Hi there!

I have some problems with the gimbal of my Mavic 2 Zoom. In flight it shows gimbal motor overload and the roll axis is not stabilised (tilted picture when flying sideways).


The strange thing is, it happens in flight only. When I lift the flight-ready drone from the ground and roll it by hand, the stabilisation is working without any errors. Gimbal moves freely and smooth, the drone is free of crashes and hard landings, automatic gimbal calibration is done successful without any problems. No issues with the picture quality or the flight performance of the drone itself, no flight controller errors.


Is there a known solution to this problem, can I try something further, did I miss something? Or should I focus on replacing the gimbal?


Thank you and greetings from Germany.
Ben.

Do you have FPV mode switched on?
I have not checked to see if it works when the motors are not running. Though it would net explain the overload warning.

Guten Tag,

I had this happen on two separate occasions with the Mavic Air 2.  It would only happen in flight and I could not replicate the problem when rapidly turning the drone.
The first and most imporant question is did you take a hard landing, have a crash or hit something with the drone?

The gimble motors extremely low powered and the sensors are very sensitive.  Any tiny obstruction, debris or something the impedes the articulation can cause this error.  There are also a whole host of problems that it could be that are more complicated.

Try reinstalling the firmware using the DJI Assistant, you need to select the right version for the Mavic 2 Zoom.  This did not resolve the issue but was recommended by others on the forum.

The first time after looking over the gimble I found a fragment of a grass blade stuck to the bottom rear of the gimble.  Once I removed the small grass blade, which was only about 1CM in length, the error went away.  The second time took me longer to find the problem.  Dust had and grit had accumulated in the pivot points of the gimble vertical articulation joints.  I could not feel the girt when I manually articulated the camera but could see it in the space with the flashlight from my phone.  Canned air, turning the gimme and patient finally got the grit out.  

Hello there Ben. I am sorry for the trouble this has caused and thank you for reaching out. May we please know before having this issue on your DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, was there a hard landing or a crash that happened to the said DJI Drone? Thank you.

Hi!

Thank you for your replies, I could try to re-install the firmware and test if the problem persists. Will this also reset the drone to factory settings in case I messed something up (but if I did, why it triggers the gimbal motor overload error message then)?

As I told in my initial posting, the drone had no crashes and no hard landings, the problem came out of nowhere. And I have no idea why it passes the gimbal calibration without any issues, but fails right after that when in flight. Very strange...

In case I need to replace the gimbal/camera assembly, how much will it cost and where can I get it?

Thank you and merry christmas!

Before considering replacing the gimbal I would disconnect and reconnect (at both ends)  the ribbon cable connecting the gimbal to drone (to check the seating of the connectors) and perhaps visually check the ribbon cable for cracks or tears or damage that might allow a circuit track to go open circuit whilst the drone if 'vibrating' with the motors running.

Okay, I will try both. Firmware re-install and reconnecting the ribbon cable if both ends are not to hard to reach.

I have a small update, but I need to do another test flight tomorrow.

I refreshed the firmware on the drone and the controller, calibrated the IMU, compass and gimbal, everything worked perfectly. The gimbal's ribbon cable and its connectors look like new, I reseated both connectors.

Because it was already dark and bad weather (0°C, not really strong but gusty wind) I could only do a very short and limited test flight. First it had the same issue again (gimbal motor overload message and tilted picture when flying sideways), then I pointed the camera straight downwards to look for a good landing spot using the LEDs and this fixed the issue for a moment. It started working even with the camera pointing forward again, stabilised picture and no overload error. If it isn't raining or snowing tomorrow I will do another test flight and check if the error comes back.

Next update:

Unfortunately refreshing the firmware and reseating the gimbal ribbon cable didn't help, the problem persists. Tilting the camera down to the ground and back up straight forward didn't lead to a fix this time. It must have just been lucky yesterday.

Only two small discoveries, when landing with the gimbal motor overload error, you can't calibrate the gimbal anymore (hangs at 5%), you need to restart the aircraft first. Then it works fine without any problems and it seems it also leads to a temporary fix of the problem. But of course I can't find a well leveled surface outside, so when calibrating the gimbal on the grass, you get a tilted image right after the drone took off and hovers. I don't know if you can calibrate the gimbal with the aircraft hovering.

Looks like I have to try a new gimbal / camera assembly. Where can I get it in Germany and how expensive is it? Just live with the problem just isn't a good option for me right now.

I have bought stuff from  the seller of
[url=https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154699136734?hash=item2404c97ede:gg0AAOSwQMVhkBgD]https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15469 ... :gg0AAOSwQMVhkBgD[/url]


before and have no complaints but I have not bought a camera and gimbal from them.
It is not complete so it might be worth haggling, I would also ask about its history, I see at least one dent where the missing cover should be. The cover may also act as a counterbalance so you would need to use one from your gimbal to replace it. Also check the carriage charge to Germany, the free postage may be UK only.
I would also check with EU customs to see what charges they will levy and what charges the German carrier may levy for collecting the customs duty.
The biggest problem you face is that you do not truely know what is malfunctioning i.e. whether the problem lies in the gimbal or the drone. If you know someone with a Zoom or pro would they let you try your gimbal in their dronemm etc.

Hi!

Thanks for your suggestions but buying something in the UK is not reasonable because UK is not an EU country anymore and I don't want to go through this EU customs stuff and pay extra money. That's something UK should have thought about before exiting the EU - no more EU customers, no more EU money.

I don't see a chance to investigate further without a new gimbal - and I think the aircraft itself (the flight controller platform) is fine because I have no issues with that. And my Mavic 2 is the only one which I have access to. None of my friends has such a drone.