Increasingly frequent "Lens disconnected" error - DJI Inspire 2 with Zenmuse X5S

[WillT]

Hi All,

Anyone see this problem (and, even better, fix it)? Occasionally (although more and more frequently!) I lose control of the camera controls (exposure settings, focus mode and control, etc.) due to a "Lens disconnected" error. Sometimes it recovers on its own and sometimes I have to land the drone, power it off, power it back on before I get control of the camera controls. I can still control all aspects of the gimbal, I get the video feed just fine, and I can record, but nothing else. The lens is stock DJI lens that came with the X5S when I bought the Inspire 2 from DJI.

BTW, I've double/triple checked that both the lens and gimbal have clean contacts are properly and security connected to both the camera and drone respectively.

Still pic attached showing the error. Since the error fades after a few seconds, the video does not show it, but shows the loss of lens control issues I see.

Any help/advise is appropriated!

Will

 

[djkelly57]

I sure hope you find a fix for this as I have the same problem except mine is constant. I contacted DJI about my problem and they had me send my camera and gimbal back. They checked it all out and said that they could find nothing wrong but replaced the whole unit anyhow. When I got the replacement I still had the same problem. It's got to be in the AC. Sure is frustrating to have a useless bird of this expense. Don't know what to do from here.

 

[Paul Nordin]

It's got to be in the AC. Sure is frustrating to have a useless bird of this expense. Don't know what to do from here.

That sucks! Do you live near a friend or dealer that has an I2 that you could mount your gimbal/lens on to see if the problem persists? If not, then your theory would seem to be proved and you need to send your I2 in for repair.

I had that problem with my 16mm and I noticed the male part of the gimbal mount on the I2 (the electronic connector) was slightly off-square, so I slid/rotated it back to be square with an imaginary line representing the fore-aft direction of the I2, and it seemed to improve the situation.

 

[djkelly57]

Unfortunately, I'm not near to any dealers and I don't know anyone in my area that even has a drone. I know the connector that you are talking about, but mine is square. I looked at that as being a weak spot but couldn't find anything wrong with it. Thanks for the help.

 

[dioriosigns]

HI i had the same problem. i had a broken wire going into gimbal housing. wire are small and detach very easy.hope this helps.

 

[Dr Jon]

ensure the camera lens is in lock position. .... if you didn't do this then the contacts dont get the full force / pressure to ensure the signals

 

[CapArt]

I have had the same problem with mine, but so far only when flying in temperatures below -10°C. When the problem occurs with mine it is intermittent and affects about 50% of my flight time.

 

[nfc1965]

Hi All,

Anyone see this problem (and, even better, fix it)? Occasionally (although more and more frequently!) I lose control of the camera controls (exposure settings, focus mode and control, etc.) due to a "Lens disconnected" error. Sometimes it recovers on its own and sometimes I have to land the drone, power it off, power it back on before I get control of the camera controls. I can still control all aspects of the gimbal, I get the video feed just fine, and I can record, but nothing else. The lens is stock DJI lens that came with the X5S when I bought the Inspire 2 from DJI.

BTW, I've double/triple checked that both the lens and gimbal have clean contacts are properly and security connected to both the camera and drone respectively.

Still pic attached showing the error. Since the error fades after a few seconds, the video does not show it, but shows the loss of lens control issues I see.

Any help/advise is appropriated!

Will

Make a full refresh fw update with x5s connected, calibrate imu, calibrate the gimbal and then the compass on the field.

 

[WillT]

I have had the same problem with mine, but so far only when flying in temperatures below -10°C. When the problem occurs with mine it is intermittent and affects about 50% of my flight time.

Does it "fix itself" in mid-flight, or do you land and reboot the drone to fix? Or maybe something else? I'd be very interested in knowing your experience/actions relating this problem.

I've see the problem correct itself in mid-flight once, but as it's not always a sure bet, so in the interest of battery life and time, I've been landing and rebooting the drone which has fixed the problem about 75% of the time.

Will

 

[WillT]

Make a full refresh fw update with x5s connected, calibrate imu, calibrate the gimbal and then the compass on the field.

Great advice - I did do all that after the first occurrence (especially since this problem showed up shortly after the big Dec 2017 firmware release). No effect. :/

 

[RobUK]

@WillT@

Just trying to help here.

I read a post (can't find it now) where another pilot had the same problem with his I2. It turned out to be an intermittent contact on a cable connector internal to the I2 that connects to the gimbal. The connector was unplugged, then plugged back in again a few times, and the problem was solved. I have not had this problem myself and have not dismantled my own I2 (yet), but there are a few "disassembly videos" on YouTube that might help you on disassembly.

 

[gooninator484]

This is an old thread but I just had the same issue. Long story short the gimbal vibration absorbing board (Inspire 2 Part Number 23), which includes the gimbal mount needed to be replaced. It's a cheap part, $59 shipped from RotorLogic and fairly simple to do if you have the right torx wrenches. I had the "lens disconnected" alert which got progressively worse until I started getting an "Encoder Error" New board in and it's working good as new. This video saved the day for me.

 

[WillT]

Oh wow! What a coincidence! I've suffered this error for years now and just learned to deal with it (repeatedly rebooting the I2 until it cleared), but as fate would have it, I crashed my I2 in to a mountain and, in addition to a number of other parts, this part will be replaced as part of the repair! Silver lining!

Now I just need a new camera since the X5s was de-stroyed. But once I have that, I'll look forward to never seeing this error again!

Will