First Crash MPP; Gimbal can't recieve main controller data

[HKduval904]

Friday 9-6-19 I got bit buy the compliancy bug and watched the camera the entire time I was flying a rolling shot. Long story short by the time I looked up the drone was about 3 foot from a tree and when I hit the opposite direction on the stick it had an unusual amount of lag before it responded to the command. This took the drone right into the tree branch, shut the motors down, and drone force one went nose first down 30 foot onto concrete.

A decent amount of physical damage is on the nose along with a depressed vision housing and a cracked glass on the left vision sensor. Believe it or not the vision sensors still work after recalibrating them. What I'm left with is a "Gimbal cannot receive MC data" error.


What does work

1. Drone powers up.

2. Gimbal does the initializing dance.

3. Gimbal moves when tilting drone.

4. Drone GPS, IMU, work and have been calibrated.

5. Vision system still works after a calibration via assistant.

6. Drone will take off, hover in place, and fly as normal.

7. Drone lands without issue.


What DOESNT work

1. No video feed to phone connected via go app.

2. No control of gimbal via RC.

3. When trying to calibrate gimbal, nothing happens, I.E. doesn't even acknowledge the command.

4. Trying to reset gimbal settings via RC gives "Timeout error"

5. Refreshing software fails on the third iteration.

6. Attempting to downgrade software fails on third iteration.

7. Compass receives interference in unusual places and wont complete a calibration. However when placed in open field, has no interference. May be an intermitting issue or just me never noticing it before?





Findings of the autopsy

1. Removed top shell and observed any damaged wires or loose connections; None found.

2. Removed gimbal, replaced, and terminated all connections from the gimbal ribbon and sensor ribbons.

3. Verified connections of gimbal cables to underbody terminations on main PCB

4. Removed gimbal again this time dismantling it and confirming all terminations made from the ribbon and silver cable.

5. Pulled out more hair and cried for another hour.

6.The large side ribbon cable that runs from the gimbal PCB to the main underbody motherboard has a bad connection. New cables ordered for replacement.

Turned out being this connection I thought was good was a bad cable. Got drone back unrepaired, swapped cable, drone works flawless.



Summary

Everything works with the exception of the above mentioned gimbal MC data failure. Ordered new silver cable and ribbon cable for the gimbal. Also ordered the main gimbal ribbon cables that route to the mother board. IF these don't solve the problem then I'm stuck with returning the drone. If you have any suggestions I'm all ears. I had vacation set for this coming weekend to get some great aerials of Hilton Head Island.

 

[HKduval904]

 

[old man mavic]

ouch that had to hurt

 

[DDS]

Friday 9-6-19 I got bit buy the compliancy bug and watched the camera the entire time I was flying a rolling shot. Long story short by the time I looked up the drone was about 3 foot from a tree and when I hit the opposite direction on the stick it had an unusual amount of lag before it responded to the command. This took the drone right into the tree branch, shut the motors down, and drone force one went nose first down 30 foot onto concrete.

A decent amount of physical damage is on the nose along with a depressed vision housing and a cracked glass on the left vision sensor. Believe it or not the vision sensors still work after recalibrating them. What I'm left with is a "Gimbal cannot receive MC data" error.


What does work

1. Drone powers up.

2. Gimbal does the initializing dance.

3. Gimbal moves when tilting drone.

4. Drone GPS, IMU, work and have been calibrated.

5. Vision system still works after a calibration via assistant.

6. Drone will take off, hover in place, and fly as normal.

7. Drone lands without issue.


What DOESNT work

1. No video feed to phone connected via go app.

2. No control of gimbal via RC.

3. When trying to calibrate gimbal, nothing happens, I.E. doesn't even acknowledge the command.

4. Trying to reset gimbal settings via RC gives "Timeout error"

5. Refreshing software fails on the third iteration.

6. Attempting to downgrade software fails on third iteration.

7. Compass receives interference in unusual places and wont complete a calibration. However when placed in open field, has no interference. May be an intermitting issue or just me never noticing it before?





Findings of the autopsy

1. Removed top shell and observed any damaged wires or loose connections; None found.

2. Removed gimbal, replaced, and terminated all connections from the gimbal ribbon and sensor ribbons.

3. Verified connections of gimbal cables to underbody terminations on main PCB

4. Removed gimbal again this time dismantling it and confirming all terminations made from the ribbon and silver cable.

5. Pulled out more hair and cried for another hour.

6.The large side ribbon cable that runs from the gimbal PCB to the main underbody motherboard has a bad connection. New cables ordered for replacement.




Summary

Everything works with the exception of the above mentioned gimbal MC data failure. Ordered new silver cable and ribbon cable for the gimbal. Also ordered the main gimbal ribbon cables that route to the mother board. IF these don't solve the problem then I'm stuck with returning the drone. If you have any suggestions I'm all ears. I had vacation set for this coming weekend to get some great aerials of Hilton Head Island.

prob easier to replace the whole gimbal assembly

is trial an error you may wind up spending $ on gimbal parts and the issue still remain. the shell seems cosmetic but you can replace that as well.
pm if interested in a new gimbal purchase or if you prefer we can do it for you.

as always free shipping both ways & free inspection

 

[HKduval904]

I

prob easier to replace the whole gimbal assembly

is trial an error you may wind up spending $ on gimbal parts and the issue still remain. the shell seems cosmetic but you can replace that as well.
pm if interested in a new gimbal purchase or if you prefer we can do it for you.

as always free shipping both ways & free inspection

I have already sent it back to DJI. Changing the gimbal cables isn't hard I've done a few before. For the price of parts compared to DJI quote it was a better deal.

 

[DDS]

how much they quote you?

 

[HKduval904]

Well got the quote back from DJI. They want $707 for the repairs and I only paid $730 for the refurbished model direct from DJI.

They quoted me for parts that I know are not damaged including the main board. The drone still flys and the gimbal works just no video feed but somehow they want me to buy a new control board, gimbal axis arm, gimbal camera, and gimbal control board.

Edit: Edit to clean up language

 

[HKduval904]

 

[DDS]

View attachment 82045View attachment 82046

ouch can sell you new @ $799

or if you prefer send it in for a free inspection so you can make a more educated decision. I cant see the repair totaling any were near $700 as we can build one for way less

 

[HKduval904]

That's my point. I'm currently in a major bitching match trying to get anyone with a technical background to speak with. I pulled the thing apart and tested all the circuits before I sent it in. All it needed was a camera, front sensor, and body work.

 

[DDS]

That's my point. I'm currently in a major bitching match trying to get anyone with a technical background to speak with. I pulled the thing apart and tested all the circuits before I sent it in. All it needed was a camera, front sensor, and body work.

yeah prob why they charging so much dji doesn't like that. Even if you would pay the $700 they will just ship you a refurb
good luck getting somewhere w/ dji. If i had to guess there are 2 chances they will budge, Slim & None and slim is away on vacation

 

[HKduval904]

I didn't tell them I took the shell apart. All the screw cover bits are still on. All I told them is what I think Is wrong and asked if I can speak to an engineer to explain what parts they found broken and what troubleshooting they did to confirm that. Just another overpriced company with piss poor service. They quoted me $815 for a refurbed drone with no battery, controller, or props. I paid $730 for the entire kit from the DJI website a month ago.

I'm sure its because of the "Tariffs" but nobody has actually said that.

 

[HKduval904]

New quote back for $376 omitting the Core board. It has been In their possession for nearly 3 weeks. Disputing the new quote as they are still charging for the gimbal axis arm. I'm assuming 3 more weeks of headaches and Ill finally be left with a $308 bill that I'm just gonna pay to finally get my drone in the air. If this ever happens again I'll just order parts and fix it myself, or send to a local repair shop.

 

[Thomas B]

New quote back for $376 omitting the Core board. It has been In their possession for nearly 3 weeks. Disputing the new quote as they are still charging for the gimbal axis arm. I'm assuming 3 more weeks of headaches and Ill finally be left with a $308 bill that I'm just gonna pay to finally get my drone in the air. If this ever happens again I'll just order parts and fix it myself, or send to a local repair shop.

If they send you a “new” drone in place of the one you sent consider DJIRefresh.

 

[HKduval904]

If they send you a “new” drone in place of the one you sent consider DJIRefresh.

I’m pretty sure they will send another refurbished which doesnt bother me because I bought my drone refurbished. I’m just not going to pay for parts so they can part swap and not actually trouble shoot.

I have the mavic 2 pro under refresh and the mavic air with refresh coming tomorrow. I may buy it for the platinum if I can get a discount on it when buying select.

I have over 50 flight hours and this is my first crash. While I’m not saying it won’t happen again, I just know what not to do now.

 

[Thomas B]

I’m pretty sure they will send another refurbished which doesnt bother me because I bought my drone refurbished. I’m just not going to pay for parts so they can part swap and not actually trouble shoot.

I have the mavic 2 pro under refresh and the mavic air with refresh coming tomorrow. I may buy it for the platinum if I can get a discount on it when buying select.

I have over 50 flight hours and this is my first crash. While I’m not saying it won’t happen again, I just know what not to do now.

Understand. I have it on 3 drones. The only crash I had with my MPP resulted in an apparently new drone in my hands after 8 days.

 

[Neil Reid]

6.The large side ribbon cable that runs from the gimbal PCB to the main underbody motherboard has a bad connection. New cables ordered for replacement.
Summary

Everything works with the exception of the above mentioned gimbal MC data failure. Ordered new silver cable and ribbon cable for the gimbal. Also ordered the main gimbal ribbon cables that route to the mother board. IF these don't solve the problem then I'm stuck with returning the drone. If you have any suggestions I'm all ears. I had vacation set for this coming weekend to get some great aerials of Hilton Head Island.

Sorry to hear about your crash; that's a pretty hard hit. Had similar amount of damage recently after a 35 foot drop to concrete.

My response is pretty late to your original post, but wanted to say these things are not hard to rebuild at all with one exception, routing the ribbon cable. Ended up simply buying a new gimbal assembly and swapping the camera. Total repair cost on mine was about $200, most of that in the gimbal assembly. I now know how to rebuild an MP which is pretty cool; you can have almost every part overnight from Amazon, and if you have a good soldering iron, you're GTG. Anything approaching $700 is way too expensive.

One other thing is that surprised me is that it took about five flights to trust the rebuild; my confidence also took a hit but reduced a lot of my overconfidence. With about 15 flights since then, we're good to go.

Good luck- let us know how it goes-

 

[Mike4884]

I bet its the gimbal control board.....dji can suck sometimes and i feel your pain. If u do end up getting drone back unrepaired because u didnt want to go through with it. Im willing to send u one to try If it works just pp me the money. Everyone happy and for a wayyyy cheaper price the 700$ bucks!

 

[HKduval904]

Guess what, after DJI doubling down that their "Engineer" was so adamant that my whole drone was broken I told them to send it back. Swapped the body ribbon cables for $11 on amazon and it works completely fine. The fault I had is data from the gimbal board to the core board.

So they never even took it apart or ran the test they said they did. 1 **** cable in a pack of 3 for $11 and they told me the gimbal, camera, front sensor, Core board where all smoked.

Can't help but to laugh. Still waiting for the call back from their supervisor from 2 months ago. Even with my front sensor cracked it still works 100% correct after calibration. Only issue is the shell is cracked but still flys perfect. Gonna grab a new shell in a few days and that's it. Also the compass needs to be recalibrated almost every flight so I'm going to swap that too.

Thanks for everyone suggestions and help.

 

[DanMan32]

Try demagnetising the compass, and the rest of the AC, besides motors of course.