Gimbal motor overloaded

JTT · Nov 30, 2016

DJI Mavic Pro.

Had a crash with a tree today, small drop from 10 feet. Everything looked fine but gimbal was dead after. Camera is working fine and i can take pictures and record video.

Under Overall status on the DJI app it posts two messages:

1 - Gimbal motor overloaded. Check weather gimbal clamp is removed.

2 - Gimbal is restarting. Check that gimbal rotates smoothly if restart fails again.

Gimbal rotates freely, and i can not see any damage to the gimbal, wires or anything else. I have tried to reinstall the firmware by using the DI assistant 2 and plugging the drone in to the computer with the USB, sucessfull update, but gimbal is still dead...

Anyone....?

erkme73 · Nov 30, 2016

Make sure that the floating plate the gimbal is attached to hasn't hopped outside of the air frame. There have been several after-crash posts by people who said a hard knock can cause the black plate (sits horizontally and is attached to air frame with rubber bands) can drop low enough to get stuck on the lip of the air frame. If that happens, the camera may bind. Then again, if the gimbal isn't moving at all, that's probably not it.

JTT · Nov 30, 2016

Thanks. Already checked that, and it sits in the right place.

erkme73 · Nov 30, 2016

Bummer. Well, hopefully more knowledgeable/experienced operators will chime in. Terrible feeling, I know. Chin up though.

Ty Weithman · Dec 3, 2016

erkme73 said:
Bummer. Well, hopefully more knowledgeable/experienced operators will chime in. Terrible feeling, I know. Chin up though.

I have the same problem. small crash with a tree..... mavic recovered. Now the gimbal is dead. I have tried just about everything but can not get the gimbal to even move.

Andrew F · Dec 5, 2016

Ty Weithman said:
I have the same problem. small crash with a tree..... mavic recovered. Now the gimbal is dead. I have tried just about everything but can not get the gimbal to even move.

Well, I'm not sure there really are any "small tree crashes." If you drop your Mavic from 3 feet up it's a pretty hard fall. 10 feet? Easily could have jarred something loose. I'd recalibrate everything before moving on.

socalvn · Dec 5, 2016

Ty Weithman said:
I have the same problem. small crash with a tree..... mavic recovered. Now the gimbal is dead. I have tried just about everything but can not get the gimbal to even move.

Did you have the plastic bubble on covering the gimbal ?

King of kings · Dec 10, 2016

Did you fix your problem.
Could be the cable that supplies data and power to the motor is broken slightly. There's two cables one is for the camera feed, camera lens etc. The other cable which is the ribbon cable is for the motor/s.
If you did get this fixed what was the cost? And who fixed it for you?

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IndyMoto · Dec 26, 2016

Okay,
I have the exact same problem JTT has.
Here is the only difference. I didn't crash my Mavic. I didn't see the little plastic Gimbal keeper underneath the camera. There are actually two and I only removed one while installing all of the Firmware.
Therefore my Mavic sat still and overloaded the Gimbal.
So there is no small break in the cable or drop from a 10' teee.
Just user error and I've seen no resolution for this. I've tried everything from Assistant 2 factory reset, Gimbal calibration (twice) and nothing.
This is frustrating as hell and if I cant find the answer.
Even turned it upside down as some folks indicated resolved a problem.
The Gimbal is properly seated where is should be under the tabs.

Anyone?

Sourabh · Dec 29, 2016

IndyMoto said:
Okay,
I have the exact same problem JTT has.
Here is the only difference. I didn't crash my Mavic. I didn't see the little plastic Gimbal keeper underneath the camera. There are actually two and I only removed one while installing all of the Firmware.
Therefore my Mavic sat still and overloaded the Gimbal.
So there is no small break in the cable or drop from a 10' teee.
Just user error and I've seen no resolution for this. I've tried everything from Assistant 2 factory reset, Gimbal calibration (twice) and nothing.
This is frustrating as **** and if I cant find the answer.
Even turned it upside down as some folks indicated resolved a problem.
The Gimbal is properly seated where is should be under the tabs.

Anyone?

I also have the exact same problem, there were no crashes or hard landings. I have been using the gimbal cover everytime while travelling. Tried all possible resolutions mentioned on forums. Eventually, I got in touch with DJI to which they said that they'll have to see what is wrong with it and are asking me to send it to CA. I found a person who was facing the same problem

cargun · Jan 30, 2017

JTT said:
DJI Mavic Pro.

Had a crash with a tree today, small drop from 10 feet. Everything looked fine but gimbal was dead after. Camera is working fine and i can take pictures and record video.

Under Overall status on the DJI app it posts two messages:

1 - Gimbal motor overloaded. Check weather gimbal clamp is removed.

2 - Gimbal is restarting. Check that gimbal rotates smoothly if restart fails again.

Gimbal rotates freely, and i can not see any damage to the gimbal, wires or anything else. I have tried to reinstall the firmware by using the DI assistant 2 and plugging the drone in to the computer with the USB, sucessfull update, but gimbal is still dead...

Anyone....?

Same here. Any developments? Also after the crash, I think I 've forgotten the gimbal lock on for a test flight. So now I dont' know what caused the gimbal malfunction. IndyMoto

keating.james · Jan 30, 2017

Same issue. Never been crashed or turned on with plastic clamp on back of camera.
Anyone find a solution?

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luciano · Jan 31, 2017

I have the same problem !! but only that forget to put the fixer of the camera !! try update and more !! if anyone knows as solve !! greetings

thecool32 · Feb 1, 2017

Sorry to hear. Watching that video was painful! Have any of you tried taking it apartment? You have no choice but to send it to back to DJI.

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macleankp · Feb 4, 2017

Ty Weithman said:
I have the same problem. small crash with a tree..... mavic recovered. Now the gimbal is dead. I have tried just about everything but can not get the gimbal to even move.

Did you get this fixed ?

Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

uasrockymtn · Feb 5, 2017

Same issue. Minor crash with no visible damage to the gimbal but now it is not responding. Message says 'gimbal motor overloaded'. Any help appreciated!

hamdogg · Feb 9, 2017

Same issue. Never been crashed.
DJI support asked me to complete this and email it to [email protected]

Full Name:
Email address:
Phone number:
Address:
Product:
Issue Description:
Purchase Date:
Purchase Channel:

I believe I will have to send it back. Took 7 weeks to arrive... and have only had it 3 weeks....
There is a serious issue with the units if we are all getting this error. The gimbal has been over engineered IMO.

Albird · Mar 19, 2017

It seems like it is a common problem with Mavic Pro.

cargun · Mar 19, 2017

Albird said:
It seems like it is a common problem with Mavic Pro.

Definitely a design flaw. A very thin and vulnerable flex cable in a rotating gimbal that should be expected to hit hard surfaces. Furthermore, not accepting this flaw and changing the gimbal & the camera as a whole for over $350 is total nonsense.

cargun · Mar 19, 2017

cargun said:
Definitely a design flaw. A very thin and vulnerable flex cable in a rotating gimbal that should be expected to hit hard surfaces. Furthermore, not accepting this flaw and changing the gimbal & the camera as a whole for over $350 is total nonsense.

Btw. Gimbal Not Working / Overload