im guessing either the ribbon cable got stressed or one of the tiny motors in the gimbal took a hit. i opened it up once before on an older phantom for a different reason so im not totally clueless but the mavic gimbal looks way more fiddly. anyone actually repaired one of these themselves or is it a send-it-back-to-dji situation. replacement gimbal units on aliexpress are like 60-80 bucks which seems almost worth it just to not deal with dji support

ive already swapped the prop on that motor thinking it was a balance issue, nothing. resoldered the motor leads because one joint looked a bit cold, still doing it. the weird thing is it only seems to happen after a few minutes of flying, not on the bench when i spin it up. makes me think its thermal related maybe? or ESC signal issue under load?

anyone dealt with something similar, genuinely dont know if i should just replace the motor or start suspecting the ESC at this point

ive already done the gimbal calibration thing in the DJI app like four times. it goes through the whole routine, says its done, and then the drift is still there when i fly. i read somewhere that the ribbon cable can get slightly kinked or one of the IMU sensors can shift after an impact even if nothing looks broken. does anyone know if theres a way to check the ribbon without fully disassembling the whole gimbal? or at this point am i just sending it to DJI and waiting 3 weeks

ive already tried reflashing the ESC (its a 4in1 aikon AK32 35A), recalibrated, checked the motor screws, even swapped props thinking maybe a blade was nicked. same behavior. i also checked for any obvious cold solder joints on the motor pads but everything looks clean to me. the motor itself is a T-Motor F40 Pro IV 2306 and it was running fine for like 6 months before this started.

at this point im wondering if the motor windings are just starting to go or if its more likely the ESC channel is dying. has anyone had a specific channel on a 4in1 just start flaking out like this? i dont really want to replace the whole ESC if its actually the motor.

the ribbon cables all look intact to me, no obvious tears. the roll motor on the gimbal still responds and corrects, its just like its lost its reference point or the imu inside the gimbal itself got knocked around. i read somewhere that the gimbal imu can get miscalibrated from impact even if nothing breaks physically, but i dont really know how to fix that beyond what the app offers.

anyone actually opened one of these up and recalibrated manually or replaced the imu? or is this genuinely a send-it-back situation. id rather not pay dji repair prices if i can avoid it.]]>3766Wed, 05 Aug 2026 19:13:52 +0000https://www.dronetalkhub.com/forums/topic/3765-motor-on-my-5inch-keeps-cutting-out-mid-throttle-not-a-prop-balance-issue/so ive been chasing this for like two weeks now and im losing my mind. motor 3 on my build keeps cutting out ? not like a full desync, more like it hesitates for a split second and then comes back, but obviously by then the quad has already rolled into something. happens specifically when i punch from a hover, not really during cruising. already rebalanced and swapped all four props, tried two different sets, same thing.

the esc is a 4in1 blheli_32 45amp rated. motors are 2306 2450kv. i did check the motor screws and they seem fine, no wobble in the shaft either. betaflight logs show motor 3 output dropping but i cant tell if thats the cause or the effect you know what i mean. like is betaflight cutting it because of something or is it actually a hardware issue upstream.

only other thing i noticed is that corner of the stack runs hotter than the rest, like noticeably hotter. maybe a cold solder joint? i resoldered the motor pads last night but havent had a chance to test yet. just wondering if anyone else has seen this specific symptom before i tear the whole thing apart again.

calibrated it about five times at this point. checked the ribbon cables, they look fine. gimbal is an older one, not gonna say which because last time i did someone just told me to buy a better one which wasnt helpful. motors on the gimbal get warm but not hot. firmware is current.

my best guess right now is either a heat issue causing the IMU on the gimbal to go weird, or maybe vibration from the main motors is feeding through the mount and confusing the stabilization. i used fairly stiff standoffs for the mount which was probably a mistake in hindsight. anyone dealt with something like this

heres the thing ? i already replaced the ESC on that arm thinking it was toast. still doing it. checked the solder joints twice, reflowed them, nothing. pid tuning doesnt fix it, i tried throwing iterm relax at it and adjusting filtering but it still twitches. the motor itself tests fine when i spin it manually, no grinding, bearing feels smooth.

only thing i havent done is replace the flight controller. starting to wonder if its a damaged motor output pad or something on the FC itself causing weird signal. has anyone seen this where the issue is actually upstream from the ESC? feels weird because the other three motors are totally normal.

ive done the gimbal calibration in the DJI app probably six times at this point. always on a flat surface, phone level checked it. sometimes right after calibration it looks perfect and then by the next day its drifted again. i dont know if i got a bad replacement cable or if i bumped something internally when i was in there. the gimbal roll motor does make a faint sound when it corrects, like a tiny whine, which it didnt do before the crash i think.

wondering if anyone has dealt with this or if im just looking at buying a whole gimbal assembly at this point

ive already tried reflashing the ESC firmware, recalibrating, swapping props to rule out a bent prop issue. the motor itself spins fine on the bench when i do the motor test in betaflight, no weird noises, no cogging. but in the air its just wrong. the quad wants to roll to that side when it happens.

my next move is to just swap the motor with one from another build to see if it follows but i wanted to ask here first because swapping means re-pid tuning and i really dont want to do that right now. anyone seen something like this before

i took it to a local shop and the guy said the ribbon cable that runs through the gimbal arm is probably partially torn or has a weak connection after the impact, which i guess makes sense. he quoted me 140 dollars labor plus parts which feels steep for what it is but i dunno.

has anyone actually replaced one of these themselves? i found some ribbon cables on aliexpress for like 8 bucks and there are a few youtube videos but they all look terrifying to do, the connectors are so tiny. and im not sure if a droopy gimbal could also just be a motor issue rather than the cable, i dont really know how to tell the difference

i swapped props thinking maybe a blade was bent or something causing resistance but same behavior. also reflashed BLHeli and recalibrated but still the same deal. the motor itself spins freely by hand, no grinding, no notchiness at all. temps seem normal after flying on three motors (yeah i know, not ideal).

is this an ESC channel issue or could the motor actually be dying even though it feels fine? i dont really want to drop another 30 bucks on a motor if its actually the ESC that's shot

i ran the gimbal calibration from the app three times and it improves slightly but never fully fixes it. im wondering if i physically bent one of the gimbal arms or maybe knocked a ribbon cable loose. i dont really want to send it in for repair because the quote i got was basically half the cost of a new one which seems insane for what might be a bent piece of metal. has anyone cracked one of these open and straightened a gimbal arm before, is it even doable without making it worse

ive reseated the motor connector, reflashed betaflight, checked the motor screws, even swapped props. didnt change anything. the motor itself is a 2306 2450kv, been on this frame for about 8 months. ESC is a 4in1 blheli32 setup. i dont think its a motor temp thing because it does it cold too. any ideas what this could even be

took the gimbal off to have a look and the ribbon cable that runs from the gimbal arm into the body looks slightly kinked, could be that but honestly the kink doesnt look that bad to me. replacement gimbal assemblies are like ?120-150 which is annoying because the rest of the drone is totally unscathed. ive seen some posts about people replacing just the ribbon cable for a few quid but im not sure how involved that actually is or if theres something else i should be checking first.

dont really want to send it to DJI because last time they quoted me more than the repair was worth and just tried to sell me a refurb unit

but the moment i put props on and actually fly it, maybe 30 seconds in and it'll just hiccup. not a full desync but close. pulled the blackbox logs and i can see the motor output spiking weird on M4 specifically but i genuinely cannot figure out if its a signal issue or power issue or what. solder joints look fine, no cold joints i can see. ESC is a 4in1 Mamba F55 if that matters.

anyone dealt with this kind of thing before because im running out of ideas here

ive done the gimbal calibration thing in the app like four times. ribbon cable looks intact, nothing visibly bent that i can see. the gimbal itself pivots freely by hand. i read somewhere it could be the IMU inside the gimbal unit getting knocked and giving bad readings but i have no idea how you'd even fix that. DJI repair quote came back at like $280 which honestly might just be worth it at this point but wanted to see if anyone has fixed this themselves before i send it in.

things ive tried: reflashed ESC firmware (tried both BLHeli32 and switched over to AM32 to see if that helped), rechecked all motor screws, resoldered the motor leads on that corner because one joint looked a little cold, checked for prop strikes on the shaft, ran motor tests in betaflight and everything spins smooth. changed the prop on that arm too. desync errors are showing up in the blackbox on that motor, rpm goes nuts for like 200ms then recovers or doesnt.

not sure if its a motor bearing starting to go or if theres something weird happening with that specific ESC leg. temps seem normal. anyone dealt with this specifically on a 4in1 where its just one corner acting up?

the weird thing is it doesnt do it on the bench when i run through the motors without flying, only seems to happen in actual flight. so at first i thought it was vibration getting into the IMU but ive got dampers on the mount and the copter is pretty well balanced. motors are all fresh bearings.

could this be a motor issue on the gimbal itself? or is it more likely the IMU is just bad. the gimbal is maybe two years old and has a lot of hours on it. dont really want to spend money on a new one if its something fixable

ive already tried swapping the prop on that arm with a known good one, no difference. the motor itself spins freely by hand and doesnt feel crunchy or anything. im wondering if i bent a phase wire connection inside the motor or if the ESC just took a hit. its a 4in1 ESC so i cant just swap that one channel easily which is kind of annoying.

anyone dealt with this before? is there a way to tell if its the motor or the ESC without having another FC to test against

ive done the calibration twice, made sure the camera balance is good, even took the camera off and remounted it thinking maybe something shifted. the IMU calibration seems fine according to the app but clearly something is off. is this a known issue with the recent update or am i missing something obvious here

ive already reflashed the ESC firmware, recalibrated all four ESCs through betaflight, checked the motor screws, resoldered the motor leads because one looked a bit cold. still happening. its not crashing the quad or anything but you can feel it in the roll and the blackbox data shows these little spikes on that motor output. starting to think maybe the ESC itself took damage in the crash even though there's no visible scorching or anything. anyone dealt with this before where the ESC just kind of works but not really

i recalibrated the gimbal through the app like three times. sometimes it looks perfect on the ground and then as soon as i take off it starts going. its not wind, ive tried this in dead calm conditions. the roll axis specifically seems to be the problem, pitch looks okay.

im wondering if maybe i didnt seat the ribbon cable properly or if i accidentally messed up one of the gimbal motors during reassembly. tbh i was pretty nervous taking it apart and i might have put a tiny bit too much pressure on the roll arm at one point. would a damaged gimbal motor cause drift like this or would it just stop working entirely

ive swapped the prop already thinking it was a balance issue, no change. the weird thing is if i do a motor test on the bench with betaflight it runs totally smooth and consistent, no stuttering or anything. only seems to happen under actual load when im doing fast direction changes. temps on the stack feel fine after flights, nothing crazy hot.

my gut says its the ESC but idk if thats just because its easier to blame the ESC than pull the motor. anyone dealt with something like this before? wondering if i should just swap the whole stack or if theres a way to actually diagnose which one it is before i start throwing money at it

first time i thought it was heat because it was a pretty warm day. second time it was overcast and maybe 65 degrees so that theory went out the window. third time was yesterday during a paid shoot which was just fantastic timing as you can imagine.

ive updated to the latest firmware, calibrated the axis balance multiple times and the roll axis is definitely a little tricky to get right with my a7iv because of where the battery sits. wondering if its a balance issue causing the motor to overload and then just giving up, or if theres something wrong with the IMU. anyone had this or seen it before