P3S Camera not doing startup dance

[sunbird]

Does anyone know what to look for in the event that the camera does not dance up at all during startup? I keep throwing parts at it but getting expensive. I wish there were an app or something to help diagnose drone issues.

Anyway, not sure it i should be looking at the bird or the camera??? Just changed ribbon cable with new DJI OEM one, no go. Tried replacing the main board in the gimbal plate with another i had, same thing no dance up. All connections are tight no apparent damage. The camera just does not move at all .

Also, and not sure if this is related, but the controller will not sinc just keeps beeping forever. Looked inside the bird nothing obvious there. Dead bird? Dead cam?

Any thoughts are appreciated i would love to figure this out.
Thanks

 

[quaddamage]

Since you already tried re-connecting ribbons and replacing top board, you've eliminated a lot of possible causes.

Possible reasons that remain:
- flat film cable damaged or disconnected (to move, gimbal requires data from a sensor placed near the camera)
- sensor board damaged (that will be the cause if replacing flat film cable changes nothing)
- gimbal not powered at all (check if it gets power from the ESC Center board)

 

[sunbird]

Hi there....I appreciate your response in helping me figure this out. Couple notes.

• The top board in the gimbal not the big main board is what i swapped with same result, nada
• The 'Flat film cable" you mentioned...which one are you referring to there> The one closest to the cam connects via main ribbon cable and that is new. Do you mean that gold colored on that is part of the Roll Motor?
• The sensor board? Can you be more specifir or send me a link to the one you are talking about ?
• The ESC board is that different than the sensor board?
• I do have a brand NEW Pitch Sensor board i have not tried that yet, is that one of the ones you are referring to? It looks like this.

Sorry but i am not yet familiar with the differences in all these boards. Wish i could find a detailed parts list of the phantom 3.
Thank you for your input

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Does anyone know what to look for in the event that the camera does not dance up at all during startup? I keep throwing parts at it but getting expensive. I wish there were an app or something to help diagnose drone issues.

I'm assuming that the camera/gimbal were working fine at some point so, I want to ask, what changed between then and when the camera stopped dancing?

 

[sunbird]

Well, not sure about that. I bought this cam used cam (good shape physically) to rebuild and put in a good bird i have. The Roll motor needed replaced so figured that would be it. Then ended up replacing ribbon cable, and now not sure what to try next. Pretty tricky diagnosing these cams i am finding so ruling out variables as cost effectively as i can is my goal.

 

[quaddamage]

• The top board in the gimbal not the big main board is what i swapped with same result, nada
• The sensor board? Can you be more specifir or send me a link to the one you are talking about ?
• The ESC board is that different than the sensor board?

If you're having issues distinguishing boards, read here:
o-gs/dji-firmware-tools

I'm always using the names from that wiki when posting.

• The 'Flat film cable" you mentioned...which one are you referring to there> The one closest to the cam connects via main

Just google "phantom 3 pro flat film cable".

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Well, not sure about that. I bought this cam used cam (good shape physically) to rebuild and put in a good bird i have. The Roll motor needed replaced so figured that would be it. Then ended up replacing ribbon cable, and now not sure what to try next. Pretty tricky diagnosing these cams i am finding so ruling out variables as cost effectively as i can is my goal.

Thanks for that information. I understand what you're trying to do. It usually helps us diagnose the problem better when we understand some of the back story about what happened between working fine and then not working.

 

[sunbird]

Sequence of events from working to not.

• Danced up but hung at 45 degrees and hummed.
• Figured it was the alignment of that flat spot on the shaft so fixed that but same issue @45 and humming.
• Swapped out roll arm and cam from another bird i have...NO got TILT error and heard 3 beeps/hums as i recall...but...video is still good at this point, and IMU is good here.
• Still at 45 degrees adn NO DANCE NOW
• Changed main black Ribbon ( Flat flim cable referenced above) but a NON OEM one all i could find.
• Then lost video and have TILT & ROLL error now....got worse.
• Also just noticed....LED on gimbal board, slow red every few seconds. Also 3 beeps/hums...pause 3 beeps/hums over and over.
• I have a nearly NEW bird i am testing this in so i know it is not that, something in the cam for sure has to be.
• Next move i thought if i can find one, is an OEM ribbon cable. no stock anywhere.

If anyone sees something i did here that messed me up please chime in. New bird dead duck cam. Thanks

 

[RIKCAT]

Does anyone know what to look for in the event that the camera does not dance up at all during startup? I keep throwing parts at it but getting expensive. I wish there were an app or something to help diagnose drone issues.

Anyway, not sure it i should be looking at the bird or the camera??? Just changed ribbon cable with new DJI OEM one, no go. Tried replacing the main board in the gimbal plate with another i had, same thing no dance up. All connections are tight no apparent damage. The camera just does not move at all .

Also, and not sure if this is related, but the controller will not sinc just keeps beeping forever. Looked inside the bird nothing obvious there. Dead bird? Dead cam?

Any thoughts are appreciated i would love to figure this out.
Thanks

Hi, i have to same problem. I crashed my P3S and then the controller refused to connect to the drone, but im still getting footage but no telemetry!