

tvl Posted at 2017-4-10 18:13
Sprtbkrydr,

If I ever need to replace the shell covers, I will certainly unsolder and solder at the speed control board as that would certainly be the "cleanest" method. However, I would not have suspected that cutting the motor leads and splicing would have introduced an issue. I'm curious if you know why this occurred???

tvl, the wires have some sort of coating on them and solder will not hardly stick to it so getting a good connection is almost impossible. And I do not trust crimp connections. 35 years in the electrical field made me that way!

Well, I'm glad I read this post!  There is a seller on eBay that claims the "new" P4 shell is of some composite metal - not PVC.  So much for that claim!

Sprtbkrydr Posted at 2017-4-10 15:14
Brian, I made the mistake of cutting the motor wires and after I spent two days scraping wires and getting them back together I ended up with an "ESC Error on motor 4"! Had to buy all new motors and resolder them back to the SC board. I learned my lesson on that one. Guys DO NOT cut the motor wires!! Unsolder them from the speed control board. You will save yourself a lot of time and trouble as well as a few bucks.

Seconded, dont cut the wires!! There are a couple you tube vids out there using this method, your asking for trouble! If the soldering is intimidating to you, pay the man and have DJI replace the shell for you.

I`m seeing this a almost normal in the Phantom series after medium use.
Between hot days and cold along with motor stress and motor temps then combining them all... the plastic bodies start to crack.

Yep and no way around it if you fly the darn thing.