I have done a terrible accident.

[NuclearRhino]

Title pretty much says it all. Just got my Phantom 2 v2 with H3-3D about a week and a half ago and already I crashed it. Pretty much the gist of it was that I had accidentally locked the downwards throttle control and it came down hitting a tree and falling 4-5 meters to the ground.

At first I didn't think it was going to be so bad until I actually got there and noticed 2 props were smashed, my Storm FPV Unit was hanging out (nothing seems to have broken off) and my gimbal in a really rancid position (it was partially jammed to the side, had to force it back in the normal position, its still stiff on one side)

Now My Phantom wont even power on, its simply makes a quick *click* noise and powers down (Doesn't even flash a light) and I'm starting to really freak out. This is my first quad copter and I really don't know what to do. I know that they will probably reject a warranty exchange so my only option is trashing it or possibly trying to fix it myself.

What should I do, I really want to fix it but I have no clue what to do, can anyone share some knowledge?

 

[LandYachtMedia]

Welcome to the forum.

One of the best things you can do is to put your location in your profile. With that maybe a more experienced person near you can help.

Its likely with the description you give that there is an electrical problem inside the body of the Phantom. It could be a broken wire or possibly a damaged ESC (motor controller). You'll need to take it apart and look around for loose wires or blown components.

You can search youtube for videos showing how to take it apart.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... le+phantom

If you think you can take it apart give that a try and report back any problems you find on the inside.

 

[NuclearRhino]

Thanks I will do. Problem is that I have checked out places nearby and there really is next to nothing near me but thanks for the suggestions.

 

[burlbark]

There are a couple of us that do repairs full time along with upgrade modifications. You will need to open it up and take pics or send it on in to one of us.

 

[hunch]

I repair them and located in Minnesota.
Let me know if you need help.
Hani

 

[NuclearRhino]

Ok, so a quick update on the stat of my gimbal. It turns out to be in a whole lot worst condition then I thought. The gimble is VERY bent out shape...

As you can see near the swivel its really bent out...

This pic shows just how unaligned it is now..

I still haven't been able to get my P2 working (haven't open yet, don't have a screw driver small enough) so I have no idea if it even works but I think to say its busted for good. Anyone think there's anyway of salvaging this? REALLY don't want to drop another $400 for a new gimbal...

 

[Buckaye]

I was able to bend my gimbal back into shape .... So give it a try.. Worse case... Your're no worse off than you are now

 

[NuclearRhino]

I was able to bend my gimbal back into shape .... So give it a try.. Worse case... Your're no worse off than you are now

Did you just warp it back with force? I'm worried I may only make it worst, How can I tell its aligned?

 

[Buckaye]

I was able to bend my gimbal back into shape .... So give it a try.. Worse case... Your're no worse off than you are now

Did you just warp it back with force? I'm worried I may only make it worst, How can I tell its aligned?

Yes force... The way I could tell is that the gimbal could pivot past the plate without scraping it... And when I powered it up it was level (took a couple of tries). Anyway... Like I said.. If you think it's a goner now.. You've got nothing to lose. If a motor stripped or something... Might as well replace.

 

[Buckaye]

I was able to bend my gimbal back into shape .... So give it a try.. Worse case... Your're no worse off than you are now

Did you just warp it back with force? I'm worried I may only make it worst, How can I tell its aligned?

Obviously take it off the phantom first....it's aluminum so it's relatively easy to bend (which is why it gets damaged so easily) but it's also light

I want to stress that it worked for me (my first wreck). On my second wreck (and last one thank god) I stripped one of the adjusting motors... At that point... It was scrap

 

[PhantomFanatic]

Welcome to the forum! I am very sad about your loss. Although, it doesn't have to be a total loss.

Do you know how to solder? If not, I'm sure there are a ton of YouTube videos, but not all are correct.

First, make a good mechanical connection, usually using needle nose pliers. I suggest a 45 watt soldering iron. If you can afford it, buy a variable wattage soldering station. In either case, you will need to tin the tip of the iron. Let the iron reach its maximum temperature, then clean the tip with either a wet sponge or a paper towel. (Although a wet sponge will be needed when you solder.). Then, press the resin core, electrical solder to the tip and cover it generously. Wait about 5 seconds and wipe the excess solder on the sponge. (Note: I find the tin/lead solder the best. Just don't inhale the fumes.)

To prepare the sponge, soak it, then squeeze 90% of the water out of it. A lot of people make a mistake with the next step. Press the tip against the mechanical connection. Give it a few seconds and touch the solder to the connection, but not to the soldering iron's tip. If the solder doesn't melt, give the joint more time to heat up and try it again. Keep pressing (slowly) the solder until the joint is covered with solder. Pull the iron away, wipe the tip on the sponge and put it in a soldering iron holder. This is a must have item. A solder sucker is another.

A good joint will look shinny all over. A cold solder joint will look somewhat dull. If you have a cold joint, heat the solder with the iron, then put the tip of the solder sucker against the connection and press the button. Assuming you compressed the solder sucker's spring first! Then, try again.

There is a good technique for soldering two wires together, that few know. I'll share that with you, if you haven't soldered before or if someone would like to know. One big rule: Never touch the solder to the iron's tip unless you are tinning the tip. Many will touch the solder to the soldering iron and then they let it drop on the joint. Another rule is to never press the solder to the iron, when soldering.

If it is beyond repair, which I doubt it, you can sell the motors, ESCs, etc. in the classified section. I also suggest taking pictures of the internal part and post them here. If too extensive, then mail it to one of the repair guys here. I'll be adding my name to the repair list once I get a good stock of parts.

I hope this was useful to someone, otherwise I worked out my fingers! But, it is important to exercise!

 

[PhantomFanatic]

Well, at least I have strong fingers now!

 

[Buckaye]

Well, at least I have strong fingers now!

I thought it was a good post . I need to invest in a really good soldering iron

 

[fly-catchers]

I hope this was useful to someone, otherwise I worked out my fingers! But, it is important to exercise!

Very useful soldering info. Thanks

bill

 

[capodrone81]

did you intentionally unplug the znemuse from the anti interference board? I'm assuming yes but if not plug it back into board and power up see if gimbal light even comes on ( with go pro uninstalled looking at black back plate with gold pins in the corner where gimbals arm connects to backplate you will see on power up a faint green or red light appear in the crack of the arm)

update. after power up with gimbal reconnected to ant interferance board.

get that battery out from crash and use new known good battery incase cell was damaged after fall.

 

[capodrone81]

lastly connect to naza assistant and revue and post imu status .. I'm sure a calibration will be necessary but also check info tab in software assistant to see if all systems are communicating with software. imu gimbal etc


update us. we (i) will help you.

Good news: you will learn a **** load of info fixing this your self!

 

[PhantomFanatic]

Well, at least I have strong fingers now!

I thought it was a good post . I need to invest in a really good soldering iron

Thanks. There are relatively inexpensive, variable wattage soldering stations. Take a look at Amazon. Forget Radio Shack as a lot of their products are garbage. Can I say that here?

 

[NuclearRhino]

Thank you so much to everyone who have helped me out this far!


So I read what capodrone81 said and I think he may be right that the battery cell is damaged, when I put in the battery that was in the crash the phantom wont start up (the battery itself still lights up and says how much battery life it has) but putting in a new one does work at making the phantom boots up, HOWEVER, when it does start up it flashes red once and then turns off.

I finally found a screw driver small enough to open up the body today and to my surprise everything LOOKS fine, but then again looks are deceiving. Everything from solder joints to cords to capacitors and others look completely perfect so I'm really confused as to why I get the red error.

So here's a picture of the insides

So yeah... I"m really confused on all this, I haven't used the naza software yet so I'm gonna go and check to see what else it could be. :?:

 

[NuclearRhino]

OK, so already I have a problem, I cant check any statuses on the Phantom because, of course, it wont stay on for more then half a second. I'm seriously have no idea what to do at this point. WHAT DO I DO!?

 

[capodrone81]

OK, so already I have a problem, I cant check any statuses on the Phantom because, of course, it wont stay on for more then half a second. I'm seriously have no idea what to do at this point. WHAT DO I DO!?

Buy a new battery.

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