How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gimbal

andrew · Jul 22, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

I didn't have to use much force. It was clear to me that it was loose before I attempted to pull it apart.

yotamkasam · Jul 23, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

mountaindr3wz said:
When pulling the motor from the housing, did you use an ample amount of force? I don't want to force it and end up breaking it even more. Thanks

If you are able to rotate the shaft while in the base (if I remember correctly you tried that by opening the metal cover and turning the half moon) then the shaft is loose and you can safely detach the motor from its base.

mountaindr3wz · Jul 25, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

I think I may just put the gimbal on ebay, I don't have the patience to try to fix it and may just get another set-up. :|

ekai · Jul 25, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

Thank you for posting this! The gimbal freakout dance happened to me after having to check my rig as luggage on a recent flight. The baggage handlers tossed it around pretty good and this is what was waiting for me when I powered it up.

I followed your instructions,was able to pull the motor off the axle and realign it. I've got a slight misalignment still as it's really hard to eyeball the level of the camera with the half moon bit. Nonetheless, very happy to be operational again!

Mark · Jul 27, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

Thank you to everyone in this thread. You saved me a lot of flight time and money! Well done! I signed up just to thank everyone.

I couldnt believe its working again. Other than me almost gluing my finger to the machine...

Eaglefeather7 · Jul 27, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

Gentlemen,
I greatly appreciate the post and it is well written documented with good pictures as well. However, I fear it will not work for me, due to my issue stemmed from a crash just 10' off the ground. I was doing a short video of the front and side of my house as I have done many times. The only difference this day was the weather. It had been very still all day with fog/drizzle but no wind. I was going up to take a quick look at my roof gutters and as I climbed to roof height, the breeze began, I started the decent and a gust came up and pushed me way to close to a pine tree, I made the rookie mistake of forgetting I had changed the front orientation and slide up against the pine, did not have my prop guards on and they struck the pine causing the copter to loose altitude faster than I could get under it. The gimbal does not take a whiplash well, the camera disconnected at the Roll Servo shaving off small pieces of the brushless motor.

I have taken this post to heart as it looked just like my issue, to my dismay it has not corrected the twerking the gimbal does at startup. I fear the only remedy is a replacement. I regret not getting the Vision with a Zenmuse/GoPro, they seem to be the most rugged. Not that I plan any more crashes that is.

Regards,
Terry

npsblm · Jul 28, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

"Once the axle is released from its base, the only thing that holds the motor in place is the round magnet of the brushless motor. It will hold it with enough strength and you may have no clue that it is broken."

I can't seem to separate the motor as it shows in the write up. It's either a very powerful magnet and I'm super weak or I'm doing something wrong. What technique was used to perform this function?

yotamkasam · Jul 28, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

npsblm said:
I can't seem to separate the motor as it shows in the write up.... ....What technique was used to perform this function?

Simply pulling the two apart.

npsblm · Jul 28, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

I can't simply pull them apart.

mountaindr3wz · Jul 28, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

I used a twist and pull motion with needle nose pliers to take it apart.

andrew · Jul 28, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

If the gimbal is doing a dance at startup and the camera is not calibrating to a horizontal position, I feel it's perfectly safe to yank them apart with force. The repair needs to happen, so you don't really have much choice unless you want to send it in for repair.

On another note, don't be shy with the epoxy. I used a little, but not enough. My camera fell off between the shaft and the housing while checked through on a flight. This caused the black data ribbon cable to tear, and that's literally an impossible fix. I've had to order a replacement gimbal/camera

. When that ribbon becomes available for purchase, I will order one and at least give it a go...

davephantom · Jul 30, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

Have the same issue after hard landing but everything looks in order. I took off the back cap and checked the camera screw. Is their any way to watch the flailing to figure out which joint is causing the problem? It doesn't appear to be yaw or roll, and pitch is the camera screw and there is no play. I wonder if there is a small damage to the cable or if this really is a set pin issue. Any suggestions on how to confirm?

Thanks!

MaRoCi · Jul 30, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

Any idea what else it can be causing this vibrating / shaking when the alignment does not solve the issue?

cruz_ctrl · Jul 30, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

yotamkasam said:
[attachment=1]If you do take it apart, you can use plastic wire fasteners instead of the anti-drop pins which you have to cut during disassembly.

Acually, there is a way to remove the pins without breaking them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iqLA7HBfNs

davephantom · Jul 31, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

If one axis is damaged will it always thrash on all axis as a result? My issue is it all appears normal, its unclear which axis to try and force apart assuming one must be damaged. has anyone had a nicked or scratched cable creating such behavior without the gimbal being damaged at all? I suppose that's another possibility (just a control signal issue).

To answer the poster above, I don't think this is caused by alignment, its actually the connection being loose / separated so its just the motor holding it on, when the axle is re-seated / attached again it behaves normally again.

imreallyintoit · Aug 1, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

I had the exact problem noted in the video above. Follow the steps so well outlined. Fantastic this fixed my issue thank you for making such nice photos.
1. Remove the back 3 screws.
2. Look at the alignment as noted in his photo above.
3. Pull away board carefully remove 3 screws.
4. Pull off motor cover.
5. Realign.
6. Drop a tiny bit of super glue make sure it's tilted as not to drip or move into the ball bearing.
7. Close it back up.
8. Clasp (I used paper clasp)
9. Wait

parbar · Aug 1, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

Imreallyintoit (or others),
Was your camera noticeably misaligned? Mine shakes in all three axes, but I don't see the camera misaligned with the half shaft. I presume you're talking about the picture(s) on page 3 of this post. Not sure what video you're referring to.
My screw as referred to on Page 4 is very tight, never was loose - separate issue.
So...do I forcibly pull the camera off even if it does not look misaligned?

z10m · Aug 2, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

bad luck again...

my gimbal developed slight vibration that causes jello effect on recorded videos
gimbal looks fine but i have noticed really tiny play on the x axle shown in first post.
do you guys think that this is causing vibration.? i tried to pull it apart but it wouldnt budge.

Meta4 · Aug 2, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

MaRoCi said:
Any idea what else it can be causing this vibrating / shaking when the alignment does not solve the issue?

Yes ... there is another possible cause for these symptoms.
I have just gone through the same thrashing epileptic gimbal thing with a new camera/gimbal I had fitted on my P2+. Other symptoms were the video link to the app was unstable. Thanks to my drone doctor (Pete from Daniel's Pitstop near Brisbane Australia - thanks Pete) we found that some of the grey cables that go to the gimbal were being pinched and damaged by the battery when it was inserted. A new cable set was the cure but it was fiddly work to install. Interestingly the new cable set was different from the original so it appears that DJI have realised the vulnerability.

The damage was best seen with the top cover off and is at the front of the battery chamber. It required close inspection to detect but once the cables were removed the damage was obvious.

npalen · Aug 2, 2014

Re: How to fix a vibrating / shaking / crazy P2V+ camera gim

imreallyintoit said:
I had the exact problem noted in the video above. Follow the steps so well outlined. Fantastic this fixed my issue thank you for making such nice photos.
1. Remove the back 3 screws.
2. Look at the alignment as noted in his photo above.
3. Pull away board carefully remove 3 screws.
4. Pull off motor cover.
5. Realign.
6. Drop a tiny bit of super glue make sure it's tilted as not to drip or move into the ball bearing.
7. Close it back up.
8. Clasp (I used paper clasp)
9. Wait

I don't think that putting super glue on the shaft at the rear bearing will do any good. Maybe I'm missing something?
Here is a similar thread: http://www.djiguys.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=5752