P3 fell in river... battery now on by itself, normal?

Kc2

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Accident happened to me finally. :(
I picked up my bird from the cold water. The battery LED was 1 solid red on it. Couldn't turn off. So I unplugged it. I saw red liquid on the battery.
Letting the battery to dry out for few hours, the LED turns on by itself, as if I try to fly my bird. I turned it off. Few hours later. On again.
What should I do? Leave it draining the charge?
 
Have you tried the long press to shut it off? If that does not work I would say it likely has some type of damage.
 
Yeah, I think it's shot.
I would never try to charge / use a battery that had taken a bath anyway; I consign it straight to the bin.
 
Salt water? Fresh water probably wouldn't have enough conductivity to cause the power on curcuit to energise.

If she he had a swim in salt water you might as well save yourself the grief and bin the battery (leave him on a fire retardant surface well away from anything conductive for s few days first).

If salt water immersed the AC probably isn't worth fiddling with either unfortunately.
 
It was a moving river and quite clear, I assume not salt water.
I had tried long pressed shutting down, then it turned on again.
The battery is sitting on a metal plate by itself, not plugged in. I worry about something short circuit and might explode.
 
I am drying the drone now with a fan. I still hold a tiny tiny hope that it would be okay... I will try power it up one week later.
So far the only thing I could think of is the motors might get rusted...
If it doesn't fly nor burn by then, I guess I will have a new wall hanging.
 
Would it be OK or recommended to spray WD40 on the motors? It might prevent rust but I really don't know if it could cause other damage. Anyone else want to jump in on that?

Sent from my Power using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Put the battery and drone in as much rice as you can get to cover both units, dropped my iPhone in the river and then packed it in rice worked fine the next day and still works 6 months later


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I had one of mine go to the bottom of creek I live on.
Took 15 minutes to find underwater.
Dried out with hairdryer and flying again in 24 hrs with camera and all working.
Battery you can toss.
That was months and many many flights ago.
 
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I had one of mine go to the bottom of creek I live on.
Took 15 minutes to find underwater.
Dried out with hairdryer and flying again in 24 hrs with camera and all working.
Battery you can toss.
That was months and many many flights ago.
Why did you toss the battery? The electronics on the smart board should be just as likely to be returned to service as the mainboard and other components.
 
Why did you toss the battery? The electronics on the smart board should be just as likely to be returned to service as the mainboard and other components.

The board in the battery is not the problem. The battery itself becomes the problem when it is put in water or the battery is shorted out. Even if a battery appears fine, it has a much higher chance of causing your bird to fall out of the sky or even combust when charging, in extreme cases. Once a lipo is submerged in water, especially one with the capacity of a phantom battery, should be thrown away wherever your town wants it. (Trash can NOT recommended)


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The board in the battery is not the problem. The battery itself becomes the problem when it is put in water or the battery is shorted out. Even if a battery appears fine, it has a much higher chance of causing your bird to fall out of the sky or even combust when charging, in extreme cases. Once a lipo is submerged in water, especially one with the capacity of a phantom battery, should be thrown away wherever your town wants it. (Trash can NOT recommended)


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In the absence of physical damage to the cell pouches your fear is completely unfounded.

If the electrolyte isn't leaking out how might you expect water may magically find its way in? Look at how a lipo is manufactured. There is no free space for water or any other liquid to find its way inside.

The lithium content is low and it is bound with other compounds. Airlines recommend water and water containing drinks be applied to lipo fires onboard if an extinguisher isn't handy.
 
Nothing magic about rice, it's just a convenient way to provide moisture absorption for small electronic devices. A couple of buckets of calcium chloride (DampRid) would be better. For larger devices, like, say...a drone...likely better to use gently warmed air, like a fan from one of those little quartz space heaters, or a boot dryer. If you don't have any of those things, it might indeed be cheaper to buy several bags of rice.
 
Would it be OK or recommended to spray WD40 on the motors? It might prevent rust but I really don't know if it could cause other damage. Anyone else want to jump in on that?

Sent from my Power using PhantomPilots mobile app

I wouldn't use WD40, but you could try a contact spray. That has lubricant in it but not the gloop in WD and it's completely safe to use with electrical components. Don't know if / how it'd affect the motor units though - someone else can probably advise....
 
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Thanks all for replying!
I powered the drone today with my another battery. It flew hovering 2 feet for 15 sec until I landed. So far so good. :)
Compass needs calibration, though.
I will test fly it this weekend.
The last video in SD was corrupted, couldn't play. But shouldn't ask too much in my case. :p
 
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Thanks all for replying!
I powered the drone today with my another battery. It flew hovering 2 feet for 15 sec until I landed. So far so good. :)
Compass needs calibration, though.
I will test fly it this weekend.
The last video in SD was corrupted, couldn't play. But shouldn't ask too much in my case. :p
Fantastic news!!. Let's hope it's all OK! I guess you have the laser few, and it's "swim flight" on your GO app?
 

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