Broken Gimbal Fix, Ribbon Cable Issue

[Spokane Bob]

Due to a minor crash, my P4 gimbal/camera quit working. After contemplating a DIY repair, I decided to sell my defective gimbal/camera on e-bay and get a new gimbal/camera through Amazon. When I sold my 'bad' gimbal/camera, I immediately sent it to my e-bay buyer. When I sent him the 'bad' gimbal/camera, I also included the ribbon cable that connects the gimbal/camera to the aircraft - the one with little white plugs on each end - thinking that cable was part of gimba/camera assembly.

I just received the new DJI OEM gimbal/camera assembly from Amazon...guess what wasn't included? Yup - the litte ribbon cable that connects the gimbal/camera to the aircraft! I assumed that it would be included. I have to admit that it was my fault as had I looked closely at the product photo on Amazon, I would have seen that the little cable with plugs on each end was not in the photo..

If you can't, or choose not to attempt repair on the gimbal/camera assembly, and choose to sell the defective unit on e-bay, MAKE SURE you hang on to that little ribbon cable with white connectors on each end, or you''ll wind up having to do like me and order a DJI OEM cable set just to get the cable you sent (or maybe threw) away! Picture me beating my head on the table!

Amazon: Amazon.com: DJI Phantom 4 Part 34 - Cable Set - OEM: Camera & Photo

 

[Droneted]

Good advise. I am sure u are not the only one. I only have 2 and i watch them like a hawk. When i sell a camera i never include it on purpose but i warn the buyer to keep theirs.

 

[fw190]

Hi all
New to this excellent forum.
OK, p3a, low batt. Rth, hit oak tree, crash onto solid path!!!
Camera and gimble screwed. IDIOT. My fault.
REPLACED both arms and ribbon cable.
Gimble all works OK, however no video on, lenovo's or apple pad
Taking a guess it's the ribbon cable. (It's not OEM)
BUT, the app is fixed to professional !!! And I can't change that to advanced
All else appears OK.
Any help / comments would be appreciated.
As an aside, twisted gimble arms can be straightened, the aluminium is quite soft and does not stress crack, wish I had known that.

 

[fw190]

Update
Just took covers off of video cable , camera and base, reseeted cable, and it works video is fine.
So that's one non OEM ribbon cable that works, I hope for a long time.

 

[Droneted]

Where did u get that non OEM cable? I get mine from FStop Labs and they always work for me. Very reasonable prices and fast delivery.

 

[fw190]

Got mine from Hong Kong Feng
Yue Ltd. As part of a kit. Packaging was awfull, one arm was bent, they were good, refunded my cash so kit ended being free. As I said, the ally is mealable so carefully reformed ring on arm. But ribbon is laminated and I did note, after I fitted it, I think I delaminated it where I wound it round the camera shaft, that's a very awkward operation !!!!
I tried to get the kit three times, Philippines one didn't send, China one said advert incorrect, third time lucky I hope, but all 3 where very polite, makes a change from UK.

 

[Daytona]

I did the same as the OP to my P3P.
I got off eBay a cable/arm combo. But the cable wasnt the correct one. My photo's were pink and not visible.
Ordered the correct cable and all is well again. BTW there are only 2-3 people on eBay with the correct P3A/P cables.

 

[fw190]

As it appears most pilots at some time screw the ribbon cable, how about we list good quality cable? ! ! ? And the suppliers plus state your country !!! New thread ¡!!!!
Dji expensive, cheap £11 about. Oh and state delivery time.
I would suggest we have a thread that deals only with spares, as dji updates it's models rather as frequently of late, we would really like to know where to go !!!!!
Some of us, ME, can't afford to pay an exorbitant price for the latest load of problems, I just enjoy the hobby.
These are suggestions for you guys, but would be advantages to us all.
I'm Roy so Hi to all of you.

 

[Droneguyflynhigh]

Thought I would chime in to confirm what you all probably already know. The cheap Chinese ribbon cables for the P3 Pro/Adv DO NOT WORK. I have half a dozen perfect working cameras that I tested the Chinese ribbons in and found they work for about 15 seconds. The camera does its dancing boot thing and then goes limp. The DJI Go app shows NO SIGNAL and of course no video. I can shut the quad off and restart and it goes through the same process. Bottom line, these cheap, single ply, Chinese ribbons are junk. I just returned 11 of them to the eBay seller in China, (big pain in the butt), who has NO idea these ribbons don't work IN the camera. They say they test them, but if they test for continuity only, they aren't really testing them. (I really don't think they test them at all). The reason I sent him 11 ribbons was to get my point across. One of the cameras I had, someone had put the exact same ribbon in it, without success. It had the exact same number printed on the side as the 10 that I purchased. I tested 3 and had enough. The double ply ribbons are the only ones to use. I have actually reused original ribbons that were whole that still worked, even when the camera had experienced major damage to the yaw arm. And boy, do these cameras experience MAJOR damage. I have never had a P2V+ camera show anywhere near as much damage. DJI FAILED miserably to increase the wall thickness of the yaw arm assembly. It is basically the same as the P2V+, but it has to withstand more impact due to the increase in mass of the complete camera. So far though, I have had better results with a higher rate of functioning electronics than the P2V+ units, so that's a good thing.
Let me know if I can help.
Jim

Ok so Im a newb so dont be too harsh here but i just got my dji p3 std and the gimbal in app status says "normal" but in overall status it states "gimbal tilt error" hardware failure etc... The camera does work..decent feed most of the time but does have moments where it gets whacked out..but the gimbal is limp..doesnt dance around on start up to calibrate the gimbal ..does however make small eratic movements and an alarm like buzzing sound..firmware is up to date.made sure and fully formatted the sd card and reloaded .bin file only to sd..let the drone do its annoying **** it does in update and the status light is green along with dji go saying all good with firmware...could it be the ribbon or does it seem to be more than that?

 

[NikG]

New to the forum, so forgive me if this is not technically correct in descriptions.
I recently purchased a P3 advanced for my son off ebay, came with broken yaw arm and ribbon cable. Ordered an arm/cable set from Amazon...put it all together and....no video. When starting the drone the camera twists around and does its little dance then gets in position. There is a constant buzzing noise apparently from the motors that move the camera around. If we pick up the drone the camera moves as if to stay focused on something it originally had "seen". Also, we can move the camera around with the transmitter gimbal wheel and left control stick. But we get no video on his phone, At the top of DJI GO screen it says "no image transmission" and under gimbal status it says gimbal disconnected.
From reading other posts it appears that this is probably due to the ribbon cable not being a genuine DJI. But before we go and buy another one and go through the pain of taking apart/putting together:
1- Is there anything else that might be causing no video other than a bad cable?
2- If we do need to get a new cable is there an update as to where to get either a genuine DJI that won't break the bank or has anybody found a reliably good non-OEM cable. I just think $35 for this cable is outrageous.

In the meantime we might try to go back and check all the connection points to see if all are pushed in correctly and firmly.
Thanks in advance for the help
Nik

 

[fw190]

New to the forum, so forgive me if this is not technically correct in descriptions.
I recently purchased a P3 advanced for my son off ebay, came with broken yaw arm and ribbon cable. Ordered an arm/cable set from Amazon...put it all together and....no video. When starting the drone the camera twists around and does its little dance then gets in position. There is a constant buzzing noise apparently from the motors that move the camera around. If we pick up the drone the camera moves as if to stay focused on something it originally had "seen". Also, we can move the camera around with the transmitter gimbal wheel and left control stick. But we get no video on his phone, At the top of DJI GO screen it says "no image transmission" and under gimbal status it says gimbal disconnected.
From reading other posts it appears that this is probably due to the ribbon cable not being a genuine DJI. But before we go and buy another one and go through the pain of taking apart/putting together:
1- Is there anything else that might be causing no video other than a bad cable?
2- If we do need to get a new cable is there an update as to where to get either a genuine DJI that won't break the bank or has anybody found a reliably good non-OEM cable. I just think $35 for this cable is outrageous.

In the meantime we might try to go back and check all the connection points to see if all are pushed in correctly and firmly.
Thanks in advance for the help
Nik[/QUOthe

Hi, I had a non dji cable, after installing about half the output didn't work, reseating the cable sorted the problem, I would mention that the cable tends to spring out on the corners, causing a bad connection, so it does want some forming.

 

[PhantomFun]

I believe I’m having an issue with a non OEM cable after a gimbal repair. I’ve ordered a DJI cable to the tune of $40 as I really need to ensure the cable is not my issue. I’m hopeful the new cable will solve my problem as I’d hate to have to spend big money on a new camera assembly.

I did find this and wondered if it was real...

Flexible Gimbal Flat Ribbon Flex Cable For DJI Phantom 3 Pro/Adv OEM Flexible Gimbal Flat Ribbon Flex Cable For DJI Phantom 3 Pro/Adv OEM 5050525452209 | eBay
Flexible Gimbal Flat Ribbon Flex Cable For DJI Phantom 3 Pro/Adv OEM Flexible Gimbal Flat Ribbon Flex Cable For DJI Phantom 3 Pro/Adv OEM 5050525452209 | eBay