Resurrected Resting Phantom 4 Pro - She woke with gimbal problems...

[YouMadeMeDoIt]

Hello folks, I just started up a Phantom 4 Pro that's been sitting in my closet idle since November of 2017. Out of 7 LiPo's only 1 went bad! That's the good news.

The issue: After startup, the gimbal thinks that level is slightly down and to the right, meaning that after initialization the starting point for the gimbal is slightly downward and to the right. Tilt wheel works perfectly, although tilting upward does not reach a full 30 degrees up.

Inflight if you snap to the down position using the C2 button (straight down) the gimbal travels slightly further than it should and actually points down and to the rear rather than straight down. Also, in flight it gets "mushy" and can only hold a level horizon for short periods of time. Upon snapping it from the straight down position to the foward position, the image on the app sometimes flips 180 degrees. Also, after repeatedly snapping the gimbal between forward and down using the C2 button, the gimbal returned closer and closer to level. Movement of the drone would then cause it to lose it's level again...

Initially the gimbal motor overload warning pops up, then goes away and the gimbal status shows "normal".

She's never been crashed or damaged in any way.

What I've done:

1. Maybe my biggest mistake - before flying it from hibernation, I decided to fully update all the firmware. Then I flew it and these issues began.
2. I calibrated the imu, gimbal, and controller. I then did it again. No help.
3. I downgraded back to the prior firmware version using the desktop assistant. Recalibrated everything twice. No help.
4. Re-calibrated IMU and Gimbal with no SD card as recommended by DJI. No help.
5. I flew it around in sport mode while yelling at it to just fix itself...no help.
6. Wondered if the Chinese intentionally screwed up the firmware to kill their old drones so we'd buy new ones. No help.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading this!

 

[Nightwolf]

I flew it around in sport mode while yelling at it to just fix itself...no help.

That would have been my advice

 

[YouMadeMeDoIt]

Warm it up, shake something loose, shake something back into place, re-align the electrons and protons in the Chinese flux capacitor.

DJI wants me to send it in for repair, of course. The thing is essentially brand new. Joy.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Hello folks, I just started up a Phantom 4 Pro that's been sitting in my closet idle since November of 2017. Out of 7 LiPo's only 1 went bad! That's the good news.

The issue: After startup, the gimbal thinks that level is slightly down and to the right, meaning that after initialization the starting point for the gimbal is slightly downward and to the right. Tilt wheel works perfectly, although tilting upward does not reach a full 30 degrees up.

Inflight if you snap to the down position using the C2 button (straight down) the gimbal travels slightly further than it should and actually points down and to the rear rather than straight down. Also, in flight it gets "mushy" and can only hold a level horizon for short periods of time. Upon snapping it from the straight down position to the foward position, the image on the app sometimes flips 180 degrees. Also, after repeatedly snapping the gimbal between forward and down using the C2 button, the gimbal returned closer and closer to level. Movement of the drone would then cause it to lose it's level again...

Initially the gimbal motor overload warning pops up, then goes away and the gimbal status shows "normal".

She's never been crashed or damaged in any way.

What I've done:

1. Maybe my biggest mistake - before flying it from hibernation, I decided to fully update all the firmware. Then I flew it and these issues began.
2. I calibrated the imu, gimbal, and controller. I then did it again. No help.
3. I downgraded back to the prior firmware version using the desktop assistant. Recalibrated everything twice. No help.
4. Re-calibrated IMU and Gimbal with no SD card as recommended by DJI. No help.
5. I flew it around in sport mode while yelling at it to just fix itself...no help.
6. Wondered if the Chinese intentionally screwed up the firmware to kill their old drones so we'd buy new ones. No help.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading this!

Gimble roll adjustment help it ,have even read some post where some auto calibrate gimble with drone upside down and has worked for them,some it don't, tried between FPV and follow on the cam

 

[YouMadeMeDoIt]

Thanks, gave it a shot. No dice. Going to fly it though 5-6 batteries to see if anything changes then send it in to DJI. So strange it has broken for absolutely no reason.

 

[boolander]

Had a similar issue, only have 1.5 hours of flight on mine and flew it after about a year of non-use and starting having image transmission issues. Sent it back to DJI, was told it couldn’t be fixed and was sent a different drone. Problem is the one I sent in flew perfectly and was in mint condition, the one I got back was “used” and I have no idea how many hours were put on it. Hopefully it will last way past the 90-day warranty.

 

[YouMadeMeDoIt]

Thanks for the comment man. Flew it through the 6 batteries and no change. Looking like sending it in for their mercenary service is the only option. Very tempted to go back to home-building just to be able to handle all repairs myself.

 

[Paul2660]

Not sure where u are located. If US I would send it to someone like Thunderdrones.

DJI will just send you a refurb and charge for the parts. Refurbs are anyone’s guess to quality of camera and internal components.

You can also try to reset the camera from DJIGO4 if not already attempted. I believe I read u tried a gimbal calibration already.

Camera reset is at bottom of main camera settings tab near card format.

Paul C

 

[YouMadeMeDoIt]

Thanks man. Actually, had already sent in to DJI. Hopefully I lucked out as the quote is below at $108. If they send me a refurb I'll know since part 107 regi/insurance/business stickers are all over the frame. Also, I believe that they have to tell you if they plan to send a replacement rather than do a repair. It's sad though, cause I could have done this repair myself. Pretty simple stuff, I just did not know what was wrong.

 

[Nightwolf]

I just did not know what was wrong.

Doesn't look much like they did either. They replaced just about everything didn't they?

 

[YouMadeMeDoIt]

Looks like it. I am shocked at how reasonable the charge was. I expected to get beat up by these guys. Pretty cool to know it's this easy/cost effective. Love the EDDIE profile pic. Reminds me of the day when people used to paint him onto the back of denim jackets (NYC, '80s).