No connection to transmitter?

[locomanzana]

My father-in-law had given me his old P2 when he got a new one recently. He took it out for a test flight to show me how it worked and it ended up crashing. Took it inside, updated all the firmware on both drone and transmitter. Took it out for a 2nd test flight and had it hovering around 20-30 feet high and it just flipped and dropped like a rock.

I now get flashing yellow led lights that are very rapid. I have tried pressing the red LED to link them again. It blinks twice and then goes back to solid red. I'm at a loss as to what to try next? Maybe it is the receiver board? GPS? Any thoughts? Where can I get the parts?

 

[jason]

My father-in-law had given me his old P2 when he got a new one recently. He took it out for a test flight to show me how it worked and it ended up crashing. Took it inside, updated all the firmware on both drone and transmitter. Took it out for a 2nd test flight and had it hovering around 20-30 feet high and it just flipped and dropped like a rock.

I now get flashing yellow led lights that are very rapid. I have tried pressing the red LED to link them again. It blinks twice and then goes back to solid red. I'm at a loss as to what to try next? Maybe it is the receiver board? GPS? Any thoughts? Where can I get the parts?

If you haven't the users manual here is a link for it and look up on how to pair the P2 and controller.
http://download.dji-innovations.com/downloads/phantom_2/en/PHANTOM2_User_Manual_v1.4_en.pdf

Now you may have a problem with your battery which may be caused the crash but it's hard to say why it happen. First thing would be to charge the battery then check the current and cell voltage as in the following photo.

 

[locomanzana]

I have done those exact steps as described in the manual. They will not link. I've taken it to multiple locations to try and rule out any interference that may exist in a location.

Batteries are good. Have tried multiple, same rapid flashing yellow.

 

[jason]

I have done those exact steps as described in the manual. They will not link. I've taken it to multiple locations to try and rule out any interference that may exist in a location.

Batteries are good. Have tried multiple, same rapid flashing yellow.

Well, have you opened the shell of your P2 to check the connections between the receiver board and Naza-M module to see if they disconnected? You may have broken either the receiver or main board when you crash the P2. Parts for the P2 are becoming harder to find depending on where you live in the world.

Look P2s just don't fall out of the sky during flight for no reason at all. What comes to mind is cold solder connection on an ESC module, battery supply or a defective battery itself. You say the battery is good. Have you charged that battery that was in the crash and check it in the P2 software? Here's what I would be looking for in a defective battery

This is a photo of an older battery but I what would be concerned with would be the full and current capacity of the battery. The current capacity of this battery will dissipate rather quickly under load and cause the voltage to drop below 6.5 which is very critical during a flight. So my point is this is an older model and more then likely the batteries you are using are not brand new either.

 

[locomanzana]

I agree that the battery may have been the issue with the crash. I will check all batteries this weekend when I have more time.

I did take apart the shell last night and check all connections. All connections were still fully in contact. I did not find anything loose.

I did find that the gps antenna ceramic housing was cracked, so I ordered a replacement antenna and will replace when it arrives. I also took the time to order a new receiver today. I will replace that when it arrives also. As far as I understand from research the last couple of days, I should still be able to fly it without GPS, which leads me to the receiver.

My guess is that the receiver is damaged and needs to be replaced, as I have no link to the transmitter, just a solid red LED. I have tried linking them again multiple times, with no success.

Points to check this weekend:

1) Battery charge and capacity
2) Replace GPS antenna
3) Replace receiver

Its a small investment, hopefully it works. Not sure how much more I'm willing to invest in a drone that old.

 

[jason]

I agree that the battery may have been the issue with the crash. I will check all batteries this weekend when I have more time.

I did take apart the shell last night and check all connections. All connections were still fully in contact. I did not find anything loose.

I did find that the gps antenna ceramic housing was cracked, so I ordered a replacement antenna and will replace when it arrives. I also took the time to order a new receiver today. I will replace that when it arrives also. As far as I understand from research the last couple of days, I should still be able to fly it without GPS, which leads me to the receiver.

My guess is that the receiver is damaged and needs to be replaced, as I have no link to the transmitter, just a solid red LED. I have tried linking them again multiple times, with no success.

Points to check this weekend:

1) Battery charge and capacity
2) Replace GPS antenna
3) Replace receiver

Its a small investment, hopefully it works. Not sure how much more I'm willing to invest in a drone that old.

You can buy aftermarket batteries for less than half the cost of OEM but again it depends on where you live. Checking ebay/uk for instance there are no aftermarket batteries to be found for a P2 while there are plenty 5400mAh 11.1v batteries here in the states for $55 and up.

Yes, you could fly without GPS but it's not advisable to so without home lock in case you need to use failsafe or RTH if there is critical low battery problems. Then you might wish you had a working GPS.

 

[locomanzana]

I suppose I should have stated that I am in the US. As I replace parts, I will update.

 

[locomanzana]

Will update this evening likely. All the parts have arrived, at least according to my shipping notifications.

 

[locomanzana]

Can you post what I would expect to see with a good battery?

 

[jason]

Can you post what I would expect to see with a good battery?

Check the current capacities Full/Current. Now, this is a bit high due to the fact it was still warm from charging. As a battery ages the full capacity versus current will chance as in the following two photos.

Before charging

After charging

 

[locomanzana]

Everything checks out. I will update tonight,

Had good flights yesterday! Until I added the H3-3D with gopro. Then it crashed almost immediately again from a hover position.

 

[jason]

Everything checks out. I will update tonight,

Had good flights yesterday! Until I added the H3-3D with gopro. Then it crashed almost immediately again from a hover position.

Check your second post.