P4 IMU Calibration fail due to temp? Anybody else?

[Chuck Thunder III]

Hi Guys,

Bought a used P4 off Craiglist and it took 10 minutes for the aircraft to warm up on its first flight. Tried to do an IMU Calibration once I got home; it failed as the IMU temp "isn't in a safe range". Tried all the tricks with cooling the bird down, still no luck. Updated firmware, tried again and failed.

Any ideas?

 

[Dinerve]

Can you hear the fan spinning when you start your P4 up?

If not, this may be the cause, if yes, an IMU may be at fault. Try to reset to factory settings via the DJI assistant app on your PC then reflash the firmware. Let your bird cool down at room temp or outside (fridge is unneeded and may create condensation in the bird which is a big nono for electronics) then do your calibration.

If it still fails, I'd contact DJI....Or the guy that sold it to you.

 

[Chuck Thunder III]

Can you hear the fan spinning when you start your P4 up?

If not, this may be the cause, if yes, an IMU may be at fault. Try to reset to factory settings via the DJI assistant app on your PC then reflash the firmware. Let your bird cool down at room temp or outside (fridge is unneeded and may create condensation in the bird which is a big nono for electronics) then do your calibration.

If it still fails, I'd contact DJI....Or the guy that sold it to you.

Yep, I can hear the fan spinning and it sounds normal (Like my old P3). It took 10 minutes to warm up the first time out in about 60 degree weather, so I suspect you're right in saying it's a hardware failure.
Again, tried all the tricks with cooling it down before IMU is calibrated.
Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

 

[bofett]

I had the same issue from a used P4. Turned out to be a bad control board, I ordered a replacement from Amazon for $78 and took me 30 minutes to put it in. When I removed the old I found the part that broke off of the old one, see picture.

 

[Chuck Thunder III]

I had the same issue from a used P4. Turned out to be a bad control board, I ordered a replacement from Amazon for $78 and took me 30 minutes to put it in. When I removed the old I found the part that broke off of the old one, see picture.

Thanks for this reply, very helpful. Where does this thing install? Think it's something an amateur like me could install with regular tools, or do I need something special?
Have a link to where you bought it? I can't seem to locate it with a search.

 

[bofett]

Thanks for this reply, very helpful. Where does this thing install? Think it's something an amateur like me could install with regular tools, or do I need something special?
Have a link to where you bought it? I can't seem to locate it with a search.

Hi,

Yes, exact same problem. Temp failure for IMU, no matter how cold I got the unit it would always fail. This unit (DJI Phantom 4 Part 43 - Main Controller) installs under the camera gimbal and is fairly easy. Basically, there are 3 ribbon cables connected to the control board that are taped from the factory. A set of tweezers helps a lot. The most difficult part is re-attaching the silicone dampeners to the board. Tweezers and a toothpick worked for me.

Here is a link to the one at Amazon I purchased...
DJI Phantom 4 Part 43 - Main Controller - Brand New

Once you remove the factory tape (save it for reuse) the connectors flip up from the opposite side of the ribbon to release. like this...

Closed - ---___ --------(Cable side)
Open - _\___-------(Cable side)

Here is a shot of board from DJI Phantom Drone Forum

 

[Chuck Thunder III]

Dude- you rock. This is very helpful. I think I'll give it a try.

 

[bofett]

Dude- you rock. This is very helpful. I think I'll give it a try.

Any luck?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[Chuck Thunder III]

Any luck?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

You know- I got frustrated with dicking around with what should be a working unit and sold it. I've pre-ordered the Mavic with the intention of buying DJI care (or something similar) just so I don't need to futz around with the **** thing. I just don't have the time to mess with it right now.
You've been very helpful, thanks again for chiming in on this issue. I'm a bit burnt on the P4 and question whether it would happen again if I did in fact fix it.

 

[Firedawg74]

Any luck?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

I am in the exact same boat! bought one on craigslist and same issue!!! flew for 10 min and then when I got this out the next day I am having the same exact issue!!!!