Gimbal board broken from crash? ribbon & cam line cable replaced, neither gimbal movement nor video!

[acc_user]

Hi Guys,

i crashed my mavic, ribbon cable and camera line cable ripped off. I bought replacements on amazon and replaced them with the help of a YT video. I recon everything went fine, all connectors fit good.

BUT: I have no gimbal movement when turning the mavic on (no calibration, no movement when using controller) and also no video feed whatsoever.

Is it likely that the gimbal board (the circuit board, not the anti-vibration board) is broken as well or did i get bad cables? I did order them from different amazon retailers tho.

I'm really frustrated since I thought this is gonna be fixed by myself without costing a fortune ((

Anybody can help me?

 

[Former Member]

It could be a combination of bad replacement parts, and damaged original parts.

First thing to do is connect the cam body via LVDS cable directly to the gimbal PCB and see if you get video. After you confirm you are getting video, you can reassemble the gimbal, and see what happens. If you see smoke come from anywhere, pull the battery immediately and check each part to find out what fried.

 

[acc_user]

Hello Thunderdrones,

thanks for your fast response! I didn't quite get what you are suggesting. Do you mean I should try to connect the camera line cable directly from the camera unit to the gimbal circuit board without routing it through the gimbal at all to check video feed availability? I just checked if the connector sits right on either sides, no doubts.

Should I order both cables again to make sure that this is not the problem (even tho it's probably unlikely that both of the are corrupt?!)

I wonder if I am going to fix this ;-)

 

[MichiganMavic]

Maybe better to let Thunderdrones take a look at it? It may be the cheaper way in the long run and he knows what he’s doing[emoji6]
A lot of times, it’s better to just bite the bullet and let the pros repair it. I’m in the same kind of business (Repair) just Automotive. Too many people throw parts on a car trying to fix something, but end up spending more money than needed.

 

[Former Member]

Do you mean I should try to connect the camera line cable directly from the camera unit to the gimbal circuit board without routing it through the gimbal at all to check video feed availability?

Yes that's exactly what Im saying. You need to get the video feed first, otherwise no reason to reassemble the gimbal. Connect the LVDS cable right to the gimbal PCB. Connect the B/W gimbal PCB power cable to the socket and the 2 ribbon connectors that go to the core board. See if you get video feed.

 

[acc_user]

Maybe better to let Thunderdrones take a look at it? It may be the cheaper way in the long run and he knows what he’s doing

A lot of times, it’s better to just bite the bullet and let the pros repair it. I’m in the same kind of business (Repair) just Automotive. Too many people throw parts on a car trying to fix something, but end up spending more money than needed.

That's a good idea for sure, since I'm german the shipping will probably be higher than the repairing cost.

Yes that's exactly what Im saying. You need to get the video feed first, otherwise no reason to reassemble the gimbal. Connect the LVDS cable right to the gimbal PCB. Connect the B/W gimbal PCB power cable to the socket and the 2 ribbon connectors that go to the core board. See if you get video feed.

I have reassembled the gimbal with both new cables and everything already. The four flatband connectors sit tight on the gimbal circuit board and the b/w power cable is connected as well.

I ordered a new video signal cable and will check if i get video feed. Even though I assume that something with the gimbal board is corrupt since there is nothing going on whatsoever!

Thanks for your assistance so far, I'll keep you updated.

 

[acc_user]

Just a quick little update:
The problem was in fact the video signal line. I guess that's why @Thunderdrones did suggest to check that first, because even tho the gimbal flex cable was fine, the gimbal didn't move because the video feed wasn't there.

Thanks for your assistance!

Fly safe

 

[Former Member]

Maybe better to let Thunderdrones take a look at it? It may be the cheaper way in the long run and he knows what he’s doing[emoji6]
A lot of times, it’s better to just bite the bullet and let the pros repair it. I’m in the same kind of business (Repair) just Automotive. Too many people throw parts on a car trying to fix something, but end up spending more money than needed.

Thank you for mentioning me @MichiganMavic

 

[Former Member]

Just a quick little update:
The problem was in fact the video signal line. I guess that's why @Thunderdrones did suggest to check that first, because even tho the gimbal flex cable was fine, the gimbal didn't move because the video feed wasn't there.

Thanks for your assistance!

Fly safe

Glad you got it repaired.

 

[weirdoz]

Yes that's exactly what Im saying. You need to get the video feed first, otherwise no reason to reassemble the gimbal. Connect the LVDS cable right to the gimbal PCB. Connect the B/W gimbal PCB power cable to the socket and the 2 ribbon connectors that go to the core board. See if you get video feed.

Thats very intresting, i had probably the same problem. Mine was also crashed and i fixed the ribboncabel and the broken frame of the gimbal.
Last flight i noticed that the videocable hangs out of the gimbal, so i opend the upper cover, and put the cable inside. Maybe thats the problem, because my gimbal, video and the front vps not working any more?
So is it right, if the the videocable is broken, all connected parts are not working, is that right?

 

[Former Member]

So is it right, if the the videocable is broken, all connected parts are not working, is that right?

The silver video cable only controls the video feed and the gimbal gyro positioning settings. The black cable controls the gimbal motors.

 

[weirdoz]

The silver video cable only controls the video feed and the gimbal gyro positioning settings. The black cable controls the gimbal motors.

Thats right and i know that, what i would say is, if you have issiues with the video cable, all other components, who are connectetd via the gimbal pcb, are not working.
In my case it was, and you give me the right hint. After the last flight with functional video, gimbal and front obstacle cameras. This parts are all connected through the gimbal pcb to the mainboard.
So the vidoecable was hanging out of the cover on the top of the gimbal, where it is fixed to the frame, so i was put the cover down and cover that cable with its cover. What i not noticed, i pinched one of these "hair"-cables from the video cable. After i "freed" it yesterday all worked fine again.
Hope this can help somebody who has problems like me.
If you have a crash or other issues with the gimbal, and the gimbal is not working, absolutly no movement also at the batterystart, check the videocable first!
Thx again to Thunderdrones from switzerland.

 

[Crusader5454]

Thank you everyone for your posts! I'm new here and it sounds like i have the same struggles too. I will check my new video line for any pinched wire. I also suspect my B/W cable is not powering the gimbal. Maybe I messed up the B/W contact to the board?

 

[Former Member]

if you have issiues with the video cable, all other components, who are connectetd via the gimbal pcb, are not working.

Actually, if your black gimbal flat ribbon cable is broken, you will not get gimbal movement but you will get video as long as your silver video cable is not broken. If your video cable is broken, you will get gimbal movement but no video as long as the black cable is not broken..

 

[weirdoz]

............ If your video cable is broken, you will get gimbal movement but no video as long as the black cable is not broken..

Hmm, i don‘t think so, as you can read in my post, the video cable has an issue and as an result of it, the gimbal does not work, and in my case also the front obstacle cams.
Thats exactly what you say some posts up here, why do you say now something different?

 

[Alinghi]

Hmm, i don‘t think so, as you can read in my post, the video cable has an issue and as an result of it, the gimbal does not work, and in my case also the front obstacle cams.
Thats exactly what you say some posts up here, why do you say now something different?

That could well be and bring light into some issues I have experienced already. Thanks a lot for sharing this very useful information, mate!