P4 (original) remote charging issue FIXED!

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Several weeks ago, I began to experience the dreaded remote charging issue that I have been reading about related to my P4 GL300C Remote Controller. It began by my noticing that the remote drained much faster than it ever had, and when I visually monitored its charging cycle, it would only illuminate up to three lights prior to discontinuing its cycle. From reading about this known issue, it seemed that my experience was very similar to others, and others had further reported that it would soon become progressively worse.

So, I researched my options. I could buy a new one on EBay for around $250.00, I could send it to DJI for non-warranty repair (with a lot of down time), I could sent it to a third party shop, or I could attempt to fix it myself. I opted to attempt fixing it myself via the solder reflow method that I have been reading about.

There are lots of videos on YouTube that explain taking a remote apart, so I won't get into that, and I had already been inside when I first purchased it in order to do an antenna mod. So, I went in again, and this time I dug deeper and removed the mainboard.

I placed that board on a non-flammable surface with the side containing the four battery status LED's facing upward. This is the side opposite where the assorted plastic connectors and such are located. Just be sure to also remove the rubber boot from the lights so as to not melt it. I then took a Wagner heat gun set to 500 degrees (F) on the lowest fan setting and from approximately three inches, I passed it slowly back and forth across the board for approximately thirty seconds. I then let it cool for approximately five minutes and repeated this action one more time.

After fully cooling the board for approximately twenty minutes, I plugged the battery into it and then plugged in the charger, and right away, it illuminated all four lights and began the normal charging cycle. I then put everything back together, fully charged it to four solid lights and did a flight/function test. All seems good!

In the end, I'm fairly confident that this issue (at least with mine) was due to a poor solder connection on the board due to age and repeated heat cycles, as the remote's battery heats up with use - which you can feel through the housing. I don't know specifically where the issue was, but whereas some report reflowing both sides of the board, I opted to initially reflow only that one side due to no presence of plastic connectors which would have melted.

Lastly, even though I feel reflow is the answer to this issue, I have to say that this is a last resort fix because a lot can go wrong resulting in a remote that never works again. As for me, my Plan B was to upgrade to the P4 Pro v2 if things went awry, but alas, I'm stuck with my P4 original for awhile longer...
 
Excellent write-up! While the cause (poor solder joints) and various DIY solutions have been posted on numerous threads, I believe your use of a Wagner heat gun to reflow the solder is a more effective solution. Congratulations on a job well done. Just think, you'll be spending more quality time with your old P4 now instead of that shiny new V2. Life's good, eh?Seriously, very nice job on posting a viable fix for the rest of us.
 
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Several weeks ago, I began to experience the dreaded remote charging issue that I have been reading about related to my P4 GL300C Remote Controller. It began by my noticing that the remote drained much faster than it ever had, and when I visually monitored its charging cycle, it would only illuminate up to three lights prior to discontinuing its cycle. From reading about this known issue, it seemed that my experience was very similar to others, and others had further reported that it would soon become progressively worse.

So, I researched my options. I could buy a new one on EBay for around $250.00, I could send it to DJI for non-warranty repair (with a lot of down time), I could sent it to a third party shop, or I could attempt to fix it myself. I opted to attempt fixing it myself via the solder reflow method that I have been reading about.

There are lots of videos on YouTube that explain taking a remote apart, so I won't get into that, and I had already been inside when I first purchased it in order to do an antenna mod. So, I went in again, and this time I dug deeper and removed the mainboard.

I placed that board on a non-flammable surface with the side containing the four battery status LED's facing upward. This is the side opposite where the assorted plastic connectors and such are located. Just be sure to also remove the rubber boot from the lights so as to not melt it. I then took a Wagner heat gun set to 500 degrees (F) on the lowest fan setting and from approximately three inches, I passed it slowly back and forth across the board for approximately thirty seconds. I then let it cool for approximately five minutes and repeated this action one more time.

After fully cooling the board for approximately twenty minutes, I plugged the battery into it and then plugged in the charger, and right away, it illuminated all four lights and began the normal charging cycle. I then put everything back together, fully charged it to four solid lights and did a flight/function test. All seems good!

In the end, I'm fairly confident that this issue (at least with mine) was due to a poor solder connection on the board due to age and repeated heat cycles, as the remote's battery heats up with use - which you can feel through the housing. I don't know specifically where the issue was, but whereas some report reflowing both sides of the board, I opted to initially reflow only that one side due to no presence of plastic connectors which would have melted.

Lastly, even though I feel reflow is the answer to this issue, I have to say that this is a last resort fix because a lot can go wrong resulting in a remote that never works again. As for me, my Plan B was to upgrade to the P4 Pro v2 if things went awry, but alas, I'm stuck with my P4 original for awhile longer...
My controller on my P4P+ started doing the same thing a few months ago, would only charge to 2 lights then turn off. So I too thought about pulling it apart, but then I saw an article and tries it. Put it on charge while watching tv, when it stopped charging I turned the power off at the wall, waited a min or so then turned it back on. It started charging again for about 10 min. Repeated the procedure about 7 times until all 4 lights were on and it finally showed a full charge. Haven't had any issue with it since. It drains as it did before, but now charges to full after about 90min.
 
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