A Sucker Punch and A Bad Cell

[RPP]

Today afternoon in Iceland no sooner had my P4 taken off than it got sucker punched by a wind gust. It flipped 180º and hit the ground on all fours (i.e. the 4 props). Fortunately it must have been barely a foot or so above the ground, so it came to no harm. I try to get the bird up to a good height very quickly in Iceland as it is notorious for its wind gusts - it is not the strong wind that gets you, but the sudden gusts. But on this occasion the timing of the gust was unfortunate.

An hour later I tried launching the P4 from another spot. The wind was fairly robust but I thought the P4 could handle it and there was no gusting close to the ground. However, after 10 mins of flight I got a "One bad battery cell" flag on my iPad. I brought down the bird immediately and changed batteries.

What's the solution to this tainted battery? Send it in to DJI? Is it okay to fly with it? (I have 3 additional spares so there is no redundancy issue for now).

 

[Dinerve]

Today afternoon in Iceland no sooner had my P4 taken off than it got sucker punched by a wind gust. It flipped 180º and hit the ground on all fours (i.e. the 4 props). Fortunately it must have been barely a foot or so above the ground, so it came to no harm. I try to get the bird up to a good height very quickly in Iceland as it is notorious for its wind gusts - it is not the strong wind that gets you, but the sudden gusts. But on this occasion the timing of the gust was unfortunate.

An hour later I tried launching the P4 from another spot. The wind was fairly robust but I thought the P4 could handle it and there was no gusting close to the ground. However, after 10 mins of flight I got a "One bad battery cell" flag on my iPad. I brought down the bird immediately and changed batteries.

What's the solution to this tainted battery? Send it in to DJI? Is it okay to fly with it? (I have 3 additional spares so there is no redundancy issue for now).

I would advise against using the battery; The error you got may be related to the cold as well.

You may want to try and charge it again and see its readings but if (i think) you have more than 0.15V difference between any cell, something is wrong.

 

[Kevin O]

I've gotten a 'broken cell' warning a few times from one of my batteries. Not every time but it has popped up.

I'm not sure what it meant and when I got it I checked the battery status and all look well.

As mentioned, try recharging the battery.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[RPP]

I just checked status with the same battery - no error message now. The readings on the 4 cells are: 3.85V, 3.85V, 3.85V, 3.81V and the battery shows 55% charged.

 

[Dinerve]

I just checked status with the same battery - no error message now. The readings on the 4 cells are: 3.85V, 3.85V, 3.85V, 3.81V and the battery shows 55% charged.

Perhaps a fluke then, is it cold right now in Iceland? I'd charge it and fly with caution a couple of times to see if the message pops again.

 

[RPP]

Perhaps a fluke then, is it cold right now in Iceland? I'd charge it and fly with caution a couple of times to see if the message pops again.

Actually it is warmer right now for this time of the year. I would estimate the temp during flight to be 6°C +/- 1°C but there was wind so with wind chill it could have been a little lower.

 

[RPP]

Update: I recharged the battery and flew a mission today. No issues. Hopefully it was a one-off glitch.

 

[Dinerve]

Update: I recharged the battery and flew a mission today. No issues. Hopefully it was a one-off glitch.

Good stuff!


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[RC Madman]

Someone on the forum had a similar issue with a battery error/warning and could not get it to do it again but ended up with a crashed AC because that battery failed.. That battery should be marked and tested at hover a number of times before having any faith in it.

 

[RPP]

Someone on the forum had a similar issue with a battery error/warning and could not get it to do it again but ended up with a crashed AC because that battery failed.. That battery should be marked and tested at hover a number of times before having any faith in it.

Good idea. I intend to send it to DJI for a check.

 

[Carlpembroke]

I got this on mine in the summer at the beach, flew back and changed battery. Later recharged both batteries and have never had it again

 

[RJ_Make]

Today afternoon in Iceland no sooner had my P4 taken off than it got sucker punched by a wind gust. It flipped 180º and hit the ground on all fours (i.e. the 4 props). Fortunately it must have been barely a foot or so above the ground, so it came to no harm. I try to get the bird up to a good height very quickly in Iceland as it is notorious for its wind gusts - it is not the strong wind that gets you, but the sudden gusts. But on this occasion the timing of the gust was unfortunate.

An hour later I tried launching the P4 from another spot. The wind was fairly robust but I thought the P4 could handle it and there was no gusting close to the ground. However, after 10 mins of flight I got a "One bad battery cell" flag on my iPad. I brought down the bird immediately and changed batteries.

What's the solution to this tainted battery? Send it in to DJI? Is it okay to fly with it? (I have 3 additional spares so there is no redundancy issue for now).

IMO, If the battery is still under warranty, you should send it in, If not then I would decommission it. Nothing like a 120 battery killing a 1,400 aircraft.