Gimbal pcb fried

[Rustydiver]

Just connected my gimbal up to my battery and it went puff and a bit off smoke came out. It worked ok before. It';s a aeroxcraft gimbal set up for a 3s battery.
Looking on the back there is a copper step that seems to have burned. Is it knackered?
Where can I get a new board other than aeroxcraft.

[ched]

That looks repairable but the question is what caused the large current to flow to burn the track?
If you disconnect all motors etc then using a multimeter with a current measuring mode. Bridge the burn track with the multimeter probes on a high amp range, then connect the battery. The current should be low, in the order of hundreds of milliamps if all is ok. If the meter is reading multi amps then you have a fault on the board. If the reading is low milliamps then you might just have a fault with a motor and once that is sorted you can fix the broken track on the controller.

Hope that gives you a few clues?

[Rustydiver]

I just connected the battery as I normally do and puff. Will check it over after tea.

[Rustydiver]

Now a daft question what setting do I use on the multi meter V.  A. Or the omega sign

[ched]

Now a daft question what setting do I use on the multi meter V.  A. Or the omega sign

V= measure volts (normally you will have ac or dc setting as well.)
A = current (you may need to plug leads in different socket)
Omega = Ohms (resistance/continuity).

You need to use the A setting but to be honest it might be best to look up how to measure current with a multimeter. Have a look at this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lwZkl0yBqA

[Rustydiver]

Thanks that video was a great help.
Measured it without the motors and it read 50ma then with the motors connected 115ma. But when I bridged it it all started up all ok and the camera gimbal worked.
Makes me think did I get a short circuit.

[ched]

Sounds like you did get a short and have now fixed it. Well done.
Happy Flying.

[Rustydiver]

Not quite fixed it yet. Just got to bridge the gap now. I';ve got some off that conductive paint. Giving that a go so the copper strip is still there to blow again.

[ched]

I';m not a fan of conductive paint. I would use a thin single strand of multi core wire to bridge the gap. That way you have a decent soldered connection that wont cause an issue when it flexes.

[Rustydiver]

After i posted it that was my thoughts, but then i decided to wait to see if i can get a new board out off them. Im not able to fly for a few weeks so no rush.
Thanks for you help tonight.

[ched]

Happy to help.