Gimbal tilt servo failure

[tanemahuta]

Hello phantompilots.

3 days ago I received my phantom 2 vision plus, and instantly I fell in love with it.
I had some very nice flights with no problems at all. Though, a bit later I hat a little rough landing and my Phantom skipped on the back (possible mistake by myself though). Nothing happened except very minor scratches on the battery and the hull.
Every other part of the phantom is undamaged, and the scratches are veeery minor (see attached pictures).
I continued flying and all worked like charm. But when starting up for doing the 5th flight my gimbal went crazy. It just does not level the tilt anymore. The servo really sounds crazy.
So my questions:
- is this covered by warranty? Again: except those few scratches (as seen in the pictures) the phantom is in delivery condition.
- anybody of you experienced something like that before?
- if this is not covered by warranty, is it possible to replace the servo and how?

Best regards,
Chris

 

[Pull_Up]

Sadly crash damage is never covered by warranty (for obvious reasons), and multi-axis gimbals are always going to be a particularly weak point when added - something for all beginners to take note of. The airframe is very robust, any gimbal less so!

Rather than a motor issue it sounds like a gimbal controller issue - have you tried plugging in to the Assistant and calibrating the aircraft IMU and checking/calibrating whatever gimbal settings there are?

The unit is very new, and if it's anything like the original Vision release it will a while before spares become available through retailers. It's unlikely, but not impossible, you'll be able to purchase individual gimbal components - it's probably going to be buy a new gimbal/camera unit (at quite some cost) or send it to DJI for repair. Talk to your dealer - or contact DJI service centre direct if you didn't buy through an authorised dealer - if you can't get it working again.

 

[Mori55]

It's a brushless gimbal, there's no servos.

 

[Jayson Hanes]

It's unfortunate that these types of things are happening.. but the reality is, this gimbal solution on the PLUS is fragile -- it almost HAS to be -- to be light and effective.

However, these issues shouldn't be too complex.. the set-up isn't all that complicated -- seriously -- each axis must have sensors embedded somewhere -- where? maybe they get dislodged in a crash (out of physical alignment). I've see pics in other posts of motor separation -- is this a broken shaft? a lost retaining clip?

The severed ribbons that i've seen are a serious not-so-easily-fixed issue.. but replacement ribbons shouldn't be impossible to acquire..

In reviewing your pics, although you may be of the opinion that you didn't have a hard crash, seeing those scratches on the hard shell plastic like that, suggests to me, that the crash was clearly hard enough to damage things..

 

[tanemahuta]

First of all: Thank you for your help, this is really appreciated.

I have done the basic and advanced calibration as well, but it did not solve the problem.
What leaves me a bit disturbed is, that a very slight crash (okay, yes, it is a crash, but I could have also dropped the product for the manner) takes the complete gimbal out of order where all other components are left perfectly fine.
Any links for taking apart the gimbal (servos) and/or howtos for realigning the is appreciated, I could not find anything on that topic. I really see the reason for DJIs policy on damaged products, though, it seems this is not the first thread about gimbals stopping working. Also, after the crash all worked fine for another two flights. Which leaves me with the impression that the issue particularly may have been caused by something else.

Thank you in advance for links with information about how to take apart the gimbal,
Chris

 

[Pull_Up]

Unless someone is prepared to strip their gimbal down for you, no one knows. The product is less than a month old and DJI never publish schematics or exploded diagrams for any of their products (that I'm aware of). You could replace the defective motor with a similar one you find on the internet but still find it won't work as it's actually a gimbal controller chip error, or something electronic. I still think best bet is to get it to the DJI repair centre rather than attempt a self-fix, personally.

 

[tanemahuta]

Hi there.
I am reading more and more about the gimbal being very easy to break. Has anyone attempted a fix it?

 

[Phantom_Menace66]

If a gimbal is defective out of the box and there is no evidence of a crash, I'd imagine it would be covered under warranty. Unfortunately, as you crashed it & the gimbal is the most delicate part, it most likely damaged it.
I purchased higher/wider landing gear for my P2V+ for $25 on ebay. Replaces the original landing gear and is 40mm higher and 80mm wider. Helps prevent fall overs on landing & keeps the gimbal/camera out of the grass! The original landing gear has the gimbal/camera almost on the ground.
Also fitted prop guards just in case (No apparent effect on flight characteristics)