Hello,I just purchased a brand new Inspire 1 with the Zenmuse X3. Since unboxing, the tilt motor (up/down) has always made a strange grinding noise. Is this normal? When I apply some downward pressure near the front of the camera, it stops.

Hi, I just purchased one too. Mine does not make any noise. I would call dji regarding it if it was me.

Whiz Posted at 2017-1-26 08:45
Hi, I just purchased one too. Mine does not make any noise. I would call dji regarding it if it was me.

Thanks, I think I'll do that.

For the record, I chatted with DJI and she had me do an IMU calibration immediately followed by the gimbal auto calibration. It's probably 90% better than it was.

iKell Aerial Posted at 2017-1-26 10:44
For the record, I chatted with DJI and she had me do an IMU calibration immediately followed by the gimbal auto calibration. It's probably 90% better than it was.

The X3 should not be making any strange ( harsh ) sounds , there is a small fan in there, ( on back of the camera )  see if that has maybe a small piece of lint on it  or something .  Try and and tilt the camera, you can do this via the top RC left top gimbal wheel , see if the sound gets any worse, then go to the RC settings and change the gimbal wheel to pan  ( this will be in the C1 -C2 settings on the back of the RC ). This will tell  you if it is a gimbal motor problem or something else .  

Also when you start the system and the camera  does the dance , how does it sound ?  It really should make very quiet noises and you will hear the fan running, but you should not hear any buzzing.  Make sure all of the packing tape and foam is not stuck in the camera gimbal anywhere ( doubt it but it has happened)
Be sure to inspect that fan for a foreign body , I have definitley heard of this causing problems.

If you have time you could make a  video and post .  If the grinding does continues send it back , it will only  get worse.

good luck

donnie

iKell Aerial Posted at 2017-1-26 10:44
For the record, I chatted with DJI and she had me do an IMU calibration immediately followed by the gimbal auto calibration. It's probably 90% better than it was.

Glad to hear it help, but unless its 100% I would not be content with it. Unless there is a piece of something in the mechanics of it that can be removed like Donnie mentioned, it will only get worse I would think. If you have not removed it, I would remove it and make sure there is no binding anywhere on the gimbal.

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-1-26 14:04
The X3 should not be making any strange ( harsh ) sounds , there is a small fan in there, ( on back of the camera )  see if that has maybe a small piece of lint on it  or something .  Try and and tilt the camera, you can do this via the top RC left top gimbal wheel , see if the sound gets any worse, then go to the RC settings and change the gimbal wheel to pan  ( this will be in the C1 -C2 settings on the back of the RC ). This will tell  you if it is a gimbal motor problem or something else .  

Also when you start the system and the camera  does the dance , how does it sound ?  It really should make very quiet noises and you will hear the fan running, but you should not hear any buzzing.  Make sure all of the packing tape and foam is not stuck in the camera gimbal anywhere ( doubt it but it has happened)

Thanks, I think I'll try this. It seems to be a little bit intermittent, which to me probably means software. But I'll look into these!

Whiz Posted at 2017-1-26 21:37
Glad to hear it help, but unless its 100% I would not be content with it. Unless there is a piece of something in the mechanics of it that can be removed like Donnie mentioned, it will only get worse I would think. If you have not removed it, I would remove it and make sure there is no binding anywhere on the gimbal.

Right, if it continues like this I'll contact DJI again.

iKell Aerial Posted at 2017-1-27 07:22
Right, if it continues like this I'll contact DJI again.

Could you happen to provide a small video to see the extent of it?

DJI-Jamie Posted at 2017-1-27 16:28
Could you happen to provide a small video to see the extent of it?

Sure, here it is. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwVs_h8XBPmsWW16Szk4QzJvQmc

mine does the same thing since i got it in november. guess i need to contact dji

iKell Aerial Posted at 2017-1-27 16:43
Sure, here it is. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwVs_h8XBPmsWW16Szk4QzJvQmc

Tilt Gimbal motor out of square , something binding , just tested mine and can get it to that . If  there is slight pressure on the lens of the camera , your noise goes away when you press down, and mine will start up.  Send it in , it will only get worse. I highly doubt now that it could be the fan .  

donnie

Donnie Stugots Posted at 2017-1-28 06:29
Tilt Gimbal motor out of square , something binding , just tested mine and can get it to that . If  there is slight pressure on the lens of the camera , your noise goes away when you press down, and mine will start up.  Send it in , it will only get worse. I highly doubt now that it could be the fan .  

donnie

Alright, thanks for your help.

iKell Aerial Posted at 2017-1-28 10:39
Alright, thanks for your help.

I agree that it sounds like a motor issue. You'll be up and running again in no time once you get started with a  repair service.

Ninefingers Posted at 2017-1-27 23:22
mine does the same thing since i got it in november. guess i need to contact dji

You'll would want to get in contact with the NA Support team at your earliest convenience.

Well well well...DJI sent me a replacement Zenmuse. It appears to be well-used, so well used that it doesn't even work. It is limp and does not transmit a video signal, though the fan still runs. What on earth DJI? Now I'm going through the whole process again.

iKell Aerial Posted at 2017-3-21 06:15
Well well well...DJI sent me a replacement Zenmuse. It appears to be well-used, so well used that it doesn't even work. It is limp and does not transmit a video signal, though the fan still runs. What on earth DJI? Now I'm going through the whole process again.

Could you please provide your case number so I can look into this?

DJI-Jamie Posted at 2017-3-21 13:49
Could you please provide your case number so I can look into this?

The original case number is: CAS-449024-K8L5L0PS
The new case is: CAS 522092-V6F6J1

It is all kinda frustrating as I have some projects to do in the next few days. Thank you for anything you can do to speed this up.

iKell Aerial Posted at 2017-3-21 14:04
The original case number is: CAS-449024-K8L5L0PS
The new case is: CAS 522092-V6F6J1

That is odd, as the outbound picture for the replacement does not show signs of wear or dirt. It will need to be further investigated once the gimbal reaches their facility. I had notified the proper team to have this escalated, since you just got the unit back.

DJI-Jamie Posted at 2017-3-22 10:18
That is odd, as the outbound picture for the replacement does not show signs of wear or dirt. It will need to be further investigated once the gimbal reaches their facility. I had notified the proper team to have this escalated, since you just got the unit back.

There were obvious signs that the gimbal had been installed on a drone before, like wearing around the top gimbal mount.
I don't really know exactly what to do as I just sent it back with a label DJI provided via email (they sent me three in the last day) that was for a 25 lb box like they were expecting me to ship the whole drone. Then I got the 3rd corrected label after I already dropped off the camera.
Whatever, can you just send me a functioning camera?

iKell Aerial Posted at 2017-3-22 12:41
There were obvious signs that the gimbal had been installed on a drone before, like wearing around the top gimbal mount.
I don't really know exactly what to do as I just sent it back with a label DJI provided via email (they sent me three in the last day) that was for a 25 lb box like they were expecting me to ship the whole drone. Then I got the 3rd corrected label after I already dropped off the camera.
Whatever, can you just send me a functioning camera?

The Support team will get it addressed as quickly as possible.