Gimbal overheating and shaking; should I send it to DJI?

[rfc]

Had it about 6 months; mostly all good experiences; no crashes at all; lately, gimbal has been getting super hot and shaking, tilting and just wigging out. Almost on every flight now.
I have DJI care. If I send it back, will they demand I upgrade to the latest firmware before doing so? I've been at 01.04.0100 and it's been pretty rock solid until now. Could the overheat thing be solved with a firmware update? Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Former Member]

Best to send it in before something shorts out on it and possibly feeds back to the ESC or core board. DJI doesnt require you to upgrade to the latest firmware before doing so. However, what you get back from them will probably have more recent firmware than 01.04.0100 which was released almost 9 months ago in November 2017.

 

[rfc]

Best to send it in before something shorts out on it and possibly feeds back to the ESC or core board. DJI doesnt require you to upgrade to the latest firmware before doing so. However, what you get back from them will probably have more recent firmware than 01.04.0100 which was released almost 9 months ago in November 2017.

Thank you Sir. There may be something collateral going on as you suggest. I have also, in the last two or three flights, gotten sensor (the downward one) errors, advising to "land immediately", and on my most recent flight, trying to troubleshoot (calibrated gimbal), I got a "critical error" just after takeoff. No sign of it in the logs though.
Looks like a trip back to DJI is in store. Hate like heck to get a refurbished bird that may not be as good as mine's been. I've been babying it.

 

[Former Member]

Hate like heck to get a refurbished bird that may not be as good as mine's been. I've been babying it.

You might get a new one with a MFG date of May 2018. If you end up getting a refurb, and it doesnt work, you still have 6 months of warranty to get one that does work.

 

[rfc]

I opened a support ticket with DJI. The good news is I received an email in less than two hours.
Less good news is that, s I thought they might, the first thing asked was if this was the result of a firmware update or crash (it was neither), suggested making sure the gimbal was attached properly (it is), and then suggested doing an IMU calibration.

I'm pushing back on this last suggestion. Why the heck would an IMU calibration be called for when the thing has been flying without problem until just recently. Only thing that I can think of that's changed is temperature...I'm flying now in the 80's (25C). If a board were going, heat could exacerbate it (that's my thinking anyway). If they insist on fully updating firmware and calibrate everything (gimbal, IMU, sensors), I guess I have no choice if I want it fixed. Stay tuned.

 

[rfc]

They came back and said "no problem; just open a repair ticket and send it in".
Should I send just the bird back or "the whole kit" as they call it?

 

[Mossiback]

... and then suggested doing an IMU calibration.

I'm pushing back on this last suggestion. Why the heck would an IMU calibration be called for when the thing has been flying without problem until just recently...

Do the calibration. It is easy and does not take much time. These things are pretty complex and who knows how one thing affects another?

They came back and said "no problem; just open a repair ticket and send it in".
Should I send just the bird back or "the whole kit" as they call it?

Ask for clarification as to what they want sent in. Normally, all they want is the Mavic and props; no battery, RC, cables, etc.

 

[rfc]

Well, this didn't turn out as expected. After evaluating it they said that both the Gimbal and the main logic board need to be replaced. Charging me $89, which isn't the end of the world (although I haven't even crashed the thing yet, and I think you only get two shots under Refresh if I remember correctly). The gimbal is only under warranty for 6 months. My bad for not picking up on that. I might have been better off sending it to Thunderdrones.

 

[Former Member]

Dont pay them a penny. Its a warranty claim, and they need to repair it for free. I have represented many people in this situation, let me know if you would like me to step in and help.

 

[rfc]

Dont pay them a penny. Its a warranty claim, and they need to repair it for free. I have represented many people in this situation, let me know if you would like me to step in and help.

There was a link to the warranty. It says clearly that the gimbal is 6 months. Are you saying that is not correct? Here's the email from them. Also, they have two separate "bench charges"; one for the gimbal; one for the "core board".
They going to ding me for that if I say "never mind"; send it back?

 

[Former Member]

Where did you buy it from?

The DJI Mavic pro has 12 month warranty. Battery is 6 months. Props are not covered.

EDIT: They are saying that this is a Refresh claim. You need to let them know it is a warranty claim.

 

[rfc]

Where did you buy it from?

The DJI Mavic pro has 12 month warranty. Battery is 6 months. Props are not covered.

EDIT: They are saying that this is a Refresh claim. You need to let them know it is a warranty claim.

Bought it from DJI. The main board is 12 months; the gimbal/camera is 6 months. Where are you getting that the "DJI Mavic Pro has a12 month warranty"?

 

[Former Member]

This page says 6 months, but I just chatted with DJI customer service and they said 1 year.

After-Sales Service Policies - DJI

 

[Former Member]

OP, you were right. Warranty on the Main Board ONLY is 1 year.

 

[rfc]

Ya, that's what it says. Unfortunately, I'll have no way of knowing if the main board was really bad and had to be replaced. But, if it's as you suggest; i.e. that they are considering this a Refresh claim; not a warranty claim, they'd be sending me a new bird, correct? I sure hope they're not going to take another week and a half to repair the thing.

 

[Former Member]

Ya, that's what it says. Unfortunately, I'll have no way of knowing if the main board was really bad and had to be replaced. But, if it's as you suggest; i.e. that they are considering this a Refresh claim; not a warranty claim, they'd be sending me a new bird, correct? I sure hope they're not going to take another week and a half to repair the thing.

Im really glad that you had Refresh since it was out of warranty. There's a chance that they will send you a new bird, but also a chance they will send you a refurb. No way to tell. Most refurbs are fine.

 

[rfc]

A follow up email from DJI:

I didn't want to mess with it further to see if they were going to charge one bench charge (for the gimbal), even if I didn't get it fixed, or give me the option to Pay them to fix the gimbal but have the Core board fixed under warranty. Too many options. So I went ahead using Refresh. A subsequent email said my Mavic had been "repaired" and was on it's way, but that may have been a boilerplate email; we'll see what they did once it gets here.

Next time out, I will call Thunderdrones prior to going down the DJI road. DJI Refresh is certainly not the same flavor as Applecare.

 

[Former Member]

Hope you get it back soon.

 

[rfc]

Follow up: They sent what looks like a new bird, manufactured in June, 2018 (01.04.0400). Only question is whether you need to "buy" refresh for it...there was a screen I recall during linking. Wouldn't they have a record of the existing refresh? Saw some threads on this a while back, but wasn't paying attention, lol). I'll start looking unless someone has the answer. For now, all good.

 

[Aumoe]

They rolled the refresh over to the new one when I used it