Well I thought I was going along ok with my Mavic flying skills until one day I too (like many others) stacked my beloved drone - big time in a rocky ravine in the mountains. It took me two weeks to get the assistance of a skilled rock climber to rescue the stranded wreckage.
Fortunately it sustained minimal damage despite its impact on to rocks. A rear foot missing, a rear motor plastic cover missing, front left leg almost snapped off, one prop gone, the front casing slightly ajar. The major issue was that the camera gimbal would not function. It still videoed just fine, just no control over the gimbal. Fortunately the drone itself still flew ok.
I took it into the local camera shop where I purchased it and they sent it away for a repair quote. The quote came back at $1009 (AUD). I initially thought at this price, I would rather spend a few extra hundred dollars and buy a new drone body for $1300 (without all the extras) - so I got my damaged drone back.
I then saw a couple of Youtube tutorials (fixacrash.com) on how to disassemble the gimbal and camera. Watching these, I deduced that the problem with my gimbal was a snapped flat black ribbon cable that controls the gimbal movement. I thought I didn't have anything to lose, as the drone was unusable the way it was with a shaky camera image. So I ordered a new gimbal cable from ebay for $25 and a set of precision screwdrivers for $20 and set to work.
I freely admit it was a stressful experience dismantling and re-assembling the drone and it took me nearly 3 hours to do so. However, by following these excellent tutuorials I successfully replaced the ribbon cable, recalibrated everything and it worked beautifully! I was so thrilled!!! Saved a lot of money.
After some test flights, I found that there still seemed to be the occasional very slight vibration in the video footage, which I put down to one of the tiny rubber dampening bands that hold the gimbal steady, was snapped and others perhaps a bit stretched. I couldn't find anywhere to get replacement bands, so just ordered a whole gimbal mounting plate which comes complete with the bands for $20. I have now installed this - which meant disassembling the gimbal from the drone body again!..but all went ok.
I also ordered and installed a new front left leg replacing the damaged one.

The moral of this long winded story, is don't just automatically accept some of these rather high repair quotes for your damaged drones. Look into what is actually required to fix it and if you feel comfortable, give it a go yourself. It is not as hard as you think (depending on what is required)...and you could potentially save yourself a lot of money! The repair workshop that provided my quote were going to just replace the whole gimbal & camera ($600) instead of just replacing the severed cable. What a waste! We have certainly become a throw away society.
Good luck if you decide to do your own self repairs!

Good logic. Good Job. Good for You.  

We are pleased to hear that you fixed your drone by your own, but we still don't recommend to do that, since the damage caused by unauthorized modification, disassembly, or shell opening not in accordance with official instructions or manuals will not be covered by warranty according to DJI After-Sales policy. We suggest to send it back to our official repair center for maintenance if the drone needs to be repaired in the future.

DJI Mindy Posted at 2017-6-27 19:22
We are pleased to hear that you fixed your drone by your own, but we still don't recommend to do that, since the damage caused by unauthorized modification, disassembly, or shell opening not in accordance with official instructions or manuals will not be covered by warranty according to DJI After-Sales policy. We suggest to send it back to our official repair center for maintenance if the drone needs to be repaired in the future.

Noted DJI Mindy. However, as my crash was my own pilot error (unfortunately), it would not have covered by warranty anyway as per the first item on your list. And as it was going to cost nearly as much as a brand new drone anyway, I had nothing to lose doing what I did in repairing it myself.
Don't get me wrong, I would have much preferred not to have the stress of dismantling it myself and have someone professional do it for me, but at the cost they were going to charge, I thought why not....have a go!
I am fully aware that now I have meddled with the insides of my Mavic, there can be no warranty claims. The crash was all my fault. DJI are not to blame. I think the Mavic is a fantastic product. I had no issues with it at all prior to my crash...unlike a lot of others who seem to have issues all the time. Mine was faultless. I now just hope that after my repair job, it can be 99.99% as good again.
Cheers

You are to be congradulated. Good job. If you send that in for repair, it may take another one to two months. There is also no guarantee that it will be fixed properly anyway. However, you can always ask them to repair it again if something is not done right the first time. But judging other people 's experience, you will not be regretted. Look at it this way, you also gain knowledge of how the bird works and be confident in dealing with the drone if it happens again. Trust me, a lot of this stuff is not brain surgery and you are more than capable of fixing it if you follow some good instructions. Google anything if you need more reference.

Capt of Enterpr Posted at 2017-6-27 20:29
Noted DJI Mindy. However, as my crash was my own pilot error (unfortunately), it would not have covered by warranty anyway as per the first item on your list. And as it was going to cost nearly as much as a brand new drone anyway, I had nothing to lose doing what I did in repairing it myself.
Don't get me wrong, I would have much preferred not to have the stress of dismantling it myself and have someone professional do it for me, but at the cost they were going to charge, I thought why not....have a go!
I am fully aware that now I have meddled with the insides of my Mavic, there can be no warranty claims. The crash was all my fault. DJI are not to blame. I think the Mavic is a fantastic product. I had no issues with it at all prior to my crash...unlike a lot of others who seem to have issues all the time. Mine was faultless. I now just hope that after my repair job, it can be 99.99% as good again.

I understand your situation totally, and you are lucky to get it fixed and we are happy for you, we just don't suggest other customers to do that, the best way is to send in the drone to our official repair center for warranty.
We wish you have a good time on flying, please keep us updated if you have other problems.

just switched my gimbal cable as well, also pilot error with no dji care available in switzerland. it is possible, but not that easy and i almost killed the connector at the camera.

Great job!

$1000 for repair is insane. You've done everything correct and save a lot of money.

I had the same problem as you and here in Brazil they charged $ 1,000.00 US!
If you only import the drone and pay all the fees you pay cheaper and still stay with the old drone to take advantage of the parts!
I switched my gimbal cable, paid $ 13 on the cable and $ 10 on the tools. I saved $ 977.
Now after a flight with strong winds my gimbal started to present problems again.
I feel really abandoned by DJI with these exorbitant prices practiced here by authorized assistance. The network authorized here does not help. They give no support, they do not sell parts and any servicing is almost the price of a new drone.
In Brazil our luck is Youtube and people like FixaCrash that makes these detailed videos on how to repair the drone.
DJI could help us by making a service manual available to everyone.
I fully understand and agree that it is much safer and highly advisable that the repair be done by authorized personnel, but with these prices higher than a new drone that does not strike me as honest.
We are forced to rely on Youtube and obscure parts suppliers that we never know if they are manufactured by DJI or partners and if they are 100% compatible ... I feel like I have bought a very expensive DIY Kit.
I love my drone but it is very expensive for something without friendly support.



26sec first error
2m29s Spiral type movement (with RTH engaged)

What to do? The authorized network does not give any information over the phone. The nearest authorized store is 457.7 miles and just to ship costs almost $ 80 one way.
What to do? Dive into YouTube and across forums to try to figure out what's going on and try to fix it myself.
Sad!

Nice work! There is a high probability that you are just as qualified to make the repair as the technician you'd have sent it to. It isn't rocket science, it's drone science!

Congrats on Fixing your mavic
read turn around time for DJI waranty work is 6-8 weeks what say you Mindy.?
I'm thinking the Mavic 2 will be out by the October     

HermanoLoco Posted at 2017-6-28 13:23
I had the same problem as you and here in Brazil they charged $ 1,000.00 US!
If you only import the drone and pay all the fees you pay cheaper and still stay with the old drone to take advantage of the parts!
I switched my gimbal cable, paid $ 13 on the cable and $ 10 on the tools. I saved $ 977.

Did you do gimbal calibration?
It seems that gimbal axis position info is intermittent and motor is trying constantly set the right position.

Great job!

I tried to do the same thing!  But the ribbon cable had some sort of a Silicone RTV material on the pads for each axis.  If you take the pads off, you still have the silicone.  Did you trim that silicone and re-apply?  Or did you just put the pads back on without the RTV?

Well done on fixing it !!

way wrong Posted at 2017-6-29 00:24
Did you do gimbal calibration?
It seems that gimbal axis position info is intermittent and motor is trying constantly set the right position.

Yes, when I got home I tried to calibrate the gimbal. That's where it all got worse ... The gimbal started to make a noise like a dentist's drill and it got super hot. I turned off the Mavic and am hoping to have some free time to disassemble it.

HermanoLoco Posted at 2017-6-29 10:02
Yes, when I got home I tried to calibrate the gimbal. That's where it all got worse ... The gimbal started to make a noise like a dentist's drill and it got super hot. I turned off the Mavic and am hoping to have some free time to disassemble it.

Check flex cable quality. I have seen many 3rd party cables which doesn't work because these are slimmer and not good quality.
Best is always DJI flex but I don't know if you can find one. These always work. DJI flex cables are sturdier and individual wires inside the ribbon are thicker.

Also you can check if cable is centered and exactly where it is supposed to be and not scraping some edge or side.

Bit ridiculous if you ask me that DJI asked for that much money when you can buy a brand new one with that kind of money.

Good job! 3 hours are definitely worth saving up $1000.

Nice job, there might be a new business for you.

Where did you order your parts

fansdb804912 Posted at 2018-4-14 03:59
Where did you order your parts

I bought my parts from ebay. Sorry but can't remember exactly which seller on ebay though.

Mavic pro or mavic air. Thanks

djiuser_6csEausO1qWw Posted at 11-29 10:48
Mavic pro or mavic air. Thanks

Mine is a Mavic Pro

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