Hello, not on here much so I may have missed this topic some where. Have a P4P+ that I took up today....it has very low hours on it....less than 20 I would say. Anyway I brought it back after first battery and and arm was cracked. Never hit anything and I almost always catch it in the air. Didn't look tremendously bad so I changed out the battery and went for another short spin. Came back and another arm is cracked. Holy crap is this common? What would be the cause? Thank you in advance.
Cracks in arms near motors.
- Thread starter clgreen101
- Start date
Possibly by hand catching I used to do the same but quit because got 2 cracks in one arm and read that hand catching can put more stress because the way drone tries to keep flying for few seconds while you are basically holding it down not sure if true or not but like I said I quit
msinger
Approved Vendor
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2014
- Messages
- 31,960
- Reaction score
- 10,786
- Location
- Harrisburg, PA (US)
- Website
- phantomhelp.com
It's more common on Phantom 3 models.
Got any photos so we can see what you're describing?
PhantomWetSuits
Approved Vendor
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2017
- Messages
- 1,335
- Reaction score
- 839
- Age
- 59
We really abuse the Phantom 4 P + and have never had any cracks , the only thing we may do differently is I have never put any of them in a case are rarely take the props off if ever. Im curious are you constantly putting this in the case and changing the Props ?
Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Phantom in the Rain.
Strange never heard of anything bad happening with hand caught. Most of my friends do just that and they all just said they are fine...totally weird.
Nopt...I never put it in the case and have only changed the props once or twice.
My p4s has got small crack and is low on flight times,hasent got worse so lucky there,,check your props for balance too,,bit of a nasty break too,almost torque twisting,,still under warranty I would email dji
msinger
Approved Vendor
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2014
- Messages
- 31,960
- Reaction score
- 10,786
- Location
- Harrisburg, PA (US)
- Website
- phantomhelp.com
Well I have Care refresh... The second year version. Should that cover it?
PhantomWetSuits
Approved Vendor
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2017
- Messages
- 1,335
- Reaction score
- 839
- Age
- 59
Sounds like its out of warranty so I would consider some expoxy and covering it up with a Phantom Wet Suit to protect it from further cracking.
The Wet Suit will aid in protecting the crack and the epoxy to seal it up.
Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Phantom in and out of the Storm.
msinger
Approved Vendor
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2014
- Messages
- 31,960
- Reaction score
- 10,786
- Location
- Harrisburg, PA (US)
- Website
- phantomhelp.com
It should cover it if your DJI Care Refresh policy has not expired.
I've read about quite a few of these and it does have my concern.
Do you fly in sport mode with sudden high speed stops?
Are you using DJI OEM or aftermarket props?
Any nicks or out of balance indications?
Do you fly in sport mode with sudden high speed stops?
Are you using DJI OEM or aftermarket props?
Any nicks or out of balance indications?
This thread scared me enough that I had to look at all four of my phantoms, One of which is a P4P+. So far so good no cracks. From the looks of the crack being on the underside, It certainly appears to be a DJI flaw of your bottom shell (too thin?) With your pictures and the fact that this is a fairly new model, I would think DJI would fix it even out of warranty. Yours can’t be the only one. Sorry to see something like that on a fairly new drone. Don’t believe I would try a repair, other than a new shell. Too much chance of hurting somebody in the future. Just my thoughts, good luck, hope your Refresh fixes it.
No never sport mode. All OEM props and equipment. Read slot of stuff about an update in 2018 that people believe are causing vibration in motors and therefore cracks. Could be...
I hope they take care of it too. Hard to say...DJI seems to have abondoned us on everything else.
Not that sport mode should be an issue. Just trying to wrap my head around what might be causing these cracking issues. I also have the P4P. Maybe a period of "weak" plastic in a short production run?? Really have no idea. Also, I've read about this theory but I can't quite understand how a software / firmware update could cause a vibration. I'm no engineer but a balanced prop is a balanced prop. The harmonics of what might cause them to vibrate or oscillate if they are not properly "timed" is above my pay grade.. Hope they take care of this for you without having to use your Care Refresh.
I've only had to deal with DJI directly once. I bought two new batteries from Cabela's and put them on the shelf for about six months as I already have four that I circulate. When I opened the new ones to add them to the mix, both were dead. Called DJI, filled out the form and sent them to DJI. They promptly sent me new ones.
I have an older P4 and check it regularly for cracks, so far nothing. Also, just FYI, I use prop guards, which I'd think would add arm stress somewhat, and some "spirited" sport flying from time to time.
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2014
- Messages
- 240
- Reaction score
- 75
- Age
- 78
Having been in the plastics industry many years ago, I know that quality control in injection molding can be lax. Virgin material will seldom experience these cracking issues, unless put under stresses outside the engineering parameters. The problem is that most injection molding companies mix regrind material into their virgin material which dilutes the chemical integrity of the plastic. The regrind comes from grinding up the parts of the molding process that has nothing to do with the part being molded. I have experienced cracking in the screw posts of the controllers as well. If DJI has their own molding department, there is no excuse for this. If they don't have their own dept. they have little to no control over the process, (quality control). The more people that return these inferior drones, the sooner they will get the message.......maybe.
Thanks for the insight! Good to know!
Seem to recall seeing a picture someone took of large mounds of Phantom returns stacked on top of each other.
Must have been a thousand or more in the pic.
Would assume they've got the message. Business model just telling them to keep quite and ignore it.
Would be nice if these had a build date that those impacted could compare.
Wonder if that data is in the serial number.
How many of these Phantom 4 have they made? How many have been affected?
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2014
- Messages
- 240
- Reaction score
- 75
- Age
- 78
I remember seeing photos of those parted-out drones too. Gee, now we know where the extra regrind came from. Just say'n.
