Phantom 4 Maintenance Schedule

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Just bought a shiny new Phantom 4 . . very pleased with the whole package and it's performance . . . But . . . I just had an online "chat" with dji support . . apparently not tech support . . there seems to be no such thing. I asked what the maintenance schedule was for the P4 . . what to look for . . motor lubrication, etc. I basically pointed me to the "Warranty page". . . . There is no way to take a P4 apart really. No obvious way to replace a motor or any other part.

I then asked "so what is the life expectancy 1 yr 5 year? - 50hrs flight time or 500hrs? ". . he said quote "6months" . . and now that I've flow the bird for a few flights and been over 48hr since I first turned switched the battery ON, I'm not eligible for djicare. He said I can take it up with DJI - After-sales Service Policies or email [email protected] . . we'll see what they say.

Any others have interactions like that? Pretty poor customer service policy . . Can't believe that's the way dji want's to be positioned in the market. "Here's your shiny new drone . . GOOD LUCK"
 
By "6 months", are you sure he wasn't referring to the warranty period? Phantoms normally don't die in 6 months (unless you crash and destroy them).
 
By "6 months", are you sure he wasn't referring to the warranty period? Phantoms normally don't die in 6 months (unless you crash and destroy them).
Here is the exact exchange I had on DJI CHAT
David Cooke
that is only when things fail . . . is there nothing to check or do to ensure motors don't fail or wear out prematurely. What is the life of the motors or the machine in general'
should it last 1 yr or 5 year or what?

Robert
6 months

David Cooke
or 50hr or 500hrs of flight
so 6 month life is all it is expected to last?
what about replacement motors then
that is the key part that gets worn out

Robert
Pre-sales chat does not have tech info.

David Cooke
who can I talk to?

Robert
The replacement motors is the same as the original motors. DJI does not sell the motors

David Cooke
So the life expectency is 6 months and there is no way to replace motors without sending it to dji?

THAT'S WHEN ROBERT HUNG UP!
 
The warranty on the motors is 6 months -- as seen in DJI's warranty period here. Motors don't commonly die in 6 months though with normal use.

Keep in mind that DJI support doesn't always provide the most reliable information ;)
 
I will be using my Phantom 4 for commercial purposes and would like to develop a Maintenance Schedule but there is nothing provided for the Phantom like the Inspire. Has anyone developed one? Any advice on how many hours a routine check should be logged?
 
There isn't really a maintenance interval. Dji has made these units non serviceable. Look at the motors themselves. Regular brushless motors are magnetically held with a C clip.The dji 2312 are machined pressed and imposible to remove by hand.

You should just do basic checks before flights. Inspect props make sure they lock properly. Hand spin the motors and make sure they feel like they phase correctly. Take off and let hover and listen for motor squeels.

My concerns are usually immediate battery failures and mosfets on the ESC that slowly burn out.
 
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Thanks for that. I ended up having a look at the Maintenance document for the Inspire 1 and I am going to use that and modify it for general use for my Phantom 4. At least then I'll have something on paper for my business that outlines what I am doing to ensure the airworthiness of my Phantom.
 
I've Started an FMEA (Failure Modes Effects Analysis) for the Phantom 4 and my home-built X650F because Transport Canada is asking for detailed Maintenance Plans if you want to fly a Drone (UAV) in Canada commercially . . no one has defined "operations and maintenance for UAVs" so Transport Canada is asking for EVERYTHING . . largely because I think the inspectors reviewing flight applications are used to managing Flying Ops for small carriers and major airlines . . .and only know or care about how to regulate REGISTERED aircraft. UAVs (drones) are not registered (ie no tail number). Meanwhile it was easy for me to go on-line to FAA and get my US registration number in a day or so. Flew a couple of flights in Hawaii past 2 weeks. . . . but . . . In Canada, since 13 April, I've managed to get only 1 SFOC (Special Flight Operations Certificate) approved or 1 session of flights over a local golf course. 6 or 8 other venues are "Pending Approval" . . so all my 30 or so hours of P4 time is considered "Training"
 
My p4 has a motor failing on it. There is a lot of play in the bearings and it has a slightly different sound to it than the other 3. I ordered a replacement motor so it looks like I will be doing a motor swap soon.
 
I replaced bearings on a P3A 2312a motor and found I still had some clunking. No, the motor is not being used to fly with, just something to try. Turns out I think the connection between the shaft and the bell rotor developed play causing the rocking. Tapped the shaft from the bottom of the motor while the bell was secured which cleared up the play.
 

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