Brought my CGO3+ back from the dead!

[freddiethecat]

Well, I thought the camera was dead; I even purchased a new CGO3+, but even the new camera wouldn't power on.

I checked the connections for any damaged pins under the H, I replaced the connecton board but there was just nothing going on.

So, technically the damaged CGO3+ could be fine, but the H wouldn't power it.

I assumed it had to be some internal damage on the H. I did some research and I concluded it was the main power distribution board, so I ordered a new board, took a deep breath and decided to replace it myself.

But Why?? Just in case you are wondering: I did communicate with Yuneec, but since I'm not in the US it would be very complicated and costly to send it to Yuneec US, not the mention the time it would take and if it would be under warranty as it was damaged on a crash that was my error and so on.

The good news: everything went fine and now it works perfectly!

I purchased the board from Vertigo Drones ($129.99) and it arrived just 2 days after the purchase and the same day I received it (yesterday) the H was back in business.

I did try to find some dissassembly guides as I usually do before I do this kind of stuff, but I only found a couple of pictures but nothing too in detail, it seems there's not a lot of information out there yet. It took me a couple of hours to get the job done.

I have to say I was very happy to be able to repair the H, maybe it's not that big of a deal but it was definitely a personal achievement and I wanted to share it with you guys

So, what happened? I'm not sure, but I believe that when 2 cables from the gimbal where pulled out they somehow, in a fraction of a second touched another of the neighbor soldering points, short circuiting and damaging the main power board.

Since I didn't find much information on the web I decided to document the whole procedure, so in case anyone is interested I might upload the video later.

Greetings!

Thanks a lot!!! One question

Well, I thought the camera was dead; I even purchased a new CGO3+, but even the new camera wouldn't power on.

I checked the connections for any damaged pins under the H, I replaced the connecton board but there was just nothing going on.

So, technically the damaged CGO3+ could be fine, but the H wouldn't power it.

I assumed it had to be some internal damage on the H. I did some research and I concluded it was the main power distribution board, so I ordered a new board, took a deep breath and decided to replace it myself.

But Why?? Just in case you are wondering: I did communicate with Yuneec, but since I'm not in the US it would be very complicated and costly to send it to Yuneec US, not the mention the time it would take and if it would be under warranty as it was damaged on a crash that was my error and so on.

The good news: everything went fine and now it works perfectly!

I purchased the board from Vertigo Drones ($129.99) and it arrived just 2 days after the purchase and the same day I received it (yesterday) the H was back in business.

I did try to find some dissassembly guides as I usually do before I do this kind of stuff, but I only found a couple of pictures but nothing too in detail, it seems there's not a lot of information out there yet. It took me a couple of hours to get the job done.

I have to say I was very happy to be able to repair the H, maybe it's not that big of a deal but it was definitely a personal achievement and I wanted to share it with you guys

So, what happened? I'm not sure, but I believe that when 2 cables from the gimbal where pulled out they somehow, in a fraction of a second touched another of the neighbor soldering points, short circuiting and damaging the main power board.

Since I didn't find much information on the web I decided to document the whole procedure, so in case anyone is interested I might upload the video later.

Greetings!

 

[freddiethecat]

Thanks a lot. I have to do the same work because I change 2 arms but the drone continues to have motor error!!!! One question. Why did you remove the main power distribution??? In the new one there was not???

 

[JulesTEO]

Thanks a lot. I have to do the same work because I change 2 arms but the drone continues to have motor error!!!! One question. Why did you remove the main power distribution??? In the new one there was not???

Glad you found this useful!

I'm not sure I understand the question though, but anyway, I replaced the main power distribution board because apparently a fuse blew from the original after a crash. I believe the original board is fixable, but I haven't found the SMD fuse I need to replace.

Greetings!

 

[freddiethecat]

Ah ok!!! Another question please. After you have change the main power distribution you reinstall the system??? Because yuneec told me that I have to send the drone to them for reinstall all the system!!! Thanks for your answer

 

[freddiethecat]

Glad you found this useful!

I'm not sure I understand the question though, but anyway, I replaced the main power distribution board because apparently a fuse blew from the original after a crash. I believe the original board is fixable, but I haven't found the SMD fuse I need to replace.

Greetings!

Ah ok!!! Another question please. After you have change the main power distribution you reinstall the system??? Because yuneec told me that I have to send the drone to them for reinstall all the system!!! Thanks for your answer

#2419 minutes ago

 

[JulesTEO]

Ah ok!!! Another question please. After you have change the main power distribution you reinstall the system??? Because yuneec told me that I have to send the drone to them for reinstall all the system!!! Thanks for your answer

Replacing Only the power distribution board does not require to reinstall anything. Just swap and its good to go.

Greetings!

 

[freddiethecat]

Replacing Only the power distribution board does not require to reinstall anything. Just swap and its good to go.

Greetings!

Thanks!!!! Just one more things please... what do you remove at the minute 26??? Is that that I need to keep to not make the restart system??? Many thanks and sorry for bothering you!!!!

 

[JulesTEO]

Thanks!!!! Just one more things please... what do you remove at the minute 26??? Is that that I need to keep to not make the restart system??? Many thanks and sorry for bothering you!!!!

At the 26 minute mark that is the flight control module, note that I removed and reinstalled the same module on the new power dist. board.

 

[freddiethecat]

Thanks!!!! Just one more things please... what do you remove at the minute 26??? Is that that I need to keep to not make the restart system??? Many thanks and sorry for bothering you!!!!

At the 26 minute mark that is the flight control module, note that I removed and reinstalled the same module on the new power dist. board.

should I keep the same module control? Because I bought a new power distribution that has also a new module control! Thanks

 

[AZSteveB]

Thanks for the video I'm about to undertake the immense job, it looks as though the hardest part is removing each of the 3 power connections to the arms - the links don't come apart that easily and it's almost impossible not to ruin the existing insulation! The solution is to use small shrink wrap with a heat gun to prevent any shorts while flying. When reinstalling Perhaps you could detail the separation of those links and the tools used for them

 

[JulesTEO]

Thanks for the video I'm about to undertake the immense job, it looks as though the hardest part is removing each of the 3 power connections to the arms - the links don't come apart that easily and it's almost impossible not to ruin the existing insulation! The solution is to use small shrink wrap with a heat gun to prevent any shorts while flying. When reinstalling Perhaps you could detail the separation of those links and the tools used for them

Yes, that was definitely the hardest part. I used a pair of pliers and a lot of patience, but some connections were extremely tight and the insulation was inevitably damaged. The best way I found to avoid damage is to insist just with the fingers, twisting and pulling a bit at a time.
I added a bit of electrical tape in a couple of points were the insulation did tear.

When reinstalling I loosened a little bit the connections as I was to replace 2 arms later and didn't want to have the same trouble. The good thing is that by its design the connections are never pulled apart so even if they were 'too lose' the event of a disconnection midflight is very unlikely.

 

[Sure Bet Drone and Design]

Near the connector of cgo on the mainboard, there is a little white smd fuse with 6A. If cgo don't works, the fuse is broken. IT is easy and cheap to replace. If you remove the connectorboard of the cgo, there is pinout printed on the backside. You can easy check the VCC.

Pilot60, I know this is an old post, but do you by chance have a photo location of this fuse? when you say mainboard, do you mean the camera board with the 6 connection pins or the "MAIN" mainboard?

 

[terrence davidson]

Before I do this repair I am waiting on a new cable harness from mainboard to gimbal rail. but instead of replacing the smd fuse going to temp solder a jumper wire and connect the camera to see if it comes back as it should then remove the jumper wire and solder the smallest replaceable fuse holder in it's place and use a 5 amp fuse.

 

[dalgoist]

Near the connector of cgo on the mainboard, there is a little white smd fuse with 6A. If cgo don't works, the fuse is broken. IT is easy and cheap to replace. If you remove the connectorboard of the cgo, there is pinout printed on the backside. You can easy check the VCC.

Sorry for digging out such an old thread. But I have broken my camera fuse too. In an other thread I've found that the smd fuse is a 1.5A fuse (because of the letter K on top of it and lists in the internet for the fuse types). Here you have said that it is a 6A fuse - where did you take this information from?

 

[DoomMeister]

As you stated this is an “old thread” and you have information that correctly identifies the fuse as a 1.5A K SMD type fuse. The person you quoted said there was printing on the board 6A near the fuse. They obviously misinterpreted that as the fuse size. @Pilot60 was last on the forum in May and only has 23 posts in 2.5 years. Not likely he’ll respond to your post.

 

[dalgoist]

As you stated this is an “old thread” and you have information that correctly identifies the fuse as a 1.5A K SMD type fuse. The person you quoted said there was printing on the board 6A near the fuse. They obviously misinterpreted that as the fuse size. @Pilot60 was last on the forum in May and only has 23 posts in 2.5 years. Not likely he’ll respond to your post.

Ah, ok, thank you very much!

 

[Piepsi]

I believe Ray meant the video of the whole procedure.



Well, here's the video!

Note, I wanted to show you the entire process so you can hopefully find something useful other than just exactly what I did. I just sped up some repetitive tasks (such as removing screws) but I edited as little as possible.
Therefore this is a LOOONG video

Also, I believe I should add a small disclaimer just in case : This video is merely a documentation of what I did and how I figured out to do it at that moment. I have zero experience on drone reparation. I am not responsible if you decide to follow these exact steps and damage your Typhoon H. Do it at your own risk, you are on your own as I was.

I hope you find this useful and that you all can forgive my rusty English

THANK YOU very very much!!
After four years without any issues I managed to crash my H for the first time. The camera fell off, five blades were broken and a piece of the landing gear broke off. So I could replace everything easily and the drone was still able to fly without any issues but the camera was dead. Then I found this thread and your video. I did the same as you did and everything works again!
Thanks again!!

 

[Chris Koch]

Well, I thought the camera was dead; I even purchased a new CGO3+, but even the new camera wouldn't power on.

I checked the connections for any damaged pins under the H, I replaced the connecton board but there was just nothing going on.

So, technically the damaged CGO3+ could be fine, but the H wouldn't power it.

I assumed it had to be some internal damage on the H. I did some research and I concluded it was the main power distribution board, so I ordered a new board, took a deep breath and decided to replace it myself.

But Why?? Just in case you are wondering: I did communicate with Yuneec, but since I'm not in the US it would be very complicated and costly to send it to Yuneec US, not the mention the time it would take and if it would be under warranty as it was damaged on a crash that was my error and so on.

The good news: everything went fine and now it works perfectly!

I purchased the board from Vertigo Drones ($129.99) and it arrived just 2 days after the purchase and the same day I received it (yesterday) the H was back in business.

I did try to find some dissassembly guides as I usually do before I do this kind of stuff, but I only found a couple of pictures but nothing too in detail, it seems there's not a lot of information out there yet. It took me a couple of hours to get the job done.

I have to say I was very happy to be able to repair the H, maybe it's not that big of a deal but it was definitely a personal achievement and I wanted to share it with you guys

So, what happened? I'm not sure, but I believe that when 2 cables from the gimbal where pulled out they somehow, in a fraction of a second touched another of the neighbor soldering points, short circuiting and damaging the main power board.

Since I didn't find much information on the web I decided to document the whole procedure, so in case anyone is interested I might upload the video later.

Greetings!

I am really happy for you and thanks for the info awesome job happy flying