I have a phantom 3 advanced which had just passed its 100 flight milestone. When I went to fly yesterday the phantom turned on as normal and the camera went through its normal start up procedure but then after 10 seconds the gimbal goes limp and the camera drops down, I have no video signal to the app either. The motors fire up on though.

I have never crashed it, it has literally happened for no reason. I am so gutted as I fly very often and until now nothing has ever gone wrong.


Can anyone help me?

Thanks

Do you get the same if aircraft powered up on its own (controller not powered up) ?

Aardvark Posted at 2016-11-4 06:32
Do you get the same if aircraft powered up on its own (controller not powered up) ?

Exactly the same.

I've unplugged the grey cables on the gimbal just to check they hadn't come loose or anything and made no difference.

Is the firmware on aircraft up to date, if not then try an update.

If all firmware on aircraft is current then I would try doing a re-install by rolling back to previous version (you could test here and see if any difference) and then upgrading again to latest.

Aardvark Posted at 2016-11-4 08:12
Is the firmware on aircraft up to date, if not then try an update.

If all firmware on aircraft is c ...

I've inspected all the cables in the gimbal and they look ok but perhaps the ribbon is damaged.

I haven't updated firmware for 12 months, so I will upgrade this to latest versions.

drone_hunter Posted at 2016-11-4 00:52
I've inspected all the cables in the gimbal and they look ok but perhaps the ribbon is damaged.

I ...

That might be a good place to start, my logic being that there may be a corruption in the loaded firmware.

Other than that the ribbon cable could be the culprit as you say. Perhaps it can be unplugged and re-seated.

Hello, after updating the firmware please let us know if it helps.

Well things aren't great as it's not installing the firmware to the aircraft, is not even trying. I'm totally confused. The rc has updated via the app but no good on the aircraft. What's interesting is that the SD card has been written to and had created a dcim folder. The bin fine remains untouched and no txt file.

I've ordered a new ribbon cable which will be here next week I hope this will fix it. Really annoyed. Always taken such care of it and now suddenly it just fails.

drone_hunter Posted at 2016-11-4 16:34
Well things aren't great as it's not installing the firmware to the aircraft, is not even trying. I' ...

It's not recommended to change that part by yourself, it will cause issues if you do not install it properly, and the drone will be out of the warranty for improper installation or operation.
I'd suggest you to get in touch with our tech support at support@dji.com and send it in for further evaluation.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2016-11-4 21:01
It's not recommended to change that part by yourself, it will cause issues if you do not install i ...

But the phantom is over 18 months old and many of the parts have 12 months or less on them. So surely the warranty is irrelevant now, Are you saying you will fix it regardless?

Limp Gimbal? Viagra!

drone_hunter Posted at 2016-11-4 18:24
But the phantom is over 18 months old and many of the parts have 12 months or less on them. So sur ...

Since your aircraft is out of warranty then it cannot be covered under warranty.
If you needs repair, please feel free to contact our tech support.

Does it still communicate with the go app?
If so, try performing a recalibration of the gimbal

Viridis Posted at 2016-11-4 19:20
Does it still communicate with the go app?
If so, try performing a recalibration of the gimbal

Only the telemetry, no video whatever.

Installed the new flex ribbon cable successfully and the phantom is back to its best. Problem solved. Awesome.

Good work

drone_hunter Posted at 2016-11-11 18:00
Installed the new flex ribbon cable successfully and the phantom is back to its best. Problem solved ...

Good to hear all is well.