Gimbal Disconnected - N/A in Camera Fields

Stresspuppy · May 8, 2022

When I first turn on and connect my MP to the controller, I get N/A for all the camera fields and "Gimbal Disconnected" in the status. I have seen this in several threads and the answer seems to be something to do with the SD card. Based on those threads, I have tried different cards (all that meet the DJI recommended specs), formatted the cards (ExFAT) on the computer and in the drone. I've tried different cables, as well as trying on both my iPhone and my iPad Mini. All to no avail.

However, if I wait about 4-5 minutes touching nothing on the drone, controller or in the software, it comes up and works fine. If I turn it off and right back on again (as if you were changing a battery), it continues to work as expected. If I turn everything off and wait about 2-3 minutes and start everything back up, I'm right back to the N/A and "Gimbal Disconnected". If I wait, eventually the N/A and status clear up again. All flying and camera operations are normal from there.

Any thoughts on why this would happen? The only thing I can think is something is "warming up", but since most everything here is about the SD card that doesn't make sense.

Thanks!

old man mavic · May 8, 2022

@Stresspuppy the symptom's you are experiencing do point to an SD card issue,
it could be that the Card reader slot in the side of the drone has some dirt in side, remove the card and using an air puffer or some canned air give the slot a few blasts
it could also be that the pins that the SD card connects to have become damaged ,or it could be an issue with the camera control board ,or the cables that connect the camera to the board

Stresspuppy · May 9, 2022

Thanks. I'll try blowing out the SD slot and see if that works. After I try blowing it out, if I have read the info in other places correctly, I can just take the bottom cover/heat sink off and have access to the card holder to see if there is anything odd there. Is that correct?

Is there any way I can check/diagnose if it is the camera board or camera cable? It seems there is a bit more to get to those.

I want to take this in a methodical way and just knock each possibility off the list if I can without putting the MP out of action for too long. I have pictures I need to take weekly documenting construction progress and need to make sure it is flying, but I'm also fearful that at some point the waiting won't do it anymore and I'm totally out of commission.

old man mavic · May 9, 2022

@Stresspuppy any sort of diagnosis or repair is going to be hit and miss, and could even lead to creating further issues,
you would be better off sending the drone to a registered DJI repair facility ,which could work out a lot cheaper in the long run

Stresspuppy · May 11, 2022

Well, I tried blowing out the card slot to no avail. I guess I could take the bottom off and see if anything looks out of whack, but not sure what I'd be able to see. And I guess I could take the top cover off and check the camera connections, but to your point, it might be opening a can of worms/creating more issues. I saw one article that mentioned updating/refreshing the firmware. I'm not sure that will do anything but I may give that a go.

I've found an authorized place here in the states (Drone Nerds) that seems reasonable. Once I finish the progress taking pictures I'm taking I'll likely just send it in to be safe. Assuming it doesn't fully crap out on me before then.