This is my first DJI product. I notice the battery keeps track of its own health..
I'm wondering if the battery will just shut itself down and stop working when it figures it's reached what it considers 'end of life'? Or will we be able to use them with diminished capacity for short runs?
I've never heard of a battery shutting down due to being worn out. The only shut down scenarios that can occur is with firmware 1.4 or 1.5 in P3a/p craft, midflight!
Over time you should keep an eye on the voltage deltas between the 4 battery cells. This can be done generally by using the battery view in the Go App. If one cell consistently cannot charge or discharge like the other cells, within .15 to .2 volts of the others, then it's ready to retire. You should start being concerned when you consistently see a .07v deviation between cells, a sign to start keeping close tabs on that battery. If you see anomalies in the battery cell comparisons in the Go App, I suggest you investigate further by looking at a full flight record of the battery during discharge state. This can be done post flight by using
msinger's view logger . This log reader shows how each cell compares during the entire flight of the craft, while under various stress conditions. This is the true health of a battery, comparing cell delta's under stress.
If a battery wears out in this manor above, I wouldn't use it. Can you use it in a pinch, yes, but I wouldn't. Many use worn out batteries way too long, waiting for them to swell. This isn't a good practice. If you see the battery puffing up or swelling the cells, definitely discard the battery immediately, regardless how the charge cycle or battery performance looks. You don't want it around your house. There are many examples of LiPo fires from internally shorted batteries, which can occur with a swelling battery. You don't want that battery at your home. That's why it's important to charge batteries in a safe place, and always monitor the charging (don't leave home while it's charging), so if a fire does occur, it cannot spread throughout the house. However if you keep close tabs on the physical and electrical condition of your batteries, you should be safe and never have a problem.