Mavic Crash: Diagnosis?

[bliss]

Fairly nasty crash.

Mavic powers on, gimbal flips back and fourth quickly, then error messages pop up. No video feed. Mavic still flies.

Upon disassembly and inspection of gimbal and both cables, they appear to be intact with no tears. Anti-drop hook is broken! (would this be my main problem?)

Error messages:
Gimbal gyroscope error
Hardware Malfunction. Contact DJI Support for repairs
Aircraft Motor Overloaded. Check whether gimbal clamp is removed
Gimbal is restarting. Check that the gimbal rotates smoothly if restart fails again.

With the info I have provided, what would you say is the most likely diagnosis?
Please let me know if any further information is needed, thanks!!

 

[Michael Ainsworth]

I think you picked it with the anti drop hook being broken?
The gimbal is not secured properly.

 

[bliss]

I think you picked it with the anti drop hook being broken?
The gimbal is not secured properly.

Right. And does this explain why the video is offline?

 

[bliss]

@Thunderdrones, I hear you're the guy to go to about these things.

 

[Michael Ainsworth]

Did you drop or crash it, if so with the hook broken maybe one of the cables is broken, it's not obvious when you look at them.

 

[bliss]

Did you drop or crash it, if so with the hook broken maybe one of the cables is broken, it's not obvious when you look at them.

Yes, I definitely crashed it :b
I took apart the gimbal and the ribbon cable, as well as the silver cable are both intact and appear to have no damage. Are you suggesting that there may be micro damage that I can not see?

 

[Michael Ainsworth]

From what I have gathered on the forum it is likely there is damage as the ribbons are very delicate. Other more experienced people could give you better info on this.

 

[Former Member]

@Thunderdrones, I hear you're the guy to go to about these things.

I have done alot of gimbal repairs and replacements and if you're not getting video feed, and you're getting a gimbal overload message, I'm betting your flat ribbon cable and the silver stranded cable as well are both broken. If even one strand of the silver cable, or one wire of the flat ribbon is even nicked, they are trash and need to be replaced. I look at them under a strong set of magnifying glasses, and I know where they usually break.

Aside from the flat ribbon cable, but rarely, it could also be the gimbal control board got damaged, and if no video feed, rarely a camera body might have gotten damaged, but when I troubleshoot a gimbal, I always start with the cheapest parts first, those being the cables, then if that doesn't fix it, I substitute the gimbal board for a new one, and also the camera body to see if I get video.

Sometimes troubleshooting a gimbal with multiple error messages takes me 2 or 3 hours, but I haven't had one beat me yet.

 

[Former Member]

From what I have gathered on the forum it is likely there is damage as the ribbons are very delicate. Other more experienced people could give you better info on this.

I think so, and it seems I have been listening to alot of the Brandenburg Concertos during repairs lately. These ribbon cables tear like paper.

 

[Former Member]

In some rare situations, after taking the gimbal apart, the ribbon and silver cables look like this, but they dont even have to be this broken to malfunction.

This one was obvious as soon as I started to disassemble it:





This one drove me crazy until I spread it apart and saw the missing wires:





and this one of the silver cable drove me crazy too until I pulled on the wires gently, then they all came out of the connector:

 

[bliss]

I have a replacement ribbon, but haven't swapped it because the current appears fine. Maybe I should just swap it. The silver video cable has a small tiny tiny abrasion on one of its wires... I'm wondering if that's the cause.

 

[Former Member]

I just responded to you via conversation, but you can try installing the cables yourself, and let me know how it goes. BTW I only use either OEM DJI cables, or Fstop Labs cables. They are both dependable and will prevent you from pulling your hair out due to trying to troubleshoot with a generic malfunctioning cable.

 

[bliss]

@Thunderdrones
So I've replaced the ribbon cable and still no luck. I found the silver cable for $50, but I'm hesitant to replace that since the gimbal still isn't functioning after replacing the ribbon cable (which I don't think needed to be replaced anyway). I think it's a more serious issue which I can't pinpoint. If I were to replace the entire gimbal/camera, would that eliminate any possible issue? Could the issue exist elsewhere in the drone (outside of the gimbal/gimbal board)?


Also, do you sell gimbal/camera complete? If so, how much? Do you recon this will alleviate any possible issue?

Thanks again!!

 

[bliss]

@Thunderdrones I guess to further my question... will replacing the silver video cable also solve my malfunctioning gimbal?

Ps attached is the screenshot of errors

 

[bliss]

@Thunderdrones what do you think?

 

[Former Member]

Are you getting video? If so, then your silver cable is ok.

Are you getting any gimbal movement at all? If you are getting gimbal movement but it wont center or is erratic, it's probably your gimbal motor assembly thats bad. You can feel which motor is bad after turning on the Mavic for 2 minutes then feeling each gimbal motor temp. One of them, prob pitch motor, is going to be red hot.

If you are not getting gimbal movement at all and you just replaced your flat ribbon cable, then its probably either your gimbal control board and also possibly your gimbal motor assembly. I see you have a gimbal overload message plus a gimbal gyro error.

 

[bliss]

Awe ****. I think it's the yaw motor. Haven't tested it yet, but I remember that one being a little stiffer than the other axises. Is this something you can fix? What would that run me?

edit: also, zero video feed.

edit 2: do you sell entire gimbal assemblies?

 

[Former Member]

I can fix anything, but it's a matter of economics. If you have to replace the silver cable and the motor assembly, best to just get a whole new camera/gimbal because your gimbal control board might be fried too.

No video feed, thats prob your silver cable.

Are you getting gimbal movement after installing the new ribbon?

 

[bliss]

Yes. I've had gimbal movement. I don't think I even needed to replace the ribbon lol.
Do you sell the whole new gimbal/camera? How much if so?