Phantom 3 Critically low Voltage battery failure brings aircraft down

[StevenQX]

I hope they don't just offer me a 30% discount if there is a known bug, I am sure there is a good enough markup on these that it would not hurt them much to send me a new one, I still have a remote!

I hope the same for you but I've read various fault with the same result: 30% discount [emoji53]

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

I sure hope that they replace it, but from what I have heard, they most likely won't but I will be optimistic and hope. I really appreciate your time on this, thanks again!

Just wanted to add that I'm very sorry for your loss. Unfortunately I think the best you might get is the 30% discount but I really hope I'm wrong because you seem like a very humble and nice bloke. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you mate

 

[mcnetwork]

Just wanted to add that I'm very sorry for your loss. Unfortunately I think the best you might get is the 30% discount but I really hope I'm wrong because you seem like a very humble and nice bloke. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you mate

Thank you very much for that compliment, that just made my Friday even better. I hope they send me a new one, I was devastated that day when it did not come back, but in reality, it can be fixed, I am healthy and have a job and about to have a great weekend ahead of me so I am on top of the world but droneless Have a great weekend!

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

Thank you very much for that compliment, that just made my Friday even better. I hope they send me a new one, I was devastated that day when it did not come back, but in reality, it can be fixed, I am healthy and have a job and about to have a great weekend ahead of me so I am on top of the world but droneless Have a great weekend!

You too mate, I know how shitty it feels to be droneless. I've had my fair share of down time. Keep the chin up, don't think I need to tell you that and make sure to post up your first pic or video as soon as you're back in the air. Have a great weekend too and hopefully the drone gods will look after you

 

[F6Rider]

Unless you saw the cell voltage prior to losing the signal, you cannot rule out the possibility of a battery/cell failure. I believe the battery percentage is simply calculated by measuring the mAh consumed, which would not reveal a bad cell. I'm sure there's a failsafe to land immediately if one cell falls below a critical voltage, even though there appears to be plenty of voltage/capacity left in the remaining cells.

If a LiPo is defective before it is used, it will fail within the first few cycles... Even if it appeared to be working at first, it can still take a few cycles before the issue makes an impact in performance. It's easy to spot if you know what to look for and when. Monitoring the cell voltages while flying and making sure that the voltage difference is minimal across the cells is what everyone should be doing. Simply relying on the battery percentage will not adequately protect you from such a failure.

This is why I have C1 set to pop up battery info, plus have the option to display battery voltage on the flight screen turned on. IMO the battery is the single most important item to monitor during flight, and most operators don't do more than glance at the percentage from time to time. Once a battery has been cycled from 100% to 20% 10 times or more without issue I will begin to trust it.

 

[silverstoned83]

This is why I have C1 set to pop up battery info, plus have the option to display battery voltage on the flight screen turned on. IMO the battery is the single most important item to monitor during flight, and most operators don't do more than glance at the percentage from time to time. Once a battery has been cycled from 100% to 20% 10 times or more without issue I will begin to trust it.

I couldn't agree more. I already setup my C1 button the same as you, but I'll have to do add the cell voltage to the main screen too.

I baby my LiPo's for the first 10 cycles to make sure they're broken in nicely before thoroughly testing their full capacity. Even after the first 10 cycles, I still monitor them just as closely while flying.

It's also very helpful to note what the resting cell voltages are after a flight. All of the cells should have similar voltages with little variance. After enough cycles, you'll be able to notice when the voltage difference between the cells is more than usual. Whichever cell has the lowest voltage is the cell with the worst health. Doing this will help you spot an unhealthy cell before it really becomes a problem. Being that people are getting anywhere from 50-300 cycles out of these batteries should put into perspective just how much care is required to keep our LiPo's happy. If DJI would add an internal resistance measurement for each cell to the battery info page, I wouldn't feel the need to be so cautious.

 

[F6Rider]

I couldn't agree more. I already setup my C1 button the same as you, but I'll have to do add the cell voltage to the main screen too.

I baby my LiPo's for the first 10 cycles to make sure they're broken in nicely before thoroughly testing their full capacity. Even after the first 10 cycles, I still monitor them just as closely while flying.

It's also very helpful to note what the resting cell voltages are after a flight. All of the cells should have similar voltages with little variance. After enough cycles, you'll be able to notice when the voltage difference between the cells is more than usual. Whichever cell has the lowest voltage is the cell with the worst health. Doing this will help you spot an unhealthy cell before it really becomes a problem. Being that people are getting anywhere from 50-300 cycles out of these batteries should put into perspective just how much care is required to keep our LiPo's happy. If DJI would add an internal resistance measurement for each cell to the battery info page, I wouldn't feel the need to be so cautious.

The resting cell voltage is a good thing to note as the battery is hot, but its more important to check the cell voltage variance under load while flying, that's why I like the C1 battery check, I can check the voltage under load with the press of C1

 

[Mal_PV2_Ireland]

I couldn't agree more. I already setup my C1 button the same as you, but I'll have to do add the cell voltage to the main screen too.

I baby my LiPo's for the first 10 cycles to make sure they're broken in nicely before thoroughly testing their full capacity. Even after the first 10 cycles, I still monitor them just as closely while flying.

It's also very helpful to note what the resting cell voltages are after a flight. All of the cells should have similar voltages with little variance. After enough cycles, you'll be able to notice when the voltage difference between the cells is more than usual. Whichever cell has the lowest voltage is the cell with the worst health. Doing this will help you spot an unhealthy cell before it really becomes a problem. Being that people are getting anywhere from 50-300 cycles out of these batteries should put into perspective just how much care is required to keep our LiPo's happy. If DJI would add an internal resistance measurement for each cell to the battery info page, I wouldn't feel the need to be so cautious.

I think worrying about dji batteries is a load of crap. In general they are fine. It's nothing to get hysterical about, it's just an excuse for bating to get nervous fliers to click like on your post. Start thinking of logical problems first. I'm not saying that battery problems don't occur but stop being drama queens about fictitious problems when there are much more simple explanations. Please listen to us because there is a very good chance that we know more than you...

 

[silverstoned83]

I think worrying about dji batteries is a load of crap. In general they are fine. It's nothing to get hysterical about, it's just an excuse for bating to get nervous fliers to click like on your post. Start thinking of logical problems first. I'm not saying that battery problems don't occur but stop being drama queens about fictitious problems when there are much more simple explanations. Please listen to us because there is a very good chance that we know more than you...

I never said that you should be worrying about them..... I'm suggesting that people monitor them while flying and after a flight in order to notice any irregularities. Either you do that, or you'll find out the hard way. The hard way may only involve a little stress while making an emergency landing, or it could mean a total loss... It's your choice.

I would think that the simple fact that some people get 50 cycles and some get 200-300 would be enough to convince you to take extra care of these flight batteries. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not interested in replacing them every few months if a little effort will guarantee they last several times longer.

The same is true with laptop batteries, if you don't know how to keep the LiPo happy, you will be replacing it much more frequently.

If you think I'm talking out my a$$.. Here's a good read.

https://sites.google.com/site/tjinguytech/charging-how-tos/lipo-terminology

 

[ranges]

I never said that you should be worrying about them..... I'm suggesting that people monitor them while flying and after a flight in order to notice any irregularities. Either you do that, or you'll find out the hard way. The hard way may only involve a little stress while making an emergency landing, or it could mean a total loss... It's your choice.

I would think that the simple fact that some people get 50 cycles and some get 200-300 would be enough to convince you to take extra care of these flight batteries. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm not interested in replacing them every few months if a little effort will guarantee they last several times longer.

The same is true with laptop batteries, if you don't know how to keep the LiPo happy, you will be replacing it much more frequently.

If you think I'm talking out my a$$.. Here's a good read.

https://sites.google.com/site/tjinguytech/charging-how-tos/lipo-terminology

DITTO
No drama just good practice!

 

[eseckinger]

I think worrying about dji batteries is a load of crap. In general they are fine. It's nothing to get hysterical about, it's just an excuse for bating to get nervous fliers to click like on your post. Start thinking of logical problems first. I'm not saying that battery problems don't occur but stop being drama queens about fictitious problems when there are much more simple explanations. Please listen to us because there is a very good chance that we know more than you...

Umm, look at my post from yesterday dude. I have been flying for a while now from p1,p2,p3 and I1. You definitely want to PAY attention!

http://www.phantompilots.com/threads/new-battery-issues.45472/

 

[NoOne]

Thanks for uploading. Since I'm the owner of the site, I can see the flight record in my site logs.

It looks like you took off at 5:38:34PM at about 53% battery.

Everything was fine until, at 5:39:39PM, there was a communication error between the battery and the motherboard (this can happen if e.g. the tiny contacts on the side of the battery aren't making good connection with the Phantom). At that point you had 51% battery left. Because battery communication was lost, the battery reading got stuck at 51%, even though you were still in the air and guzzling up the battery. The battery voltage at that point was 14.659V.

After another ten minutes of flight, at 5:48:56PM, the battery voltage had fallen to 13.469V, which is below the flight controller's critical low battery voltage threshold (presumably 13.5V). Your Phantom went into autoland mode and came down slowly in the water.

I conclude that the actual battery itself was OK and didn't fail. The battery communication error is definitely a fault in either the smart battery circuit or the Phantom itself. I guess one interesting question is, did the app warn you that battery communication had failed?

And yes, this is a great reminder that if the battery percentage stops decreasing, we need to watch the battery voltage carefully - if battery communication is not working, we might have less battery left than the app claims.

If I'm reading this correctly, the OP took off with 53% battery and then lost it 10 minutes later. My P3A gets about 18 to 19 minutes on a full pack, at least that's as far as I push it. 10 minutes sounds about right for life left on the battery. I conclude that the battery was likely not seated all the way which caused the battery drain indicator to get stuck. When I was using a brand new battery, it only clicked once and seemingly felt like it was in, but later was found to be about a mm out and not fully seated. (I got a critical battery failure warning or something like that) Too bad the OP did not notice that ten minutes had gone by and only 2% battery had been used out of a 53% start.

OP- Was this a new battery?

 

[Javy871]

Umm, look at my post from yesterday dude. I have been flying for a while now from p1,p2,p3 and I1. You definitely want to PAY attention!

http://www.phantompilots.com/threads/new-battery-issues.45472/

I also got a battery not functioning properly. First time using it was to do the firmware update. After update, I go to shut the unit off, and the Phantom leds turn red. I pull the battery out. When I press the button it shows me the charge. I put it in the Phantom in the power off state and the Phantom powers up. So I hook up the controller and it shows battery failure. I sent in a request for RMA but may do a short video and post tomorrow. Definitely a bad batch of batteries out there.

 

[mcnetwork]

You too mate, I know how shitty it feels to be droneless. I've had my fair share of down time. Keep the chin up, don't think I need to tell you that and make sure to post up your first pic or video as soon as you're back in the air. Have a great weekend too and hopefully the drone gods will look after you

Thank you! and if you need to move somewhere sunny, you should

If I'm reading this correctly, the OP took off with 53% battery and then lost it 10 minutes later. My P3A gets about 18 to 19 minutes on a full pack, at least that's as far as I push it. 10 minutes sounds about right for life left on the battery. I conclude that the battery was likely not seated all the way which caused the battery drain indicator to get stuck. When I was using a brand new battery, it only clicked once and seemingly felt like it was in, but later was found to be about a mm out and not fully seated. (I got a critical battery failure warning or something like that) Too bad the OP did not notice that ten minutes had gone by and only 2% battery had been used out of a 53% start.

OP- Was this a new battery?

It was only a few weeks old but had had many flights on it, I had it charging most of the day so I assumed it was fully charged, I am seeing how important it is to monitor the batteries to be sure, I had a bit too much faith that if it got too low it would tell me and ultimately come land by itself if all else failed. I know now you can't rely on that. Hard lesson learned.

 

[Furia]

Just one advice from the aviation world. The safest way to keep control of your endurance is to use a chronometer and control the flight time. Fuel indicators /voltage indicators have proven that they can fail one time or another.
If you have fuel/battery for an average of 20 minutes, land your aircraft before those 20 minutes no matter what your voltage reading is. Same goes with real aircrafts.
Use your chronometer as back up but in case of different reading between your voltage indicator and your chronometer....believe your chronometer. It is the safest way

 

[F6Rider]

I think worrying about dji batteries is a load of crap. In general they are fine. It's nothing to get hysterical about, it's just an excuse for bating to get nervous fliers to click like on your post. Start thinking of logical problems first. I'm not saying that battery problems don't occur but stop being drama queens about fictitious problems when there are much more simple explanations. Please listen to us because there is a very good chance that we know more than you...

Your Ego is showing

 

[Javy871]

Check the video. First time using the battery. Charged the battery and it started blinking the 3rd light. Got around 3 mins of flight time (kept it close and low). Went to turn the battery off and it would not power down the P3. Pulled battery and reinserted and the P3 powered up even though the battery was "off".

 

[dirtdobber903]

This same thing just happen to me. 1st flight of the day went 10 min and perfect. Landed to get a drink at 54% on battery. then did a auto take off with 54%. Let it hover at 5 ft while going back and forward to check things out. Then there she goes to the ground . Battery still tight in place and no power. Powered in back up with battery level at 52% and did a flight to check damage and to run battery down to 28%. Once I got home she never powered up again. Until I charged the battery and checked the history. And what did I see

NOT ONE TIME DID THE BATTERY LEVEL or app level Indicate the was a issue till the default 30% warning. This was its 4th charge. I WAS DJI BIGGEST FAN.... Was


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bobmyers]

Check the video. First time using the battery. Charged the battery and it started blinking the 3rd light. Got around 3 mins of flight time (kept it close and low). Went to turn the battery off and it would not power down the P3. Pulled battery and reinserted and the P3 powered up even though the battery was "off".

That is a bad battery-- too much variation in cell voltage-- That is the last thing to check before lifting off.

 

[bobmyers]

That is a bad battery-- too much variation in cell voltage-- That is the last thing to check before lifting off.

This same thing just happen to me. 1st flight of the day went 10 min and perfect. Landed to get a drink at 54% on battery. then did a auto take off with 54%. Let it hover at 5 ft while going back and forward to check things out. Then there she goes to the ground . Battery still tight in place and no power. Powered in back up with battery level at 52% and did a flight to check damage and to run battery down to 28%. Once I got home she never powered up again. Until I charged the battery and checked the history. And what did I see

NOT ONE TIME DID THE BATTERY LEVEL or app level Indicate the was a issue till the default 30% warning. This was its 4th charge. I WAS DJI BIGGEST FAN.... Was


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One suggestion--- if you land and shut the motors down and then the battery. Then always cycle the controller off and on again before you cycle on the Phantom and try to take off again on the same battery. This little (reboot) is just being safe.