Phantom 1.1.1 under arm navigation light flickering

oakmeadows · Jan 22, 2015

Hi this is my first question so go easy on me.
i have a DJi phantom 1.1.1 and i have had it for a month now ,today whilst flying i noticed one of the red navigation light flickering ,is this a problem?
The other three lights 2 green and 1 red stays on all the time its only just the one that flickers.
thankyou for any advice

Monte55 · Jan 22, 2015

I do believe the nav lights are connected to the motor ESCs. You may developing a bad connection on that arm. Was it flying ok? Someone with more knowledge should be along shortly

CityZen · Jan 22, 2015

It's a problem if the ESC power connection is flaky. However, it could just be the LED component of the ESC, and therefore not a big issue.
Only way to know for sure is to open up the Phantom and poke at the wires and components and see what makes it flicker.

oakmeadows · Jan 22, 2015

Many thanks for all your help
Yes it was flying ok but tonight was the first time it has happened i have only been flying quite close to me but on this occasion i went a lot higher so i think keeping it quite low in future may be the thing to do until it shows again

J.James · Jan 22, 2015

I had one that flickered and some times give me the wrong colors. Then eventually the led fell right off the bottom of the esc and I stopped giveing me any colors then I changed the esc thinking it was important and had a light crash and then I had the esc I replaced start doing the same thing. one of the connections poped lose. If I pushed it up tight with the board it would work. SO I tried soldering it back in place but on that vershion esc they decided to use some type of conductive glue to attach the leds so i could not solder it right and the pins were under the led and didn't come out the sides. So i stuck it back on with some silver circuit repair paste and it worked intill the next bump knocked a different led lose on that same esc. and now all my start up colors are the wrong colors on that arm. But Ill are the right colors when I fly except for my gps lock green flash flashes yellow on that arm and the other arm green when I have gps. Yet it still is solid green when I'm flying.
So I said ah screw it and im not replacing that esc againnnnn. Tho I did notice with a set of older escs and also a new set I got today for a custom build Im doing the leds are actually soldered to the esc so it seems dji must of figured out that glueing them on with conductive glue is not the best way to do it and went back to soldering them.

But if your motors are running fine and you can live with the flicker intill it knocks its self lose your still ok and the esc is still goos. But if you do want to open up the shell and take the screws out of that esc you can take the plastic cover off and push on each led to see which on it is that is lose. and it can be pasted back in place. You can get a tiny tube of the conductive glue off ebay for about $5

oakmeadows · Jan 23, 2015

Thanks for all the advise ive just ordered some awd 14 Gauge wire for the motors and im going to resolder after taking off my top shell (which was a nightmare) and wiggling the wires when running up the motors just to find what i think may be a dry solder joint....saying that it made the lights flicker but didnt seem to effect the motors very strange

PhantomFanatic · Jan 24, 2015

oakmeadows said:
Thanks for all the advise ive just ordered some awd 14 Gauge wire for the motors and im going to resolder after taking off my top shell (which was a nightmare) and wiggling the wires when running up the motors just to find what i think may be a dry solder joint....saying that it made the lights flicker but didnt seem to effect the motors very strange

Kinda late, but I suggest 12 gauge wire.

oakmeadows · Jan 25, 2015

Many thanks for your reply about the 12 guage i now understand why ...which is why ive ordered some
thanks

J.James · Jan 25, 2015

If you are handy with a soldering iron and going to be in there soldering it might also be a good ideal to go over all the solder connections to the escs. motors and the 2 main power leads going to the board. Just to make sure you have all good solder joints. Some times them 6 year old kids in china arn't the best at soldering and can leave a few joints that look soldered right but are not.

PhantomFanatic · Jan 25, 2015

Some signs of a bad solder joint: A frosty appearance, instead of shiny. A blob instead of an evenly melted joint. With a strong magnifying glass and good light, look for hairline cracks, both in the solder joint and the related traces on the printed circuit board. Of course, wiggling is a good diagnostic tool, too!

Do you have experience with soldering? You will need a solder sucker when you upgrade the wiring and re-solder any joints. Another tip, when you charge the solder sucker, by compressing the spring, do not do so over your Phantom. The reason being some solder suckers discharge the stored solder while charging. Those little pieces can get under PC boards and cause a LOT of problems!

Edit: Also, twist the wires into a straight line and evenly put a little solder on the wire, before you attempt to solder to the pad on the PCB. You may know all of this, but I wanted to make sure. If you don't have a lot of experience in soldering, let us know as there are more tips.

PhantomFanatic · Jan 25, 2015

J.James said:
If you are handy with a soldering iron and going to be in there soldering it might also be a good ideal to go over all the solder connections to the escs. motors and the 2 main power leads going to the board. Just to make sure you have all good solder joints. Some times them 6 year old kids in china arn't the best at soldering and can leave a few joints that look soldered right but are not.

So, they are hiring older, more experienced kids now?

PhantomFanatic · Jan 25, 2015

oakmeadows said:
Thanks for all the advise ive just ordered some awd 14 Gauge wire for the motors and im going to resolder after taking off my top shell (which was a nightmare) and wiggling the wires when running up the motors just to find what i think may be a dry solder joint....saying that it made the lights flicker but didnt seem to effect the motors very strange

It probably has been said, but I would first re-solder (after solder sucking) those LED connections, on the arm that has flickering lights.

J.James · Jan 26, 2015

So, they are hiring older, more experienced kids now?

lol could be.

oakmeadows · Jan 29, 2015

many thanks for all the input i will take it on board ,whilst doing the soldering i will look for bad soldering and use my magnifying glass as my eyes arnt like they used to be