Hi team!

Maybe a very FAQ but here goes.

Started my Mavic without having removed the gimbal lock first. Realized my mistake and pulled the battery.
Mavic was on maybe 5-10 seconds. Test flew afterwards and all seemed fine. Can you damage the gimbal
this way or is there a built-in protection against burning your gimbal servos? Like an overcurrent protection
circuit or similar?

Regards
Georg

No to answer your question.  It will give you a "gimbal overload" message, just try not to do it often you can even attache a red tape or ribbon to the lock to serve as a reminder.

Hope to never do it again. :-)

But the fact that the Mavic can send a "Gimbal Overload" message does suggest at least an overcurrent detection circuit.

george_007 Posted at 2017-10-22 08:13
But the fact that the Mavic can send a "Gimbal Overload" message does suggest at least an overcurrent detection circuit.

Yup, on boot the gimbal goes through a quick calibration/initialization routine and will fail with that message if the gimbal's movement is obstructed. My understanding is that early on DJI added some code to abort the initialization and maybe even motor commands so the system wouldn't burn out. 5 or 10 seconds won't have caused any harm.

I'm sure we all have forgotten it once or twice when we started flying the MP. You have to learn to take some pre-flight actions before take-off... red tape or ribbon on the lock will be a good reminder if you forget to remove it before every flight

It is protected, so you should be fine.
Would not try it too often

Thanks guys! :-)

I did the same thing, a few times, before making a habit of the set up process.

Dare I say we've all done it a few times?   I freakin' hate this gimbal crap.   Why can't it autopark like harddrive heads?

LP

I think the original models did a have a potential issue with it melting the ribbon cable but it was fixed.  Ive done it a couple of times, nothing happened.

I forgot to remove the lock maybe 3 times already. I now put a post-it note (REMOVE GIMBAL COVER!) over the battery power button to always remind me to remove it before powering on my Mavic.

DMY Posted at 2017-10-22 19:50
I forgot to remove the lock maybe 3 times already. I now put a post-it note (REMOVE GIMBAL COVER!) over the battery power button to always remind me to remove it before powering on my Mavic.

By the way, I bought the combination gimbal cover and lock, so I only have to remove one cover,  (I broke one of the clips in the original cover, that's why).

I forgot to remove gimbal clamp twice, won't let this happen again, it may result in a gimbal hardware issue,  I would recommend you make a habit of checking the gimbal before power it on.

Dear george_007,

You should read my thread:
https://forum.dji.com/thread-116759-1-1.html
And for what: because if you have this aircraft motor overload nightmare, that is ruining many MP's users, probably they will blame your action on forgetting to get out the clamp, as they did it with me. Even knowing that this is not the real problem: it is a hardware problem!
And, I say to you: I never forgot to take off the clamp!
But it is my word against t theirs.
So....

DocAraxá Posted at 2017-10-23 02:54
Dear george_007,

You should read my thread:

That is kind of sad...

I think were pretty much all guilty of forgetting it on once or twice but you learn to go through a before flight list and an after flight list infact DJI has an APP just for this,they even provide PDF versions in the APP if u prefer to print them out.Happy Flying

I generally forget if im doing several flights of 3-4 minutes in length and bringing it back in to change a filter.  I clamp on, remove filter, fit new filter then forget to remove it before going back up.