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Gimbal Error - Water crash

legend32

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May 19, 2020
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6
Age
44
Hi, I crashed my drone and it submerged 50% in water. It had alot of sensor warnings, so I took it apart, cleaned it and put it back together. The only warning left was 'gimbal overload'. I went online and bought a second hand gimbal motor for 10 dollars and fitted it. I still get the exact same error.

Things I have tried
- ICU caliberation
- Compass caliberation
- gimbal caliberation with python script
python comm_og_service_tool.py comX SPARK GimbalCalib JointCoarse
python comm_og_service_tool.py comX SPARK GimbalCalib LinearHall
- made sure pitch and roll was at zero and that change them didnt make much of a difference at all

The error
When off the camera is straight, once i turn it on it tilts 35-40 degreees to one side and stays there When i try using the roller on the fly more remote it will go maybe 30 degrees down and then stop and give the gimbal error When i manually push it down gently it will go down with no resistance When doing the python caliberations above it will not function like it does in the videos, it only moves slightly up and down but nothing else When I have it on and move it about it seems like it does full range of motion to correct itself. However when i stop moving it the camera is level but will slowly over 2-3 seconds return to 35-40 degree tilt.

It is definitely out of warranty, I know the second motor i got might have been faulty too but seems unlikely that both gave the same errors. Any advice is greatly appriciated and any other info needed just let me know. Results of the python caliberation was 'caliberation time exceeded, caliberation must have ended, result unsure'
 


Video of startup and how gimbal acts when moved. When using the roller wheel on fly more remote instead of 85 degrees of range of motion up and down I get about 25-30 degrees in the middle of the range
 
This is probably far too simplistic but having dumped my Spark (after a battery detachment) in thick river mud last year and 4 hours of cleaning, I regularly got gimbal warnings. I found that if I operated the wheel on the RC more slowly rather than my usual speed it most often responded. Appreciate this is low tech but for what it’s worth. Hope you sort it.
 
This is probably far too simplistic but having dumped my Spark (after a battery detachment) in thick river mud last year and 4 hours of cleaning, I regularly got gimbal warnings. I found that if I operated the wheel on the RC more slowly rather than my usual speed it most often responded. Appreciate this is low tech but for what it’s worth. Hope you sort it.
Any suggestion is welcomed, just tried it and the exact same. I also downgraded and then upgraded the firmware and still the same.
 
Any suggestion is welcomed, just tried it and the exact same. I also downgraded and then upgraded the firmware and still the same.
Sorry it didn’t help. Bon chance. There are some brilliant people on this site. Spark317 might be able to help if he’s around.
 
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Spark317 might be able to help if he’s around.

I'm not sure if I can help.

The video clips above are tagged private so I can't see what it's doing.

You're already ahead of me by using the software for analysis.

I remember a general comment in a teardown video of a Spark that sometimes when reconnecting the wires to the board is to be sure there is no silicone in the connection.

DJI put it there to keep the connections tight and free from vibration.

I don't think that is your problem, but you might have to open the Spark again and check.

?
 
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HI Spark 317... i cant believe I didnt make the videos public, doh .. so you definitely did help alot. I removed most of the silicone before removing the clips but I'll reopen all the clips and use a 30-100 microscrope to check each of the pins for damage or silicone. Its a good suggestion... but yeah to get to look at the gimbal connections everything needs to come out again.

Next cheap fix would be to buy a new gimbal wire. After than then it must be something wrong with the board itself... accellerometer or compass or something must be damaged. I'mterrified to fly it encase it decides to take off and never come back ... ill find a large indoor hall and test it out with blade guards on
 
So just to keep people updated, I have figured out that the IMU unit has x and y sensors .. since the camera is tilting maybe thats broken ... i did hold the camera and shake the water out when it happened, i thought holding the camera would protect it but didnt think of the sensor, so maybe i overloaded the sensor.

The IMU unit is attached the the gimbal ring, 20 GBP kind of price range. I have already changed the gimbal motor (10GBP price range second hand). I will report back if this fixes it.
 
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Update the IMU replacement didnt work, camera still acting the same way. Only Four things left really, Gimbal cable, the front sensors, the GPS unit (cant see it being that as gps is connecting), or the motherboard (worse case)

Since its turning on and only the gimbal is messing up I cant see it being the motherboard. I'll try keep this post updated
 

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