Gimbal mount plate broken

[Captain Dave]

I was hoping that my first post would not be about something that I broke. But.... I have broken the gimbal mounting plate right next to the forward right rubber band attachment. I did not realize that it was broken until the following days attempt to fly. This is because I did not crash it. I regularly fly around my fire station because I have a large open field and I really enjoy flying in sport mode. I have several years of experience flying 3D fixed wing and helicopters. When I fly at work (during my down time) I fly by site only. I don't record video (usually) or even worry about flight logs, which I have a tendency to clear. Apparently the plate broke during the previous flight and I did not see any indication because I don't pay attention to my camera when flying at this location. When trying to fly a couple of days later, my start up procedure went wrong because the camera would not initialize due to (I guess) the gimbal's broken plate. It took a few minutes to figure out what was broken.
Is this something that DJI will repair since it happened during a non-crash flight? Has anyone else had this happen to them? Is sport mode to ruff on the gimbal and mounting? I would think that I should be able to fly my Mavic to it's capabilities. I would not say that I was "pushing the envelope".
What should be my next step?

Thanks, Dave

 

[Former Member]

Ive repaired a good number of Mavics, and I cant say that Ive ever seen the gimbal plate fail on its own, it has always been due to a crash. Theres always a chance that you got a bad one, and if theres no indication of a crash, DJI might fix it as a warranty item.

Just IMHO, I flew 3d helis and fixed wings for many years, and I also race on and offroad cars, but the gimbals on these drones are not meant to put up with much abuse. The Mavic is primarily a camera platform that has the ability to fly very fast and is more maneuverable than most other drones in its class.However, the gimbals dont like sudden stops from full speed in sport mode or being snapped around, or yawed too quickly. DJI spent alot of time making sure the gimbal does what it does very well, offer extremely stabilized video capture, and the motors and electronics are fragile compared to other RC vehicle components.

If youre not shooting video with it, why not get a racing drone? Those are not easy to fly LOS, but at least they are meant to be whipped around like 3d birds..

 

[Captain Dave]

I appreciate your reply. As I said, I don't feel like I was even pushing the envelope of the Mavic. As for my use of the Mavic, I do use it as a video platform when traveling, out on fishing charters, snowboarding and filming my kids surfing (when I'm not surfing). I use it for what it was built for. But it advertises that it can be run in sport mode. The location where I fly in sport is a large dry lake bed. Perfect for zipping around without any obstacles. I wish I could just go out and get a race drone too. But, money doesn't grow on trees and my wife thinks I have spent enough on the one that I have. The Mavic doesn't have a scratch on it. My worry is that when I purchased the Mavic, I bought the one time crash and replace package. I don't want this to be my one time replacement. Do I call DJI or send an email? Is there warranty claim address?

 

[MikeC]

For me, the issue was losing my Mavic for a period of time while being repaired. I just bought another plate and fixed it myself.

 

[Former Member]

You can start here:

DJI Support - Help Purchasing

Hover over online support, then click online repair. Enter your account info and then answer all the questions.

As I said, if they determine the broken part was due to a manufacturers defect, they will fix it for free and not charge you anything for the repair. You can check repair progress online as time goes by. Be prepared to wait about 3-4 weeks to get it back.

There is a chance that instead of repairing it, they might send you a new or refurbished bird. Dont be surprised when you get it back if the serial number is different on the body.

 

[Captain Dave]

Thank you Thunder for your assistance.
Thank you Mike for your video. Very well done. I don't think I have the patience to disassemble my Mavic and put her back together. I could take it apart. That comes easy to me. It's the re-build and finding all of the screws and wondering what to do with the parts left over when or if I ever get it together. This bird is not just changing out motors or esc's. She is over my head.

 

[Former Member]

Thank you Thunder for your assistance.
Thank you Mike for your video. Very well done. I don't think I have the patience to disassemble my Mavic and put her back together. I could take it apart. That comes easy to me. It's the re-build and finding all of the screws and wondering what to do with the parts left over when or if I ever get it together. This bird is not just changing out motors or esc's. She is over my head.

Good plan. You'll be up in the air again before too long. Try to be patient during the repair process. DJI will fix it for you, hopefully under warranty without a fight. It just takes time because the Mavic has to go to Carson, CA for the repair and that takes 5-7 days just to get there from us on the east coast, then a week for them to receive the unit and assess the damage, 3 or 4 days to fix or replace it, then another week in shipping.

 

[DannyM]

For me, the issue was losing my Mavic for a period of time while being repaired. I just bought another plate and fixed it myself.

Hi Mike. Great video - I think i did what you did. by my photos would you agree?The camera still works fine lucky so the cable etc seem to be ok. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. dan - [email protected]

would this work? https://www.amazon.ca/Newest-Alumin...imbal+Plate+/+Mount,+Fits+DJI+Mavic+Pro,+ABS+