No GPS, Battery and Tilt in DJI-App

JohnBl · Nov 8, 2014

I'm having an issue with my phantom 2 vision+. In the DJI app I have suddenly lost three features. The app will not display how many GPS satellites I am connected to ( It's still connecting to GPS and holding a lock it just wont display it on the phone) It also won't show how much battery is remaining and last and probably most important is that i can no longer control my gimbal. I'm still able to see in real time everything that the camera is seeing and i'm also able to snap photos and record video.
Camera light on the gimbal is working normally (blinking when wifi is connected).
I (carefully) opened the cover to check for loose connectors, but didn't see any.

SilentAV8R · Nov 8, 2014

JohnBl said:
I'm having an issue with my phantom 2 vision+. In the DJI app I have suddenly lost three features. The app will not display how many GPS satellites I am connected to ( It's still connecting to GPS and holding a lock it just wont display it on the phone) It also won't show how much battery is remaining and last and probably most important is that i can no longer control my gimbal. I'm still able to see in real time everything that the camera is seeing and i'm also able to snap photos and record video.
Camera light on the gimbal is working normally (blinking when wifi is connected).
I (carefully) opened the cover to check for loose connectors, but didn't see any.

Mine is doing the same thing. It started while it was updating the ZEN IMU. That failed mid-way, said to cycle power, and when I did the gimbal was dead and the Phantom Assistant indicates it is a plain Vision, not a Vision+.

I've done everything I can think of or that has been suggested. Nothing has worked so far. :x

Meta4 · Nov 8, 2014

The first and easiest thing to check is the three grey cables into the gimbal base below the Phantom case.
If they come loose (as they can quite easily under some conditions) they will give the symptoms you describe.
You don't have to open the case to get to them but it might help to use tweezers to push them back on.

JohnBl · Nov 8, 2014

I have had the issue with the ribon-cables going into the gimbal being loose, it then caused the gimbal not to function at all.
Now the gimbal is leveling as it should, but it can not be tilted \ controlled
And the Battery-status and nr. of satellites doesn't seem to have anything to do with the gimbal as far as I know

Phantom Assistent is still showing it as a Vision +.
Last week, I updated to the latest firmware-versions

Meta4 · Nov 8, 2014

JohnBl said:
Now the gimbal is leveling as it should, but it can not be tilted \ controlled
And the Battery-status and nr. of satellites doesn't seem to have anything to do with the gimbal as far as I know

If you either remove the gimbal or disconnect the grey cables to the gimbal - you will lose all telemetry in the app.

ilovecoffee · Nov 8, 2014

I'm going to suggest you try an older app version? You can get them from droneslinger.com if you're using Android.

It sounds partially like the app is crashing, not to do with the Phantom itself.

Meta4 · Nov 8, 2014

If you have app problems, just uninstalling and re-installing fixes a lot of problems.

JohnBl · Nov 8, 2014

Don't think it is the app, same problem on Iphone and Ipad
Last week all was working ok, and no updates in app

Meta4 · Nov 9, 2014

Are the gimbal cables in their sockets firmly?
When loose they give the exact symptoms you describe.

SilentAV8R · Nov 9, 2014

Meta4 said:
Are the gimbal cables in their sockets firmly?
When loose they give the exact symptoms you describe.

Mine are. And keep in mind that this happened to me in the middle of a failed ZEN IMU update. Said to cycle power and try again. I only touched it to cycle power, so it is hard to think that a cable got knocked loose. Regardless, all mine are snug. I opened a ticket with DJI, hopefully I'll get it back by Christmas!!

JohnBl · Nov 9, 2014

I rechecked the cables going into the gimbal.
1 connector seems to be broken, the previous owner of the Phantom glued it together.
I think I will have to replace the flat-cable set from the Gimbal to the main-board.
Does anyone have experience doing this?
Cable seems to be fastened near the USB-connector, don't know how to loosen that.

John

PsychopathRC · Nov 9, 2014

This may not fix your all of, or any of your issues but..

Batteries have data connections on them, as well as power connections. Also, the Phantom has data pins next to it's power pins. Make sure the battery connections are clean and the data pins on the Phantom are not compressed by default (Avoid keeping batteries in the Phantom when you're not using it, as this can cause the data pins to stay compressed) Lemme try and find some pics to illustrate..

Crappy pictures I know. But it was the best I could do quickly. It MIGHT fix your battery display issue and is harmless to try (Just check the battery connectors and data pins for dirt on them or something)

Also, this may sound stupid but..

Have you gone into the DJI App and in settings, made sure FPV Mode is turned off? This mode locks your gimbal into place for 'more real' FPV apparently.

CityZen · Nov 9, 2014

JohnBl said:
I rechecked the cables going into the gimbal.
1 connector seems to be broken, the previous owner of the Phantom glued it together.
I think I will have to replace the flat-cable set from the Gimbal to the main-board.
Does anyone have experience doing this?
Cable seems to be fastened near the USB-connector, don't know how to loosen that.

There are just 2 screws to remove the USB bracket. It's not too hard to change the ribbon cables.
You'll need to cut or otherwise open some cable ties (you can open them with a small screwdriver stuck under the retainer).
Be careful when unplugging the 4-pin connectors: you'll have to squeeze the tab to pull them off.
The other connectors can be removed by either prying the corners or carefully pulling on all wires at the same time
(if you pull on only a single wire, it can rip out).

SilentAV8R · Nov 13, 2014

Finally!!! I got a RMA for my gimbal and sent it off today. Told 8 to 10 weeks. So, in the mean time I decided to buy a new camera/gimbal so I can at least fly. I have a couple of things comings up and I cannot be grounded.

Installed the new camera/gimbal, fired up everything, and..........................It works perfectly. Nice smooth scroll from end to end. Wheel goes to center when released and the gimbal stays put. Push the wheel a little and it rotates slowly. Push it all the way and the camera moves FAST!! So, I am a happy camper. I will either sell the original gimbal when it comes back, or keep it as a spare.

I toyed with the idea of getting a whole new machine, but this one is tried and true so I decided to continue to dance with the one that brung me

eyecon82 · Nov 15, 2014

Mine did this too. After taking off and flying anyways, it came back. It was very odd

eyecon82 · Nov 15, 2014

It was really annoying because everything else worked, so I did a rebind, reset, uninstall and reinstall, and everything up again and it was still happening.

I then took off, and it started working normal again out of nowhere. Another mystery with my Phantom

omri · Nov 15, 2014

Same, after updating, the gimbel does not give me tilt, and does not move when powering on.

eyecon82 · Nov 15, 2014

Ugh. Problem is back again. So guys, I have absolutely no telemetry at all so I can't see altitude, distance, speed, gps/ battery status, or tilt my camera, but I get perfect fpv and I can take video and pics.

No wires are being pinched, wifi card is fine. All gimbal cords are fine and plugged in.

This is boggling my mind. Anyone know what's up? I've tried everything like rebinding, uninstalling/reinstalling, etc. Please help.

This happened a few days ago, and it randomly just started working again, ugh

burlbark · Nov 15, 2014

eyecon82 said:
Ugh. Problem is back again. So guys, I have absolutely no telemetry at all so I can't see altitude, distance, speed, gps/ battery status, or tilt my camera, but I get perfect fpv and I can take video and pics.

No wires are being pinched, wifi card is fine. All gimbal cords are fine and plugged in.

This is boggling my mind. Anyone know what's up? I've tried everything like rebinding, uninstalling/reinstalling, etc. Please help.

This happened a few days ago, and it randomly just started working again, ugh

This sounds like an intermittent connection. Things dont usually come back once cooked and if they do its for a brief period of time.

If you ran any of your broadcasting components without an antenna there is a strong chance of damaging them.

I think you did have some failing antennas and that would mean your components where operating without? This cooks the output drivers as there is no load upon them and they cook off for a couple different reasons.

All the heat sinking in the world cant fix the "standing wave reflection"? Its something like that, I am not specialist at RF.