Mavic owners, bad news about the Gimbal ribbon cable

[DonLandis]

the ribbon cable is all one long piece,

Not exactly one long ribbon. This is what it looks like:

 

[Pol]

It doesn't even extend into the frame where it could add protection from wear where it enters the gimbal frame.

Sorry Don, but when I look at it with a magnifying glass it looks like it is attached IN the frame.
It also bends nicely along with the movement of the gimbal.

 

[tictag]

I recently replaced my gimbal motor ribbon cable after a crash. It was very fiddly to replace but managed it. After powering on on, the ribbon cable burst into flames. I was able to rip the battery quick enough to avoid damaging the camera assembly. Retailer said it must have been a manufacturing defect, sent me a replacement. Arrived a few days ago directly from China, though the retailer was US based, and I'll be doing the repair again today. Wish me luck!

 

[DonLandis]

I recently replaced my gimbal motor ribbon cable after a crash. It was very fiddly to replace but managed it. After powering on on, the ribbon cable burst into flames. I was able to rip the battery quick enough to avoid damaging the camera assembly. Retailer said it must have been a manufacturing defect, sent me a replacement. Arrived a few days ago directly from China, though the retailer was US based, and I'll be doing the repair again today. Wish me luck!

Yikes! I consider myself very very lucky having it repaired and passing the flight test. It certainly wasn't experience since I had mine inserted all but the last connector and it was upside down. So I had to remove it and start all over again. I had one of the folds backwards.

Oh yes-- good luck on your second try.

 

[tictag]

Almost done, just putting her back together now...

 

[Enigma]

Using a magnifying glass, it appears only one strand is broke on my ribbon cable.
I just came across that gluing in electronics is a viable option.
I have ordered a Conductive silver glue...It all depends if i can do it without removing the cable.
Obviously i will have to insulate the area.

0.5ML Silver Conductive Wire Glue Paste Adhesive Paint PCB Repair + 2 Needles | eBay

 

[tictag]

Moment of truth...

 

[tictag]

Good news is: no flames this time.
Bad news is: MP won't calibrate the camera, just keeps coming up with 'Gimbal overload' errors.

Darn.

 

[Enigma]

Good news is: no flames this time.
Bad news is: MP won't calibrate the camera, just keeps coming up with 'Gimbal overload' errors.

Darn.

Do the calibration inverted or 90 degrees to the right. If it works then it's probably still a bad cable

 

[DonLandis]

Good news is: no flames this time.
Bad news is: MP won't calibrate the camera, just keeps coming up with 'Gimbal overload' errors.

Darn.

Can you move the motors with the RC? Does it fail to move at all during power up?

If it appears dead, than my guess is your connections of the ribbon cable connectors is not connecting. Not surprising in that the connectors are not easy to press into place.

You can test if the power supply feeding power to the camera system is working by whether you can see video from the camera. If no video then I would put a volt meter on the mavic power connection jack. If that is dead then you may have fried something on the main board. Now your knowledge of power supply circuitry and regulators can help you trouble shoot without a MB diagram. There may be a circuit interrupter chip on the gimbal board that is open too.

The good news is if you have to trace something on a circuit board, power supply voltage is the simplest thing to do for an inexperienced electronics tech. Tracing servo control or even digital video is far more difficult and would require intimate education on how the MP actually works.

Easiest thing to do first would be test the power supply voltage to the gimbal board either with good video from the camera or a volt meter. If good, test the power on the gimbal board to the ribbon connector. If OK then open up the motor covers and re-seat the connectors again looking for any damage to the ribbon.

That's what I would do if I made your observations. I don't think you have a brick just yet.

 

[The Flying Geko]

Hi there.
Are you really sure this "gimbal overload" problem comes from the cable?
I ask because every (few) times I got this was after an FW upgrade and it was "cured" redoing the upgrading process and sometimes 3 or 4 times (this process sucks a lot since it can only be connected which means if you have a bad connexion you're looking for troubles in the upgrade process.
Even if DJI Assistant tells you the upgrade went ok, it doesn't mean FOR SURE that's it's true, at least on my Mac. And then, it's when the gimbal overload comes.
So I wonder...

 

[Enigma]

Hi there.
Are you really sure this "gimbal overload" problem comes from the cable?
I ask because every (few) times I got this was after an FW upgrade and it was "cured" redoing the upgrading process and sometimes 3 or 4 times (this process sucks a lot since it can only be connected which means if you have a bad connexion you're looking for troubles in the upgrade process.
Even if DJI Assistant tells you the upgrade went ok, it doesn't mean FOR SURE that's it's true, at least on my Mac. And then, it's when the gimbal overload comes.
So I wonder...

Did the overload warning appear immediately after the firmware update, or a few flights later?

 

[The Flying Geko]

Did the overload warning appear immediately after the firmware update, or a few flights later?

Yes, right after.
Even worse: After the upgrade, I had checked at home (with my wifi connection, so I was connected to DJI Servers since I have a Shield K1 which doesn't have cellular capacity) and everything was ok (after the upgrade).
Then, arriving on my flying spot, the **** thing "overloaded": I could fly, but the camera was blurred (out of focus) and I couldn't access the cam settings).
I had to come back home, and redo the upgrade many times.

Then, it did it again right after the .008 upgrade. I was so mad!!!!
I had to downgrade but it failed at some moment, I retried several times with no success so I stopped downgrading and re-did the upgrade (toward .008) which was ok, at least.

Then, I flew 3 batteries with no problem (apart for one disconnexion from the DJI GO 4 app but I reconnected allright in few seconds).

For now, I still didn't upgrade to .009 because I'm getting a little worry about all those consecutives upgrades: it's working like that and I'd put a lot of effort to succeed so maybe I'll wait for the next one.

 

[Enigma]

Yes, right after.
Even worse: After the upgrade, I had checked at home (with my wifi connection, so I was connected to DJI Servers since I have a Shield K1 which doesn't have cellular capacity) and everything was ok (after the upgrade).
Then, arriving on my flying spot, the **** thing "overloaded": I could fly, but the camera was blurred (out of focus) and I couldn't access the cam settings).
I had to come back home, and redo the upgrade many times.

Then, it did it again right after the .008 upgrade. I was so mad!!!!
I had to downgrade but it failed at some moment, I retried several times with no success so I stopped downgrading and re-did the upgrade (toward .008) which was ok, at least.

Then, I flew 3 batteries with no problem (apart for one disconnexion from the DJI GO 4 app but I reconnected allright in few seconds).

For now, I still didn't upgrade to .009 because I'm getting a little worry about all those consecutives upgrades: it's working like that and I'd put a lot of effort to succeed so maybe I'll wait for the next one.

That would all make sense. The difference for me was things were perfect after upgrade for about 10 flights, then the overload error shows. I've tried the refresh firmware, downgrade and factory reset to no avail. so with my cable being off line, and with apparent damage, I'm convinced it's the cable for me.

 

[The Flying Geko]

That would all make sense. The difference for me was things were perfect after upgrade for about 10 flights, then the overload error shows. I've tried the refresh firmware, downgrade and factory reset to no avail. so with my cable being off line, and with apparent damage, I'm convinced it's the cable for me.

Yes, indeed, you might have a point there.
This gimbal looks very fragile whatsoever... :/

 

[Balko]

I wondered why there was so many people were getting gimbal overloaded error problems.

People were getting the error in the event of a crash because of a damaged ribbon cable, but why people like me with a brand new Mavic or hardly flown craft with no crash or heavy landings getting the same error. very strange.

Because i have had two Mavics with the exact same problem i was convinced there must be a systemic problem.
I think i have discovered the problem, its the ribbon cable. So why is mine broke on both Mavics with maybe 10 flights on each.

The first photo is where the break is.
The second photo is why i suspect it is being damaged.

This is only speculation, but the movement of the gimbal over time seems to be "pulling" the cable off line, on that "nick" eventually stressing it, causing a spilt. Note the cable is not straight as it should be.

Its seems to be a design problem. If i file down the metal "nick" in the gimbal arm, possibly that might reduce the pulling stress on the ribbon cable.

I have a choice, either i send it back for a third time, keep it as it is, because it works fine if i use the "start up the Mavic at 90 degrees trick" or try to modify the gimbal and replace the cable.View attachment 16021 View attachment 16022

Could you possibly post some clearer pictures of the "break" and the "nick"? Thanks.

 

[Balko]

Thank you for sharing.
As I was looking at your photos, I noticed that I have an other ribbon attachment.
I bought my Mavic 2 month ago and it looks to me that DJI changed the ribbon attaching. Am I right?View attachment 16231 View attachment 16232

Mine looks like this too.

 

[Balko]

I recently replaced my gimbal motor ribbon cable after a crash. It was very fiddly to replace but managed it. After powering on on, the ribbon cable burst into flames. I was able to rip the battery quick enough to avoid damaging the camera assembly. Retailer said it must have been a manufacturing defect, sent me a replacement. Arrived a few days ago directly from China, though the retailer was US based, and I'll be doing the repair again today. Wish me luck!

I've heard of someone whose ribbon got burnt too...and he never crashed it. That made him wonder why it happened. He just had a local drone guru repair it (3hours) instead of having the MP sent back for warranty repair and probably wait for at least two months.

 

[Enigma]

Could you possibly post some clearer pictures of the "break" and the "nick"? Thanks.

I'm just waiting for the correct screw drivers, cable and other stuff to arrive this week, then I can remove the gimbal, and take better photos. Until then it's the best I can get.
If I confirm it is a break in one strand I will be swapping out the ribbon cable or repairing that one strand. But why this happens with no crashes or hard landings, I'm still a bit puzzled, on 2 Mavics.

 

[modi10]

I have changed the cable on my mavic 2 time and as i know it damaged when it got hot during the flight