Drone landed in 2 inches of sea water. Gimbal does not work, camera does not work, aircraft constantly disconnect

[ncs_worldmax]

Hello everyone! I have trouble with my DJI Phantom 3 Standard after landing in 5 cm. of water. I was flying on a beach and the aircraft hard landed in about couple of inches of water, only the camera and half of the gimbal got wet tho. Two things happened - The aircraft stopped receiving video signal and the gimbal is not moving, second the aircraft disconnect from RC and every now and then it will connect just for few seconds and disconnect immediately after that. When the aircraft links to the RC I can start the motors and receive the "No Image Transmission Signal" message but then it immediately disconnects and I lose control again with "Aircraft Disconnected" message. The Gimbal status stays "Gimbal Disconnected". I tried to connect gimbal usb with my laptop but no connection was established. What should I do ? Thank you !

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Hello everyone! I have trouble with my DJI Phantom 3 Standard after landing in 5 cm. of water. I was flying on a beach and the aircraft hard landed in about couple of inches of water. Two things happened - The aircraft stopped receiving video signal and the gimbal is not moving, second the aircraft disconnect from RC and every now and then it will connect just for few seconds and disconnect immediately after that. When the aircraft links to the RC I can start the motors and receive the "No Image Transmission Signal" message but then it immediately disconnects and I lose control again with "Aircraft Disconnected" message. The Gimbal status stays "Gimbal Disconnected". I tried to connect gimbal usb with my laptop but no connection was established. What should I do ? Thank you !
View attachment 116044

Welcome to forum
Um drones and sea water bad mix,,in landing gear you have a compass module ,2 small screws holding in place,,its possible to antenna wire might have snapped on hard landing,,when something like this happen you need to rinse with fresh water straight away and let dry,,bit unsure on gimble disconnect cause it might be related to antenna or compass not working,if have unscrewed it from leg do so ,,check it dry,was any damage to landing gear ,this to can snap the wires or in worse case pull them out from the board..also check the white plug above gimble is still clipped in properly

 

[ncs_worldmax]

it was not much of a hit as it landed pretty much from half a meter distance. The camera does not work too. Could it be the motherboard ? The LED is constant red.
Just disassembled the gimbal. One of the connectors is melted and the flex cable fell apart. What is next ?

 

[Meta4]

The prognosis is not good.
Seawater is death to electronics.
The damage is likely to get worse as corrosion spreads.

 

[ncs_worldmax]

The prognosis is not good.
Seawater is death to electronics.
The damage is likely to get worse as corrosion spreads.

Yeah it does not look good at all. Do you know of a good source where I can buy this PCB and the flex cable ?
Cheers !

 

[Deleted member 62848]

it was not much of a hit as it landed pretty much from half a meter distance. The camera does not work too. Could it be the motherboard ? The LED is constant red.
Just disassembled the gimbal. One of the connectors is melted and the flex cable fell apart. What is next ?

Yip shorted that out nice,,start with the new ribbon set ,,hopefully the damage stops at the plug unless you can see more damage on the gimble board,there lots of parts on Ebay etc and depending how much you can afford I would get one just incase,if it does turn out ok at least you get spare part which very handy,good on you to for getting in there for look,hands on best experience..also dont underestimate a half meter drop,,these phantoms not like it,but looks like you find the problem,

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Yeah it does not look good at all. Do you know of a good source where I can buy this PCB and the flex cable ?
Cheers !

Still looking at ribbon sets,,but search on Amazon you should see,,if I dont find,its late here or early ,,

 

[Deleted member 62848]

I think it this one Amazon ,,this covertrd to NZ $$ so be cheaper where you are

 

[Capt KO]

DJI OEM only ribbon. After market do not work the majority of times. Good luck

 

[ncs_worldmax]

Just opened the camera. There was just a bit of corrosion around the SD card slot, which I cleaned. I cleaned the 2 PCB just in case. I think there is still hope for the camera.
The ribbon cable is gone for sure, but can`t still tell about the small PCB with the melted connector. I ordered one from ebay, looks the same on the photos with the same serial numbers and all, hope it will work.
Still not sure from where to order the ribbon cable as the prices vary from $13 to $100 ... ?

 

[ncs_worldmax]

DJI OEM only ribbon. After market do not work the majority of times. Good luck

where do you get the DJI OEM ribbon cable from ?

 

[RodPad]

where do you get the DJI OEM ribbon cable from ?

You might find some more information here...
DJI Phantom 3 Standard Accessories & Tips | Phantom Help

Rod

 

[AUGENBLICK]

Hello everyone! I have trouble with my DJI Phantom 3 Standard after landing in 5 cm. of water. I was flying on a beach and the aircraft hard landed in about couple of inches of water, only the camera and half of the gimbal got wet tho. Two things happened - The aircraft stopped receiving video signal and the gimbal is not moving, second the aircraft disconnect from RC and every now and then it will connect just for few seconds and disconnect immediately after that. When the aircraft links to the RC I can start the motors and receive the "No Image Transmission Signal" message but then it immediately disconnects and I lose control again with "Aircraft Disconnected" message. The Gimbal status stays "Gimbal Disconnected". I tried to connect gimbal usb with my laptop but no connection was established. What should I do ? Thank you !
View attachment 116044

Writing as a pro cameraman - I can tell you that salt-water and sand are a complete "no-no" for camera welfare purposes, and most unfortunately you have probably "knackered" the gimbal/camera set up. Salt water is very corrosive. Sand is very abrasive . Get it to a competent repairer ASAP - and hopefully they might be able to sort it out - otherwise it will be a complete new camera/gimbal assembly . Sorry I cannot be more cheerful for your problem !