Managed to burn out my GoPro

Yep, it looks like I'm that retarded. I was in the process of wiring up a USB plug up to my quad to power my GoPro. Well, I mistakenly hooked it up to 12V direct from the battery instead of regulated 5V and POP it went. A bit of smoke even came out the USB port.

Of course, after that it wouldn't turn on and got very hot if I plugged it into USB power.

Anyway, at this point I figure I've got nothing to lose so I've stripped down the camera to exactly what fried. I could only find one charred spot, on the middle PCB with the USB connector.3690924701?profile=original

Looking closely at this however it looks like all the components are still there. The circle below C1 is just a locating hole for the lens assembly.

3690924428?profile=original

Closer inspection of all the boards reveal that this charred spot was likely caused by an exploding capacitor on the board mounted in front of it.

3690924718?profile=original

So I may try replacing this component and see how I go. Like I said, nothing to loose at this point. All the capacitors on this footprint seem to be the same value (100 6K, whatever that means), so I'll try that first. Anyone got a dead GoPro I can scavenge from?

Not doing too well this week, smashed my iPhone screen two days ago and now this. At least I know I can repair my iPhone. Anyone else done something this stupid?

Cheers,

Chris

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Replies

  • Masi, Are you still repairing GoPros?

  • Arrh, I did the same thing on my GoPro Hero 3, 12v into the USB socket :(

    I found a battery that appears to be dead, also these two caps appear to be short circuit.

    Should I try to remove the caps or is this just dead  and heading for the bin?3702235498?profile=original

  • I did the same thing and the D2 diode seems to be the only suspect component. Could the C18 and C5 be damaged with no obvious signs?

  • Thank you, thank you, thank you!  This blog rules!  

    Recently while working long and hard on getting my 3DR Hexa-C copter setup for FVP and Aerial photography, I accidentally connect 12v to the expansion port on the back of my GoPro Hero 2 camera and promptly smoke checked it.  So after googling and coming across my favorite DIY Drones' site, I noted this blog where Chris share his mistake.  After reviewing the internal damage, I localized a 100uf 6K capacitor.  I researched Mouser.com and located the SMD cap and ordered it.  When the cap arrived and soldered in place, the camera came back to life no ill effects.  Thank you Chris for taking time to publish this blog it was very useful. 

    • Hi all,

      Sorry for reviving such an old thread, but I have done the same mistake as the OP...I fed 12V to a Gopro H3 Silver through an OSD..

      I opened it and the board is obviously different, and I cannot seem to find burnt components. All the camera does is light up the rear red LED if I press any button (power, shutter, or wifi) or if I connect it to the computer.

      I would appreciate SO much if anyone could give me a hint?

      Thanks all3702485368?profile=original3702485315?profile=original

      • Giovanni, did you repaired you GoPro?

        I have the same camera and probably the same problem.

        • Hi Cioro, 

          Unfortunately not, I had to get a new one :(

          I still have the old one though, and more interested than ever to fix it if possible!

      • I got the same problem. And this post gave me 1st hope. Thank you for that everyone. When I was waiting on the zenmuse gimbal, I decided to connect my gopro 3 black, straight to the immersionrc 600 mw antenna and iosd mini. It didnt work, but I really couldn't wait. So I tried couple different option, which I never going to do again. I was thinking that everything is possible, but that cost me new gopro and immersion antenna. Which was very painful to take. Hopefully, i still have a chance. Jonas
  • I will have electronic parts by monday!!!

  • I can fix ur burned go pro, I have fixed around 20-30 of them already 

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