Starling 2 - VOXL2 IMU Clock Line Failure after Heatsink Maintenance

[LuisRzdearbulo 0]

Hello everyone,
We are running a Starling 2 (SDK 1.8.06) for a commercial pilot deployment. After performing a careful sensor maintenance and mounting the official heatsink back on the VOXL2 (M0054), PX4 is completely blocked and unable to pass pre-flight checks.

The voxl-health-check reports sensor_accel and sensor_gyro as 0, 0, 0 (result: False). Checking journalctl -u voxl-imu-server, we are getting the exact hardware fault described in your official forums:

trying ICM42688 on bus 3 ERROR in test_basic_read, read the same values twice WARNING initializing 42688, clock line may be disconnected, trying to turn it off 42688 IMU works without clock line, this indicates PCB damage

We have already tried loosening the heatsink screws carefully to release any potential mechanical PCB stress, performing cold boots, and restarting the services, but the error persists. The clock line buffer seems permanently damaged, rendering the autopilot blind.

What can we do?

Thank you for your swift support,

[Alex Kushleyev]

@LuisRzdearbulo-0 , can you please let us know which heat sink you mounted to VOXL2? Can you please share a picture?

[LuisRzdearbulo 0]

Hi @Alex-Kushleyev ,

My apologies for the confusion. To be precise: we didn't add any third-party or custom heatsink. However, to replace the damaged 4K and ToF camera flex cables, we did have to unscrew the VOXL 2 board from the frame to access the connectors safely.

Once the new cables were plugged in and the board was screwed back into place, the ICM42688 PCB damage / clock line disconnected error appeared.

I have attached the pictures of the current assembly inside our Starling 2 so you can verify that the M0054 board, the integrated cooling plate, and all camera flex cables are correctly in place and undamaged from the outside.

Given the log and the pictures, what do you propose we do to get the drone operational again?

Regards,
Luis

[LuisRzdearbulo 0]

Hi @Alex-Kushleyev,

I wanted to follow up on this as we are currently in a critical phase of our commercial pilot deployment, and having the Starling 2 grounded is severely impacting our timeline.

Given the voxl-imu-server logs and the pictures provided, is there any specific software workaround, service configuration, or hardware adjustment we can try to restore the IMU functionality?

If you determine that the board requires factory repair or replacement, please let us know how we can expedite the RMA process to get operational again as soon as possible.

Thank you for your support,
Luis