DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

A sad story with DJI Tech Service

Status
Not open for further replies.
WD40 is a penetrating oil and a solvent. It would take some time for it to penetrate further up into the drone but once there it will totally destroy the electronics.

Unfortunately using WD40 has destroyed your drone. For the information of others if something like this happens to you, use isopropyl alcohol if you need to wet clean. I would recommend disassembly and to blow clean with an air blower..

The thing this guy said which made me literally laugh out loud... He said he sprayed "a few drops" of WD 40. Anyone who has ever used the product knows for a fact that it is absolutely impossible to only get a few drops out of a can of WD 40!!!! Hahaha!
 
  • Like
Reactions: WWMav
Hi folks, I had a bad experience with DJI Tech Service and I would like to hear from you some constructive comments. Here's the short story:
  1. August 3rd, I fly my two-years-old Mavic Pro in a stone quarry in Tuscany, Italy, where some sculptors are making a lot of rock dust with their grinders, during a sculptor's symposium. I find a cool thing to do some footage through the dust, for a very dramatic cinematic effect, right? Of course the abrasive dust gets into the gimbal, and blocks it almost immediately. OK, my fault, no discussions.
    If you are interested, this is resulting video
  2. I land the bird, go home quickly, spray some drops of WD40 in the motor controlling the up-down movement of the gimbal and get a partial unblocking effect.
  3. I fly the drone in the following days to see how the gimbal behaves, and it's not 100% OK: almost fixed, but not totally, it shakes wildly sometimes.
    During these test runs I beat two personal records: fastest fly (69.6 km/h, or 43.5 miles/h) and longest distance covered (8,745 m or 5.46 miles). This bird flies perfectly.
  4. I consult a couple of local drone shops and they recommend to send the drone to DJI Tech Service in Holland. I do it, paying my UPS bill without a problem: It's out of warranty, I'm more than ready to pay for repair and delivery. I add a detailed report, asking for either cleaning the gimbal or for its replacement with a new one.
  5. I get after a week this diagnosis from DJI Tech Service : "No crash damage. Liquid damage. Aircraft damaged. There is oil everywhere in the craft, customer self serviced it and it's impossible to clean oil from the entire craft. According to the assessment made by our Engineering staff it has been discovered that this unit is a total loss. For safety and the proper functionality of the unit we advise a complete replacement. [...] Please be kindly noted that, the original unit will not be sent back according to after-sales policy."
  6. After a short exchange of emails - where I tell them that the drone is mine and I want it back with the gimbal as faulty as it is, whatever their internal rules say - they send me back the drone, unrepaired as agreed.
  7. When I get the drone back, I try to fly it and... no way. No GPS signal, IMU problems, the bird cannot take off. It switches on regularly, makes all its routine checks, the gimbal goes up and down, the propellers move few mm as usual, but the motors will never start.
  8. I make a complaint with DJI in China, they do all their routine checks with The Netherlands, they even kindly call me from Shenzen, China, to understand what happened (I had to re-explain the whole story, my written and detailed report was probably not clear enough...) and they send me two pictures where some wet parts are visible in the gimbal's seat and in the electronic card inside the drone. (The few drops of WD40 which I sprayed only in the gimbal's motor probably were pushed inside the drone - through the front grill - by the air during the test flights, and is really present in a very, very limited quantity: I have now dismounted the drone, and the wet it's barely visible). DJI refused to clean the oil (they call this "a liquid damage" that can damage electronics) and even refused to replace the whole gimbal (because the drone was "a total loss").
What do you think I should I do now?
Technically: The gimbal can be replaced, of course. But do you think the flying problem can be fixed?
Legally: I sent to DJI a perfectly flying drone with a faulty gimbal, and I got back a NON flying drone. Now it's a total loss, not before!

Thanks for reading this sad story until here.
I have seen gimbals advertised on Ebay. You might want to look into this.
 
Open your Mavic and check the ESC ribbon cable. DJI may have removed it to prevent flight.
 
Thanks, I'm aware of the superb reputation of Rob at Thunderbird (why is he a Former Member of this forum??) but sending a junk drone from Italy to the US is not worth the effort. I could go through painful Customs procedures, the shipping cost is not negligible and I might end up with a non repairable bird and a lot of money wasted...
Find someone who is flying to the USA for at least 2 weeks. Get them to take your drone and then post it to Rob as soon as they’ve arrived there. It’s the best way to avoid any international postage complications.
 
Your video is excellent, and well thought-out. -Very professional. Now for the bad news.

WD-40 is an excellent chemical for displacing water, and is also a great solvent. I purchase the stuff by the gallon for those attributes. Unfortunately the solvent characteristic will ruin electronic circuit boards in many applications. It will disolve several of the chemicals that are used as insulators, like the liquid tape that DJI incorporates.

I would thoroughly clean the board with one of the approved cleaners, then reapply the liquid tape to those areas that DJI uses that chemical to insulate. There are videos on YouTube to help you with this. As far as the gimbal, it may be screwed. It is my understanding that a “permanent” lube is applied at the factory, and the WD-40 May have removed that.

I know you’re not in the U.S., but I would contact Thunderdrones for advise and possible repair. They’ll be honest with you, and their prices are more than fair.

Your videography is excellent, and it would be worth the effort spending the time to bring back to life your drone camera.
 
Hi folks, I had a bad experience with DJI Tech Service and I would like to hear from you some constructive comments. Here's the short story:
  1. August 3rd, I fly my two-years-old Mavic Pro in a stone quarry in Tuscany, Italy, where some sculptors are making a lot of rock dust with their grinders, during a sculptor's symposium. I find a cool thing to do some footage through the dust, for a very dramatic cinematic effect, right? Of course the abrasive dust gets into the gimbal, and blocks it almost immediately. OK, my fault, no discussions.
    If you are interested, this is resulting video
  2. I land the bird, go home quickly, spray some drops of WD40 in the motor controlling the up-down movement of the gimbal and get a partial unblocking effect.
  3. I fly the drone in the following days to see how the gimbal behaves, and it's not 100% OK: almost fixed, but not totally, it shakes wildly sometimes.
    During these test runs I beat two personal records: fastest fly (69.6 km/h, or 43.5 miles/h) and longest distance covered (8,745 m or 5.46 miles). This bird flies perfectly.
  4. I consult a couple of local drone shops and they recommend to send the drone to DJI Tech Service in Holland. I do it, paying my UPS bill without a problem: It's out of warranty, I'm more than ready to pay for repair and delivery. I add a detailed report, asking for either cleaning the gimbal or for its replacement with a new one.
  5. I get after a week this diagnosis from DJI Tech Service : "No crash damage. Liquid damage. Aircraft damaged. There is oil everywhere in the craft, customer self serviced it and it's impossible to clean oil from the entire craft. According to the assessment made by our Engineering staff it has been discovered that this unit is a total loss. For safety and the proper functionality of the unit we advise a complete replacement. [...] Please be kindly noted that, the original unit will not be sent back according to after-sales policy."
  6. After a short exchange of emails - where I tell them that the drone is mine and I want it back with the gimbal as faulty as it is, whatever their internal rules say - they send me back the drone, unrepaired as agreed.
  7. When I get the drone back, I try to fly it and... no way. No GPS signal, IMU problems, the bird cannot take off. It switches on regularly, makes all its routine checks, the gimbal goes up and down, the propellers move few mm as usual, but the motors will never start.
  8. I make a complaint with DJI in China, they do all their routine checks with The Netherlands, they even kindly call me from Shenzen, China, to understand what happened (I had to re-explain the whole story, my written and detailed report was probably not clear enough...) and they send me two pictures where some wet parts are visible in the gimbal's seat and in the electronic card inside the drone. (The few drops of WD40 which I sprayed only in the gimbal's motor probably were pushed inside the drone - through the front grill - by the air during the test flights, and is really present in a very, very limited quantity: I have now dismounted the drone, and the wet it's barely visible). DJI refused to clean the oil (they call this "a liquid damage" that can damage electronics) and even refused to replace the whole gimbal (because the drone was "a total loss").
What do you think I should I do now?
Technically: The gimbal can be replaced, of course. But do you think the flying problem can be fixed?
Legally: I sent to DJI a perfectly flying drone with a faulty gimbal, and I got back a NON flying drone. Now it's a total loss, not before!

Thanks for reading this sad story until here.

I am not going to go into the virtues and vices of WD40 beyond saying I doubt its solvent properties are aggressive enough to damage the PC boards in a DJI drone. I am more familiar with Build it yourself quadcopter flight control boards. They use high quality materials in most of them and I would think DJI would do the same. For example they have a masking on the boards that protect it from soldering flux and from the solder flowing beyond where it should.

Of course IMU problems would prevent the take off cycle from starting.

I found the following post most interesting.
The one thing I’ve not heard anyone address is that he said DJI originally didn’t want to even return the aircraft due to safety reasons. It sounds like after squabbling a little bit with them that they decided to return it. Is it possible that they somehow electronically killed the aircraft in order to avoid any liability on their part and at the same time satisfying the OP’s demand for the return of the aircraft?

I do think that for DJI safety is of paramount importance thus their no return policy. Physically damaging someone else's property is illegal in lots of places and I Doubt that they would do that. Since there is no apparent physical damage in your aircraft I would agree that it could be in the software.

When you buy a new DJI drone the first thing you have to do after charging the batteries is to go online and activate it before you can use it.
I'm not a software developer so the following is only speculation -- might they be able to also deactivate a drone they have in their physical possession ? And then remove that drone's identifier from their activation database. This would cause no software damage to the drone, but it could never be activated and therefore never fly.
I would guess that replacing the ESC/Control board with another used or new would solve the problem, whether the problem is Chemical (WD40)- Electronic or Software.
I would have thought that the repair shop in Holland would have taken that approach, but perhaps they did not consider a 2 year old drone to have enough value to make it worth the $ 375 for a new board. On top of the $200 for the camera and gimble. I bought my Mavic Pro this spring for $759 + tax.
Repair experts could give you more knowledge about this but not likely for free as repairing drones is their bread and butter so to speak. I have found the boards on line for $100 - $375 here in the U.S.A.
 
I am not going to go into the virtues and vices of WD40 beyond saying I doubt its solvent properties are aggressive enough to damage the PC boards in a DJI drone. I am more familiar with Build it yourself quadcopter flight control boards. They use high quality materials in most of them and I would think DJI would do the same. For example they have a masking on the boards that protect it from soldering flux and from the solder flowing beyond where it should.

Of course IMU problems would prevent the take off cycle from starting.

I found the following post most interesting.


I do think that for DJI safety is of paramount importance thus their no return policy. Physically damaging someone else's property is illegal in lots of places and I Doubt that they would do that. Since there is no apparent physical damage in your aircraft I would agree that it could be in the software.

When you buy a new DJI drone the first thing you have to do after charging the batteries is to go online and activate it before you can use it.
I'm not a software developer so the following is only speculation -- might they be able to also deactivate a drone they have in their physical possession ? And then remove that drone's identifier from their activation database. This would cause no software damage to the drone, but it could never be activated and therefore never fly.
I would guess that replacing the ESC/Control board with another used or new would solve the problem, whether the problem is Chemical (WD40)- Electronic or Software.
I would have thought that the repair shop in Holland would have taken that approach, but perhaps they did not consider a 2 year old drone to have enough value to make it worth the $ 375 for a new board. On top of the $200 for the camera and gimble. I bought my Mavic Pro this spring for $759 + tax.
Repair experts could give you more knowledge about this but not likely for free as repairing drones is their bread and butter so to speak. I have found the boards on line for $100 - $375 here in the U.S.A.
You are probably on the money- while arguably it was an unsuitable product for the OP’s intended use there is there is a low likliehood of the WD40 compound damaging the electronics, at least by way of any destructive solvent action. From what is known about the product it is principally a light machine oil with a high volatility carrier (naphtha). The naphtha evaporates very quickly and even to the extent it persisted would be unlikely to dissolve the conformal coating on the PCB’s or damage any of components. This stuff has been sprayed everywhere for decades and aside from creating a sticky mess there seem to be no complaints of damage to plastics or electronics.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigBoozer
DDS or DJI drone service is a forum sponsor here, and is DJI authorized. Give him a try, if you become a site supporter, he offers a 15% discount on all products!
 
Update to my original post. Thanks to all those who spent some time replying, your comments and recommendations were mostly welcome.
I brought back the disassembled drone to a local shop in Northern Italy, and after replacing the gimbal with a second-hand one they were able to restart the motors. Apparently either one of the flat cables had been disconnected to avoid the take off or something was screwed in the gimbal itself and was not allowing for it for a software reason. Anyway, after a further fine cleaning of the board, a total replacement of the external shells (when it came back from the Tech Service three of the fixing screw's seats were broken...) and a re-mounting operation, they will mount a new gimbal and hopefully I'll be back on business. The ticket will be expensive, anyway: at least 500€, approx 550 US$, including our hefty chunk of taxes for the government (22% TVA on the net price).

Morale:
  1. Do not fly in a cloud of rock dust, nor take off/land on a dusty pavement...
  2. If the gimbal get blocked, clean it with compressed air
Ciao!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Thomas B
Update to my original post. Thanks to all those who spent some time replying, your comments and recommendations were mostly welcome.
I brought back the disassembled drone to a local shop in Northern Italy, and after replacing the gimbal with a second-hand one they were able to restart the motors. Apparently either one of the flat cables had been disconnected to avoid the take off or something was screwed in the gimbal itself and was not allowing for it for a software reason. Anyway, after a further fine cleaning of the board, a total replacement of the external shells (when it came back from the Tech Service three of the fixing screw's seats were broken...) and a re-mounting operation, they will mount a new gimbal and hopefully I'll be back on business. The ticket will be expensive, anyway: at least 500€, approx 550 US$, including our hefty chunk of taxes for the government (22% TVA on the net price).

Morale:
  1. Do not fly in a cloud of rock dust, nor take off/land on a dusty pavement...
  2. If the gimbal get blocked, clean it with compressed air
Ciao!

Thanks for the up date. Happy to hear you came up with a resolution.
 
Update to my original post.
The repair work done by a local drone shop worked perfectly. They even charged me 90 Euros less than what they originally quoted, and probably changed a couple more pieces than expected without charging me more.
This drone was diagnosed in August by the official DJI Tech Service in Holland as follows: "No crash damage. Liquid damage. Aircraft damaged. There is oil everywhere in the craft, customer self serviced it and it's impossible to clean oil from the entire craft. According to the assessment made by our Engineering staff it has been discovered that this unit is a total loss. For safety and the proper functionality of the unit we advise a complete replacement. [...] Please be kindly noted that, the original unit will not be sent back according to after-sales policy."

Since there was "No crash damage." we had to replace the whole external shell because it came back from Holland with a crack in the battery housing's right wall and four (not three...) plastic seats holding the closing screws were broken.
Since "it's impossible to clean oil from the entire craft. " we cleaned in five minutes very small traces of oil from the electronic board with some light solvent and it looks new and bears no functional defect.
Since for DJI "this unit is a total loss." now, with three hours of work and few spare parts, it flies and photo/videorecords as a new one.

Do you think that I will use the official European DJI Tech Service for possible future problems?
 

Attachments

  • 20191129_Test Post Repair.JPG
    20191129_Test Post Repair.JPG
    9.6 MB · Views: 24
  • Like
Reactions: GadgetGuy
I would follow up with DJI that the AC was able to be cleaned up and put back in working order.
 
I would follow up with DJI that the AC was able to be cleaned up and put back in working order.
They wont care- unfortunately. They probably have a simple flowchart that has an arrow pointing to the offer customer replacement at X cost if there is more than a certain amount of time of components involved -or- the required operation is non standard. They are nothing more than glorified parts fitters.

This is no different that taking a vehicle for repair to the official dealership as opposed to a third party mechanic.

Official dealer will insist on using only genuine OEM parts and will replace rather than repair a component in most instances (even where it is possible to repair the part). You will pay thousands for a diesel injection system pump at a dealership whereas the local diesel mechanic will pull it down and resolver a connection, replace a seal etc.
 
They wont care- unfortunately. They probably have a simple flowchart that has an arrow pointing to the offer customer replacement at X cost if there is more than a certain amount of time of components
Exactly. They do not care. They follow rules.
I have already told them the end of this story: they keep a very low profile, they reply deeply apologizing for what happened, they even tell that they are happy that my drone now flies again, but they make clear that their staff just followed their rules and do not offer me any other option than stopping whining.

Morale: if anything will happen again to one of my two MP, the repair will be done by this excellent local drone shop!

End of this thread, for me. Thanks to all for their time and comments! Ciao.
 
Hi folks, I had a bad experience with DJI Tech Service and I would like to hear from you some constructive comments. Here's the short story:
  1. August 3rd, I fly my two-years-old Mavic Pro in a stone quarry in Tuscany, Italy, where some sculptors are making a lot of rock dust with their grinders, during a sculptor's symposium. I find a cool thing to do some footage through the dust, for a very dramatic cinematic effect, right? Of course the abrasive dust gets into the gimbal, and blocks it almost immediately. OK, my fault, no discussions.
    If you are interested, this is resulting video
  2. I land the bird, go home quickly, spray some drops of WD40 in the motor controlling the up-down movement of the gimbal and get a partial unblocking effect.
  3. I fly the drone in the following days to see how the gimbal behaves, and it's not 100% OK: almost fixed, but not totally, it shakes wildly sometimes.
    During these test runs I beat two personal records: fastest fly (69.6 km/h, or 43.5 miles/h) and longest distance covered (8,745 m or 5.46 miles). This bird flies perfectly.
  4. I consult a couple of local drone shops and they recommend to send the drone to DJI Tech Service in Holland. I do it, paying my UPS bill without a problem: It's out of warranty, I'm more than ready to pay for repair and delivery. I add a detailed report, asking for either cleaning the gimbal or for its replacement with a new one.
  5. I get after a week this diagnosis from DJI Tech Service : "No crash damage. Liquid damage. Aircraft damaged. There is oil everywhere in the craft, customer self serviced it and it's impossible to clean oil from the entire craft. According to the assessment made by our Engineering staff it has been discovered that this unit is a total loss. For safety and the proper functionality of the unit we advise a complete replacement. [...] Please be kindly noted that, the original unit will not be sent back according to after-sales policy."
  6. After a short exchange of emails - where I tell them that the drone is mine and I want it back with the gimbal as faulty as it is, whatever their internal rules say - they send me back the drone, unrepaired as agreed.
  7. When I get the drone back, I try to fly it and... no way. No GPS signal, IMU problems, the bird cannot take off. It switches on regularly, makes all its routine checks, the gimbal goes up and down, the propellers move few mm as usual, but the motors will never start.
  8. I make a complaint with DJI in China, they do all their routine checks with The Netherlands, they even kindly call me from Shenzen, China, to understand what happened (I had to re-explain the whole story, my written and detailed report was probably not clear enough...) and they send me two pictures where some wet parts are visible in the gimbal's seat and in the electronic card inside the drone. (The few drops of WD40 which I sprayed only in the gimbal's motor probably were pushed inside the drone - through the front grill - by the air during the test flights, and is really present in a very, very limited quantity: I have now dismounted the drone, and the wet it's barely visible). DJI refused to clean the oil (they call this "a liquid damage" that can damage electronics) and even refused to replace the whole gimbal (because the drone was "a total loss").
What do you think I should I do now?
Technically: The gimbal can be replaced, of course. But do you think the flying problem can be fixed?
Legally: I sent to DJI a perfectly flying drone with a faulty gimbal, and I got back a NON flying drone. Now it's a total loss, not before!

Thanks for reading this sad story until here.
wd 40 is water displacement
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,599
Messages
1,554,260
Members
159,605
Latest member
petravka