Mini2 blown into trees

[oldcranedriver]

Hi all, my mini2 got blown into some trees after not realising how fast a storm front was coming in. Thinking I would get a few shots in before it got to me. The wind hit so fast I had no control what so ever. It took about a week to recover from the tree, only rained a few times over the week. After I got it home I tried it out. Flies as normal , camera works exept the gimble won't move in the virtical axis when turned on.
I presume from others I read ,I may have a broken cable. Which one controls the gimble, the ribbon or the fine cable?

 

[sar104]

At the risk of stating the obvious - you broke the gimbal. Unless you are inclined to try to replace it yourself then you should send it back to DJI for repair.

 

[oldcranedriver]

At the risk of stating the obvious - you broke the gimbal. Unless you are inclined to try to replace it yourself then you should send it back to DJI for repair.

Sorry should have said gimble moves freely but doesn't respond when drone is turned on. Lol

 

[sar104]

Sorry should have said gimble moves freely but doesn't respond when drone is turned on. Lol

Understood, but just because it moves freely doesn't mean that the motor or motor control connection isn't broken.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

The fine stranded cable controls roll and pitch. From memory it actually connects to the circuit board that drives the roll motor and then a separate, normally not seen, ribbon cable connects that circuit board to another circuit board that drives the pitch motor.

The 'big' ribbon cable that runs from the drone to the gimbal connects to the circuit board that drives the yaw motor.

I literally cut apart the plastic bits of a knackered Mavic Mini gimbal to see how the thing was assembled. I had hoped to be able to press the motor shafts out of their bearings etc., which might have meant that I could dismantle the gimbal without cutting it apart but I could not press the shafts out.

Does the gimbal show roll or pitch or yaw during the boot process?
You could try replacing the stranded cable but I wouldn't guarantee that it will fix anything especially if there is no yaw during the boot. Be careful with the big ribbon cable it seems to be susceptible to tearing.
If you try a repair, photograph every thing as you remove covers etc. and make sure your photographs are clear, especially when extracting the stranded cable. There isn't much room to play with or leeway in positioning that cable.
I rebuilt one gimbal where I took a working camera from a damaged gimbal and put that camera into the an empty, second hand (status unknown) gimbal and I could not satisfy my self with the way I laid the stranded cable where it bends after coming down the back of the yaw arm. (probably at the roll pivot). The majority of the cable is wrapped in 'harness tape" but at pivot points i.e. over the yaw bearing and at the roll bearing there is no wrapping, I assume this is to give flexibility.
Unfortunately I did not photograph how the cable was laid in the above when dismantling the working camera gimbal.
Also take note of whether this cable goes 'under' or 'over' the camera's circuit board inside the camera housing after going through the pitch pivot. You will likely see what I mean if you attempt this. Make sure you note where the various screws go, some are very similar in size but different and it would be very easy to mix them up if they are stored in a common holding area.

 

[oldcranedriver]

The fine stranded cable controls roll and pitch. From memory it actually connects to the circuit board that drives the roll motor and then a separate, normally not seen, ribbon cable connects that circuit board to another circuit board that drives the pitch motor.

The 'big' ribbon cable that runs from the drone to the gimbal connects to the circuit board that drives the yaw motor.

I literally cut apart the plastic bits of a knackered Mavic Mini gimbal apart to see how the thing was assembled. I had hoped to be able to press motor shafts out of their bearings etc. which might have meant that I could dismantle the gimbal without cutting it apart but I could not press the shafts out.

Does the gimbal show roll or pitch or yaw during the boot process?
You could try replacing the stranded cable but I wouldn't guarantee that it will fix anything especially if there is no yaw during the boot. Be careful with the big ribbon cable it seems to be susceptible to tearing.
If you try a repair photograph every thing as you remove covers etc. especially when extracting the stranded cable, there isn't much room to play with or leeway in positioning that cable.

The gimble will yaw during during start up but no pithching up and down

 

[Deleted member 103366]

You might be in luck but no guarantee. I added some other comments to my proceeding post. Bear in mind a DIY repair will likely invalidate warranty if that is of concern.

 

[GilR]

I sent my mini 1 for repairs, they changed the gimbal assembly, the cost $370

 

[Deleted member 103366]

How long ago was that?

 

[GilR]

That was in May of this year, that amount was in Canadian Funds.

 

[oldcranedriver]

That was in May of this year, that amount was in Canadian Funds.

I have ordered both new cables and I'll see how I go .