IMPORTANT!!! Battery Clearance with Y-Axis (Yaw) motor

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Built up my phantom 2 | H3-3D | FPV setup a couple of weeks ago and since then, every flight I have experienced weird erratic movement issues with the gimbal. The most predominant movement was one where it would drift to the left in almost a controlled manner and then it would snap quickly back to the center.

I upgrade firmware, downgrade firmware, re updated, calibrated controller............ no matter what, the problem continued...

I was getting to the point of checking with DJI about a replacement when I thought I should just go over the installation again.
As I started investigating I immediately noticed that with the battery in the phantom (not turned on) there was noticeable friction with the yaw movement.. Take the battery out.. Friction went away..

I needed to space the mount to give the motor clearance so I went and grabbed some thin washers and longer screws at the hardware store. Came back and sandwiched the washers in between the phantom body and the gimbal mount.

Got it all put back together pushed the battery in, checked the yaw movement and no friction....
FLYING TIME!!!

Gone through 2 batteries now with NO erratic movements not even 1 small twitch!!! The thing is working perfectly!!

Definitely do all your updates but check your battery y-axis motor clearance first and foremost because this might be the root of your problem it certainly was mine!!!!
 
Agreed. My batteries have marks on them where the motor runs against it.

I'm concerned to add extra spacing as the gimbal only just clears the ground anyway.

I might look at carefully removing some plastic from the battery.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I used ever so thin/small washers.
It was enough to give clearance for the battery and ground clearance is still not an issue.

I had found where someone else had removed battery plastic to give clearance for the motor but I was more hesitant to do that than to add some spacers.

Either way as long as you get the motor off the battery/battery casing it is going to help guaranteed! :D
 
I used thin washers, lock washers and longer screws. No battery contact, no ground contact (although it's close!).


b1nuzz said:
Agreed. My batteries have marks on them where the motor runs against it.

I'm concerned to add extra spacing as the gimbal only just clears the ground anyway.

I might look at carefully removing some plastic from the battery.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
jplayer said:
Built up my phantom 2 | H3-3D | FPV setup a couple of weeks ago and since then, every flight I have experienced weird erratic movement issues with the gimbal. The most predominant movement was one where it would drift to the left in almost a controlled manner and then it would snap quickly back to the center.

I upgrade firmware, downgrade firmware, re updated, calibrated controller............ no matter what, the problem continued...

I was getting to the point of checking with DJI about a replacement when I thought I should just go over the installation again.
As I started investigating I immediately noticed that with the battery in the phantom (not turned on) there was noticeable friction with the yaw movement.. Take the battery out.. Friction went away..

I needed to space the mount to give the motor clearance so I went and grabbed some thin washers and longer screws at the hardware store. Came back and sandwiched the washers in between the phantom body and the gimbal mount.

Got it all put back together pushed the battery in, checked the yaw movement and no friction....
FLYING TIME!!!

Gone through 2 batteries now with NO erratic movements not even 1 small twitch!!! The thing is working perfectly!!

Definitely do all your updates but check your battery y-axis motor clearance first and foremost because this might be the root of your problem it certainly was mine!!!!

i had the same problem-
have you noticed any clearance issues with the bottom of the gimbal now?
I'm thinking of using the M3*8 screws. what size screws and washers did you fit in. :shock:
 
Hi all,

I heard that the Vision landing gear is taller than the P2's.
I ordered a set. It should be in my hands in a day or so.
Should know then.


tony...........
 
Kelso Kubat said:
i had the same problem-

I can't tell you how many H3-3d videos I have seen with the same erratic movement that I was seeing so I am hoping that people are paying attention because this 100% fixed mine.. Been through 4 batterys now since "the fix" and have not seen the erratic movement. :p

Kelso Kubat said:
have you noticed any clearance issues with the bottom of the gimbal now?

Nope, since I got the small washers in place, no clearance issues.
Its easy to tell if you have the problem or not...
#1. with battery out twist gimbal (yaw). you will notice it is very fluid / smooth...
#2. Put battery in. Do the same movement and if you feel ANY friction over what you experienced before then you need to install washers to give your gimbal more clearance.

Kelso Kubat said:
I'm thinking of using the M3*8 screws. what size screws and washers did you fit in. :shock:

The washer I used were some I had laying around the house.. They were very thin!!
M3*8 sounds right.. Take one of the factory gimbal mount screws with you when you go just to be able to check.
I picked the screws up at my small town local hardware store so I am sure any Lowes/Home Depot would have them also!!
 
tonben said:
Hi all,
I heard that the Vision landing gear is taller than the P2's.
I ordered a set. It should be in my hands in a day or so.
Should know then.

tony...........

I assume you are worried about the clearance of the camera / gimbal.
If so, don't be!!
You do not need thick washers at all just a sliver of a washer enough to buy you a little clearance, not enough to cause camera/gimbal clearance issues.
 
Hi -

Is this the symptom of the pan axis motor "dragging" on the battery like you explained above? I had my first flight with my phantom 2 today, and this would happen a couple times each flight. Couldn't really pinpoint any specific flying activities that cause it...most of the time just flying slow and in one direction.

http://youtu.be/uAlZM98rDos

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAlZM98rDos[/youtube]
 
Yup!!! That's it.. Exact movement I HAD and have seen in tons of videos!! I honestly thought this thread would explode!! :lol:

Here's a quick test to see if you should put in the washers.
Take battery out.. Twist the yaw of the gimbal paying very close attention to how freely it moves!!
Put battery back in and do the same twist Yaw test (DO NOT POWER UP PHANTOM) if there is ANY resistance over what you felt on the previous test then you need washers!!!

Keep in mind that the gimbal can twist bounce during flight and the extra clearance is not going to hurt so it might be worth it even if the test above doesn't show anything!!

I'm on probably 15 full battery flights since the washers and I have yet to see the that movement even once!!!

Post back if it's successful for you!!
 
I too have marks on both my batteries where the gimbal is rubbing. I'm thinking of cutting away that part of the plastic on the battery. Only half the battery is rubbing on plastic as half is over the "To Recharge" label. Raining here so won't be able to test it but can't see why that wouldn't work.
 
Cutting the battery plastics should work fine as long as it gives you the needed clearance!!! I personally wasn't to keen on cutting the battery so I chose the washers.. Same prob, different approach post bCk if it works for you!!!
 
Although I couldn't feel any drag on the yaw axis when testing, it only took a very slight upwards pressure to make it rub. I've added some small plastic washers and will be flying this weekend! Will let you know.
 
Anyone got pics of the size washers we are talking here?
 
Hey kelso... Glad it fixed your issue too!!
Captain... A very thin washer should be good enough!! Not much clearance is needed but makes such a big difference!!
 
Mine flew great today too after adding the washers - no problems at all, even with some hard and fast flying.
 
I added the washers and it seemed to have fixed the problem...then it did it again...at least 4 times during my test flight.....and the washers were decent thickness.....ideas?
 
Sledge said:
I added the washers and it seemed to have fixed the problem...then it did it again...at least 4 times during my test flight.....and the washers were decent thickness.....ideas?


With your battery out look in the battery opening... You will see the motor and some plastic surrounding it. Is the top of the motor close to the top of the plastic or well below the top? If its close i would say you need thicker washers. Since the washers seemed to help it may still be close enough to rub during certain movements and trigger the computer to try to correct!!

Btw i helped a friend of mine install a v1 h3-3d the other night and i swear he had tons more clearance than my v1.1 with the washers.. maybe there are production deviances that make it a prob on some but not others???
 
jplayer said:
Sledge said:
I added the washers and it seemed to have fixed the problem...then it did it again...at least 4 times during my test flight.....and the washers were decent thickness.....ideas?


With your battery out look in the battery opening... You will see the motor and some plastic surrounding it. Is the top of the motor close to the top of the plastic or well below the top? If its close i would say you need thicker washers. Since the washers seemed to help it may still be close enough to rub during certain movements and trigger the computer to try to correct!!

Btw i helped a friend of mine install a v1 h3-3d the other night and i swear he had tons more clearance than my v1.1 with the washers.. maybe there are production deviances that make it a prob on some but not others???

I will check this out and see how much clearance i have.....DJI ... i sometimes love but usually hate them
 

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