Stripped screw.

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More awesome fun with my headache. I got every screw out to take the top and bottom apart and the very last tiny tiny screw at the end of one of the motors is stripped. Beyond belief. How the hell do I get it out, i've tried every size of tiny screwdriver. I really can't see trying to drill it being so tiny and over an expensive item. And, it didn't come with any spares. This is so much fun.
 
Try putting back in two hex head screws (in that arm) to relieve pressure on the arm and pull the phillips out first. They can be a bugger but wit a small pliers try grabbing phillips. Once out, order extra DJI screw set- Ebay, DJI, hobby shop.
 
It's always a pain with the small screws. I second the suggestion of putting the neighbor screws back in. If that doesn't work, then you can, very carefully, grind off the head with a Dremel diamond bit (they aren't that expensive and many times come with the Dremel itself) or a cutoff disk that has been reduced in size (you can reduce them on an old file). The thing you have to watch for is overheating so do it just a little at a time and have a cotton swab with water on it and cool it after every five seconds or so. The other thing is that it is sooooo easy to slip - you have to have your Wa together. It may take more than a couple of disks or bits to get the job done. In another hobby I have we often get this problem with rivets that have to be removed from a bone/ivory sandwich. On those items, one slip and you will lose more than what a Phantom costs. You have to be patient but it works. When I say patient, it is not unusual to take an hour to grind the head off a rivet. It might take more than that with the screw. Don't drink a lot of coffee before you do it - after an hour you will feel like going to Wal-Mart and punching a Greeter.
 
ladykate said:
Don't drink a lot of coffee before you do it - after an hour you will feel like going to Wal-Mart and punching a Greeter.

lolol.... thanks.
 
Try cutting a groove in the head of the screw with a Dremel, and then use a flat head screw driver to remove it. Like mentioned before, don't let the heat from grinding transfer into the plastic.
 
Hahaha nice.... I put the screws back in no luck but a good Idea that surely will help. This screw is most completely round now. Ill try making a slot. I already did try scratching one but not using a dremel. I'm so afraid of the one slip and a brand new phantom flown for 2 seconds damaged...
 
So ready to throw this piece of **** in the trash or send it back. The screw is stripped, it's not coming out, and its to small to do anything with. All I can do is score it, there's no way to dremmel this, and it's not working. I shouldn't be spending this much time on something so stupid.
 
If you can find a local rc club or hobby shop and find someone to help you remove it, that would make your day. A lot of experienced rc folks have dealt with this situation many times and know a few tricks. Another method is to clean the surface of the screw and mix up some epoxy like JB Weld, and try to bond a small hex nut or just the head of a sacrificial screw to the stripped one, and hopefully you can get enough torque to turn it loose.
 
Yes, it's the phillips head stripped into almost a complete circle. I've already made small cut marks in my $1,500 piece of plastic trying to remove this damned screw. On something this expensive it doesn't seem like I should be needing to take it in for repair work before it has even been used. I'll call them tomorrow. I'm sure I could cut a notch in it if I felt like screwing up something so expensive and BRAND NEW even more.
 
Stripped the exact same screw. Use a reverse drill bit and carefully drill screw head with bit spinning counter clockwise. Mine came right out.
 
wpruitt said:
Stripped the exact same screw. Use a reverse drill bit and carefully drill screw head with bit spinning counter clockwise. Mine came right out.

This.
 
Another hundred bucks later and I have my screw out and a charger for the fat shark. The guy snipped the fat shark battery cable and soldered on a "standard" adapter.
 
Oh what a nice guy, he even put in a new tiny screw for me. A microscopic hex that I don't ****ing have! So now i'm back in the same ****ing position I was! Weird it looks like the same type of screw that the tool set he tried to sell me but I denied would work on! **** this **** why did I ever buy this.
 
OMG, I feel sorry for your troubles, but welcome to the addictive rc world..........(just make sure you don't get bit by the rc heli bug) lol. Glad to hear your making progress, thanks for the update.
 
hey there..
im having the same problem. i just bought the phantom and as i was preparing to open to make all these magical customizations two of my tiny screws are stripped. can you lend some advice on what you did to resolve this?
 
thegenius said:
hey there..
im having the same problem. i just bought the phantom and as i was preparing to open to make all these magical customizations two of my tiny screws are stripped. can you lend some advice on what you did to resolve this?

There's some good tips here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=27432

In the future, always remove the screws on the ends of the arm before removing any of the hex-head bolts, it makes them much easier to unscrew.
 
The method I used was, I took a hacksaw to the head of the screw. I even cut the plastic a little, and I then used a larger flat head screwdriver to remove it.
 

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