Mini 1 gimbal acting like it's on FPV mode even though the app says it's on Follow mode.

[genepedmon]

Everything was working fine while I was flying in Follow mode and all of a sudden I got a "Gimbal Overload" warning and the camera started shaking. So I landed it and checked the gimbal and moved the camera up and down (slowly). I heard some plastic sounds but it went away and the camera was moving smoothly. So I tried to fly again, but this time the gimbal was moving like it was on FPV mofe. But the app says it's still on Follow mode. So I landed my mini again, turned it off and turned it on again. Now, I am feeling continuous vibrations inside my mini. I wonder what's going on. Thoughts?

 

[scro]

Sounds like a damaged or faulty gimbal. Does it report any errors, and does it move through its full range of movement on startup (ie the "gimbal dance")? With the drone powered on does the gimbal keep the camera level and pointing forward when you move/turn the drone body?

 

[genepedmon]

Sounds like a damaged or faulty gimbal. Does it report any errors, and does it move through its full range of movement on startup (ie the "gimbal dance")? With the drone powered on does the gimbal keep the camera level and pointing forward when you move/turn the drone body?

Yes. It does the dance. When I move/turn the body, the camera tilts to the direction the drone is turning just like in fpv mode. I tried refreshing the firmware by downgrading it thru DJI Assistant 2, but the camera still behaves the same way.

Also, the camera is tilted upward once it finishes its dance upon power up. And it looks like the gimbal is not level.

 

[scro]

If it moves around and finishes up pointing up like that it may just need recalibration. Have you tried that?

 

[genepedmon]

If it moves around and finishes up pointing up like that it may just need recalibration. Have you tried that?

Yes. I've done recalibating it thru the DJi Fly App but it's still pointing upward. I also did the IMU calibration and the mini does not report any errors. But it still does the same tilting and does not lock horizontally.

 

[DanMan32]

I had a similar problem where mid-flight I was getting a FPV view. Shortly later, gimbal overload.

Powered off I moved the gimbal in all directions and found it was a bit stuck in roll direction. After doing that it freed up and was fine.

So check that the gimbal can move freely in all three directions: pitch, roll and yaw.

If that doesn't do it, it needs repair.

 

[genepedmon]

I had a similar problem where mid-flight I was getting a FPV view. Shortly later, gimbal overload.

Powered off I moved the gimbal in all directions and found it was a bit stuck in roll direction. After doing that it freed up and was fine.

So check that the gimbal can move freely in all three directions: pitch, roll and yaw.

If that doesn't do it, it needs repair.

I checked the gimbal movement after I landed it. Everything was moving smoothly except maybe one or two cracking sounds like some plastic got stuck inside when I moved the camera up and down, and the camera was moving smoothly again. I also checked the rubber bands from the outside and they look fine. Sent it over to DJI for assessment.