Advice on replacing Phantom 4 shell?

[Weston Ney]

Have any of you replaced the shell on your Phantom 4? Any advice? I've taken mine half apart once but never fully taken apart and reassembled all the electronics, computers and wires.

 

[Starz]

Solder gun, glue, and some good tape. The tricky part is popping the shell apart. Take pictures so you remember where everything goes. Wires in the wrong place can get pinched.

 

[Weston Ney]

Thanks! Why do I need glue? What parts are glued together in the drone that I would need to disassemble in order to replace the shell?

Solder gun, glue, and some good tape. The tricky part is popping the shell apart. Take pictures so you remember where everything goes. Wires in the wrong place can get pinched.

 

[Starz]

Some places they used glue to hold some(motor)wires in place. Keep in mind that if the wires end up in the wrong spot and you snap the shells back into place, you won’t know if you have pinched a wire until you fire it up. Then you start over again.

 

[KachemakDiver]

Some of the wires are glued in place after they are soldered. You will notice which ones are glued as you disassemble it.

 

[KachemakDiver]

As Starz said in post#4. Also I believe that gluing them down is a preventative measure against vibration weakening the solder joints.

 

[Weston Ney]

Thanks so much guys!

 

[KachemakDiver]

???

 

[Deleted member 18643]

Have any of you replaced the shell on your Phantom 4? Any advice? I've taken mine half apart once but never fully taken apart and reassembled all the electronics, computers and wires.

Be very careful when separating the side clips of the shell.
There is a capacitor for the esc board very close to both of those internal clips (one on each side).
After removing the clear led covers from the bottom of each motor, begin the shell separation at each motor.
About halfway up each arm you will encounter an internal clip(at the seem).
Squeeze the bottom half of the arm(at the clip).
One on each side of the arm.
This should release the clip.
Do the same thing on each arm(at the clip).
Pro Tip
Slide a propeller between the separation of the top and bottom half of the arm after releasing the clip.
This will keep the clip from snapping back together while you work on a different arm.
The most difficult and problematic clips are the ones mentioned above (the side clips).
Try your best to use your hand and squeeze the bottom part of each clip (at the seem) until it snaps apart.
You will be tempted to push the bottom of the clip with an object.
The problem arises when the clip releases and the the object travels into the capacitor.
It is very close to each clip.
Once the front and side clips are loose, there is one more in the rear directly above the battery compartment.
Once you have all of the clips released, slowly lift the shell until you see the gps module connector cable.
Gently release this cable from the connector and you should then be free to access the guts of the bird.
Good Luck