camera and gimbal Replacement

Fitter 562 · Oct 13, 2020

Hello, this is my first post. I'm trying to get some answers without some on telling me to ship us the drone and we'll take a look at it for you.
The back story I had a broken gimble/camera ribbon cable replaced at a DJI certified repair shop. they then called me and said that the gimble was not working and It needed to be replaced it would be about $240. to replace it with parts and labor I told them to just send it back to me as I was still able to fly the drone and the Video was still working but the gimbal wasn't working.
I got it back and the gimbal was making a noise and I was getting a gimbal stuck error so I figured the gimbal was damaged, when I could afford it I got a new camera and Gimbal I installed it myself and when I powered it on I could hear the new gimble making the exact same noise as the old one, that leads me to believe that there was nothing wrong with the gimbal. sorry for the long story.
has anyone had a similar instance of replacing the gimbal cable and then the gimbal doesn't work correctly?

Carlos Martinezz · Oct 18, 2020

I'm having a similar issue in my MM, some times I receive a message indicating gimbal stuck, I just discovered that when I turn on the MM on my hands, I can hear a noise when the gimbal moves up and down, the noise is intermitent.
The vibration affects the video recording image as seen in this video I recorded a couple of days ago.
I still have DJI care, I requesting DJI to replace my MM

Fitter 562 · Oct 18, 2020

Sorry to hear about your MM, unfortunately, I didn't get the DJI care, not to sound arrogant, I can usually fix most things that are broken. however, with this, I opted to send it to Multicopter Warehouse a DJI Authorized repair Shop. they replaced the broken cable, however, they called and said the camera needed to be replaced. and the cost with parts and labor would be about $250. and a new MM is $400. so I decided to try and fix it myself. I replaced the camera and gimbal with a new one, with the noise it was making I figured the motor for the up and down was broken. when the new one was doing the exact same thing as the old one I can only think the problem is in the mainboard or with calibration. when and If I figure this out I will post the steps needed to fix it. evan if the solution is buying a new MM

Carlos Martinezz · Oct 18, 2020

Thanks for sharing this important information, please let me know your findings.

Bob Jones · Oct 30, 2020

Fitter 562 said:
Hello, this is my first post. I'm trying to get some answers without some on telling me to ship us the drone and we'll take a look at it for you.
The back story I had a broken gimble/camera ribbon cable replaced at a DJI certified repair shop. they then called me and said that the gimble was not working and It needed to be replaced it would be about $240. to replace it with parts and labor I told them to just send it back to me as I was still able to fly the drone and the Video was still working but the gimbal wasn't working.
I got it back and the gimbal was making a noise and I was getting a gimbal stuck error so I figured the gimbal was damaged, when I could afford it I got a new camera and Gimbal I installed it myself and when I powered it on I could hear the new gimble making the exact same noise as the old one, that leads me to believe that there was nothing wrong with the gimbal. sorry for the long story.
has anyone had a similar instance of replacing the gimbal cable and then the gimbal doesn't work correctly?

Yeah, I replaced the gimble and ribbon cable. Figured to save the cost of repair as the repair looked like it was going to be close enough to the cost of a new mini. Bought the parts on Amazon and installed them myself. The gimble moves around on startup but looks up to the right and gets stuck warning. The tilt wheel on the remote will not work either. The camera picture looks great,
I bought another mini.
Like you couldn't get any tech help from DJI, just to send it in. Brought it to a hobby shop with drone repair and they wouldn't touch it. I did start it for them to see the issue and he said it was likely a motherboard problem. I think DJI has software needed to calibrate the drone after a gimble repair.

Fitter 562 · Oct 30, 2020

Bob Jones said:
Yeah, I replaced the gimble and ribbon cable. Figured to save the cost of repair as the repair looked like it was going to be close enough to the cost of a new mini. Bought the parts on Amazon and installed them myself. The gimble moves around on startup but looks up to the right and gets stuck warning. The tilt wheel on the remote will not work either. The camera picture looks great,
I bought another mini.
Like you couldn't get any tech help from DJI, just to send it in. Brought it to a hobby shop with drone repair and they wouldn't touch it. I did start it for them to see the issue and he said it was likely a motherboard problem. I think DJI has software needed to calibrate the drone after a gimble repair.

I called the same shop that replaced the ribbon cable Multicopter Warehouse LLC a DJI authorized repair shop out of Colorado. they said that they would calibrate it for $125.00.
so far $60. for the cable replacement $185.00 for the new camera and Gimble I installed myself, and $125 for the recalibration (if that fixes it) no guarantees! so $370.00 so you were money ahead just buying a new drone! well almost, I didn't count for the aggravation.

DiyTechno · Nov 2, 2020

Bob Jones said:
Yeah, I replaced the gimble and ribbon cable. Figured to save the cost of repair as the repair looked like it was going to be close enough to the cost of a new mini. Bought the parts on Amazon and installed them myself. The gimble moves around on startup but looks up to the right and gets stuck warning. The tilt wheel on the remote will not work either. The camera picture looks great,
I bought another mini.
Like you couldn't get any tech help from DJI, just to send it in. Brought it to a hobby shop with drone repair and they wouldn't touch it. I did start it for them to see the issue and he said it was likely a motherboard problem. I think DJI has software needed to calibrate the drone after a gimble repair.

You can calibrate the gimbal using this tools.

GitHub - o-gs/dji-firmware-tools: Tools for handling firmwares of DJI products, with focus on quadcopters.

Tools for handling firmwares of DJI products, with focus on quadcopters. - o-gs/dji-firmware-tools

github.com

Fitter 562 · Nov 2, 2020

Thank you Diy-Techno for the firmware tools Link.

DanMan32 · Nov 3, 2020

Note that DJI doesn't have any authorized repair centers here in the USA other than themselves, at least not when I looked into it about a year ago. They do have factory trained recommended repair centers though. Not using an authorized repair center will void your warranty with DJI, DJI assuming the repair center would assume the warranty on the center's own terms.

This is not to diminish any repair center's qualification.

Bob Jones · Nov 7, 2020

DiyTechno said:
You can calibrate the gimbal using this tools.

GitHub - o-gs/dji-firmware-tools: Tools for handling firmwares of DJI products, with focus on quadcopters.

Tools for handling firmwares of DJI products, with focus on quadcopters. - o-gs/dji-firmware-tools

github.com

Thank you for the link, DyiTechno. Unfortunately I don't know what to do with it.

Fitter 562 · Nov 7, 2020

Bob Jones said:
Thank you for the link, DyiTechno. Unfortunately I don't know what to do with it.

Buy a new drone. LOL. that's what I'm going to do. Then use my old one to educate myself, but at my leisure.

Bob Jones · Nov 8, 2020

Fitter 562 said:
Buy a new drone. LOL. that's what I'm going to do. Then use my old one to educate myself, but at my leisure.

That's what I did. The first one flies like a champ. Just the darn gimble. I'll let it sit and watch for a solution. They are great little drones.

Heretik · Nov 9, 2020

Fitter 562 said:
Sorry to hear about your MM, unfortunately, I didn't get the DJI care, not to sound arrogant, I can usually fix most things that are broken. however, with this, I opted to send it to Multicopter Warehouse a DJI Authorized repair Shop. they replaced the broken cable, however, they called and said the camera needed to be replaced. and the cost with parts and labor would be about $250. and a new MM is $400. so I decided to try and fix it myself. I replaced the camera and gimbal with a new one, with the noise it was making I figured the motor for the up and down was broken. when the new one was doing the exact same thing as the old one I can only think the problem is in the mainboard or with calibration. when and If I figure this out I will post the steps needed to fix it. evan if the solution is buying a new MM

1. DJI Care Refresh can be bound to a previously purchased DJI aircraft when it meets one of the following criteria:

Brand new and un-activated aircraft;
Aircraft activated within the last 48 hours;
Repaired in an official DJI Service Center (within 72 hours of receiving email invitation);

Mini Aviator · Dec 20, 2020

Fitter 562 said:
Buy a new drone. LOL. that's what I'm going to do. Then use my old one to educate myself, but at my leisure.

Just send your drone to DJI Drone Service in NJ. They send you a FEDEX label, and in my case they were able to software correct my new gimbal with the IMU for $99 and I received it back yesterday; 6 day turnaround. Better than purchasing an new drone.

Mini Aviator · Dec 20, 2020

Fitter 562 said:
Hello, this is my first post. I'm trying to get some answers without some on telling me to ship us the drone and we'll take a look at it for you.
The back story I had a broken gimble/camera ribbon cable replaced at a DJI certified repair shop. they then called me and said that the gimble was not working and It needed to be replaced it would be about $240. to replace it with parts and labor I told them to just send it back to me as I was still able to fly the drone and the Video was still working but the gimbal wasn't working.
I got it back and the gimbal was making a noise and I was getting a gimbal stuck error so I figured the gimbal was damaged, when I could afford it I got a new camera and Gimbal I installed it myself and when I powered it on I could hear the new gimble making the exact same noise as the old one, that leads me to believe that there was nothing wrong with the gimbal. sorry for the long story.
has anyone had a similar instance of replacing the gimbal cable and then the gimbal doesn't work correctly?

Just send it to DJI Drone Service in NJ. They sent me a FEDEX label and the turnaround was 6 days. They only charged $99 for the software fix which paired the gimbal/camera I installed myself to the IMU. I did quite a bit of research, some shops wanted to charge $250-$300 and there was no real DIY fix. DJI Drone Service was on a thread stating they had the capability to do the software fix so I took a gamble and it paid off.

Jcotell · Jan 30, 2021

DanMan32 said:
Note that DJI doesn't have any authorized repair centers here in the USA other than themselves, at least not when I looked into it about a year ago. They do have factory trained recommended repair centers though. Not using an authorized repair center will void your warranty with DJI, DJI assuming the repair center would assume the warranty on the center's own terms.

This is not to diminish any repair center's qualification.

Same here, went to have my drone repaired after learning you "the owner" cannot make the repairs yourself. So I sent it out knowing the Gimbal had to be replaced. "Cloud City Drones" out of Rhode Island could not give an estimate. If they are so experienced, they know exaclty how much time and money it will take. Only to find out they sent it out for repair and had not even started the work. After being forced to have it repaired, I tried to support a local business and it has been the Worst Service Experience I have ever received. Save your money and time, if you have repairs send your drone to DJI directly. Cloud City Drones is nothing but a middleman that takes a cut of the fee off the top. I still don't have my Drone back and expect I will never see it again. Done with DJI equipment.

sharkface · Jul 15, 2021

Fitter 562 said:
I called the same shop that replaced the ribbon cable Multicopter Warehouse LLC a DJI authorized repair shop out of Colorado. they said that they would calibrate it for $125.00.
so far $60. for the cable replacement $185.00 for the new camera and Gimble I installed myself, and $125 for the recalibration (if that fixes it) no guarantees! so $370.00 so you were money ahead just buying a new drone! well almost, I didn't count for the aggravation.

I had replaced the ribbon cable myself recently. I had a problem with the yaw axis after . I had to tap the yaw a lot to get the camera straight. then I tried to do an auto gimble calibration. the gimbal yaw locked over to one side. I tried it a few more times . it would not work. so I tried to bring the yaw back to -0- center setting. it made an off odd noise like you may be talking about? I tried another calibration and it did not work! so I pulled the camera straight/ center when it was shut down . then restarted the mavic pro. I did another calibration to the gimbal , and it is working just fine! I was a bit FREAKED at first . just happy everything is working as it should now ?

sharkface · Jul 15, 2021

Fitter 562 said:
Hello, this is my first post. I'm trying to get some answers without some on telling me to ship us the drone and we'll take a look at it for you.
The back story I had a broken gimble/camera ribbon cable replaced at a DJI certified repair shop. they then called me and said that the gimble was not working and It needed to be replaced it would be about $240. to replace it with parts and labor I told them to just send it back to me as I was still able to fly the drone and the Video was still working but the gimbal wasn't working.
I got it back and the gimbal was making a noise and I was getting a gimbal stuck error so I figured the gimbal was damaged, when I could afford it I got a new camera and Gimbal I installed it myself and when I powered it on I could hear the new gimble making the exact same noise as the old one, that leads me to believe that there was nothing wrong with the gimbal. sorry for the long story.
has anyone had a similar instance of replacing the gimbal cable and then the gimbal doesn't work correctly?

could be the gimbal card/ video card ? make sure your gimbal yaw is set to 0. before you do a calibration on a level surface!