BATTERY ISSUES (Early Autoland)??? POST HERE

[Laspillaga]

I had absolutely no battery issues until i discharged my battery to 2%. I was flying far away and high so when i brought the phantom back it was autolanding. After this, my battery autolands at 75% and looses 1% battery every couple of seconds. I paid $150 for the battery and it has 25 cycles. Thats $6 per flight! Anyone has been able to fix the issue with these batteries?

Luis

 

[Xrover]

I sent 4 of my puffed batteries back to DJI a month ago. They just sent me an email stating turnaround times are now 6 weeks.

 

[Buckaye]

I had absolutely no battery issues until i discharged my battery to 2%. I was flying far away and high so when i brought the phantom back it was autolanding. After this, my battery autolands at 75% and looses 1% battery every couple of seconds. I paid $150 for the battery and it has 25 cycles. Thats $6 per flight! Anyone has been able to fix the issue with these batteries?

Luis

2%? It's very possible you damaged a cell by over-draining the battery. Lipo batteries are very prone to failure if you go under a voltage threshold. My guess is, this isn't a faulty battery issue - but an issue with you damaging a cell.

 

[Buckaye]

For those of you seeing this issue - I had a question come to me the other day while I was driving.... yeah... this is what I think about when driving around... it's a problem. :lol:

Has anyone seen this issue who has ONLY flown on the most current firmware?

The reason I am asking is, I am wondering if something is going wrong when switching from one firmware to another?

 

[4wd]

Even 0% isn't really 'empty' the smart control is supposed to stop it being turned on if it gets too low.
The manual recommends 8% or less for the 20 cycle reset idea, and does not warn about going too low.
Still best to avoid going very low nonetheless.

 

[Xrover]

For those of you seeing this issue - I had a question come to me the other day while I was driving.... yeah... this is what I think about when driving around... it's a problem. :lol:

Has anyone seen this issue who has ONLY flown on the most current firmware?

The reason I am asking is, I am wondering if something is going wrong when switching from one firmware to another?

Yes. Early Autoland has only occurred to me since I updated to 3.06.
But that could just be purely coincidental.

 

[jangermann]

Can anyone please update me here...
DJI release firmware 3.06, and suddenly a lot of people have battery problems?

 

[csivet]

hi,
i have noticed that my 2 of 4 batteries puffed yesterday. i charged them fully today, and flied without any issue. what should i do ? what is the meaning of puffing ?

by the way, i have had autoland one of my old battery without puffing and after fighting with DJI B&HPHOTO has changed it to newone for free.

 

[4wd]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6o_oUl20KI[/youtube]

Another unhappy customer there.

 

[Khudson7]

This is the 3rd battery that has already started bloating at 5 cycles.

After reading this thread, I realize I was mistaken in believing that the batteries should be fully drained every once in a while to help maintain charge. My bad.

Yesterday I fully drained one of my 4 batteries(I have been using them for about 6 months now) by continuously running the phantom on the ground until I got 0% charge on the iosd screen. Now the battery has puffed, like the worst picture seen above.

So question is, is it safe to try and recharge this one and try and use it, or should I toss it now. Paid $150 for it so do not want to toss it if it is still usable. But then again, I do not want it to explode on me, either.

(NOTE: I am still on version 2 of the software, so this is not a software upgrade problem)

 

[Buckaye]

This is the 3rd battery that has already started bloating at 5 cycles.

After reading this thread, I realize I was mistaken in believing that the batteries should be fully drained every once in a while to help maintain charge. My bad.

Yesterday I fully drained one of my 4 batteries(I have been using them for about 6 months now) by continuously running the phantom on the ground until I got 0% charge on the iosd screen. Now the battery has puffed, like the worst picture seen above.

So question is, is it safe to try and recharge this one and try and use it, or should I toss it now. Paid $150 for it so do not want to toss it if it is still usable. But then again, I do not want it to explode on me, either.

(NOTE: I am still on version 2 of the software, so this is not a software upgrade problem)

You really should NOT try to use the batteries once they are showing signs of physical damage. Lipos are generally safe when they are used properly, but can start on fire, fail in flight yada yada - if they are damaged. Chances are, even if you could get them to charge, it's likely a cell or two have failed (thus the puffing) - and I wouldn't trust my 1200.00 + equipment to a maybe

There will be people here who will tell you "nah you're fine" - and there is a chance you might be. I have just seen hundreds of threads where overly discharged batteries lead to disasters. It sucks - but I think you cut your losses.

 

[Buckaye]

For those of you seeing this issue - I had a question come to me the other day while I was driving.... yeah... this is what I think about when driving around... it's a problem. :lol:

Has anyone seen this issue who has ONLY flown on the most current firmware?

The reason I am asking is, I am wondering if something is going wrong when switching from one firmware to another?

Yes. Early Autoland has only occurred to me since I updated to 3.06.
But that could just be purely coincidental.

I guess to clarify my question - so you saw it after you flew your battery both on 3.06 and some previous firmware? I am wondering (as a comparison) if people have experienced this problem having ONLY flown a battery on either 3.06 OR a previous firmware (in other words - didn't switch firmwares while using a specific battery)

The reason I am wondering is that it's possible that the issue is in switching firmware rather than a specific firmware itself. (just speculating)

 

[ianwood]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6o_oUl20KI[/youtube]

Another unhappy customer there.

Yep. That's me.

I want to build a registry of bad batteries so we can get an accurate indication of when and how often these issues are occurring. This thread should continue for the discussion on the issue. Use the registry on the link below to record each of your bad batteries.

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=26733

 

[ez1358]

I purchased my Phantom 2 vision from eBay used. When the copter arrived the first two things that I did was upgrade the firmware, and fully charge the battery. After the third flight, I began to have the "early critical auto landing" issue. I hooked the copter up to the assistant software and found that I have 93% after 21 chargings. When I contacted DJI they the said that they didn't think it was a battery issue, or a software issue and wanted me send the entire rig, copter, battery, and controller to them which I'm reluctant to do as many who have, have gone months without a copter. Also, I think they know they have a problem that they haven't a solution for. I have heard that there may be a problem with the battery pins in that at certain power levels, an oscillation or vibration occurs which cause the pins to momentarily loose contact with the controller causing a critical landing. I don't know if that's true but something like that would make sense if the controller is monitoring the power level. Crappy weather here recently so I haven't had an opportunity to fly but next time I do, when it goes critical, I plan to take a voltage reading with a meter to see if it matches the assistant; that might say something. Also, sadly, DJI offered me nothing. They said the warranty was not transferable. So much for standing behind ones product.
ez1358

 

[NYRangers99]

Bought my Phantom 2 non vision with 2 batteries through Amazon back in April…contacted amazon in beginning of September about auto land and puffy battery, they said to contact DJI….I contacted DJI told them 1 Battery was puffy and the other was fine, the puffy one caused the auto land, auto landed at about 40% battery left. Tried it twice both times at around 40%, I noticed on the last try with the battery that I would get red lights flashing and voltage was at 10.6-10.7V..DJI's response was that the battery was bad and I should replace it and they would not cover it under warranty…I told them when I bought it and that I only flew a short time before I decided not toI fly it for over 3 months because of there Firmware issues almost causing a crash…They didn't care…the worst customer service I ever dealt with…told them both batteries were stored in the same place and the same way with 50% charge again all they would tell me was that I should BUY a new battery and discard the old battery…I have truly lost faith in DJI, that is no way to treat a customer who's only had the product less than 6 months!!

 

[DKDarkness]

The DJI SMART batteries with built-in charging circuits have a serious fault: There is no "storage" option. The batteries are still LiPo in the style of the low discarge Multistar LiPo batteries (https://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking...apacity_3S_5200mAh_Multi_Rotor_Lipo_Pack.html) and have the same chemistry. This means they don't handle being fully charged or fully discharged for longer periods of time. Therefore most external LiPo chargers have a storage option, where the LiPo batteries will be charged/discharged to 11.5v. (3S). The only way to storage charge your DJI "Smart" batteries, is to fly them to some arbitrary level, and with a voltmeter check the voltage until it is near 11.5v.

The solution to the battery issues would be for DJI to release a charger with a storage option. But in doing so, they would admit to the design flaw, and having to replace all existing batteries under warranty. Better to just ignore the problem, or better yet release a Phantom 3 with new and improved charger? Make the customer pay once more.

NEVERMORE! NEVERMORE!

 

[pporter]

I bought my phantom oct. 3rd 2014, I had a auto land in the middle of a bog on Sunday as I was bringing it back to me from a fpv 1.5km run,i was in ATTI mode and my mini iosd said I had 29% battery left, battery has only 5 discharges and I'm using the newest firmware. and it just decided to land, battery is not puffy, don't know what to think now, I'm nervous to fly long fpv now just incase it decides to land at 35%-40+% next time.

 

[F6Rider]

Well, after 6 months I have had my 1st issue, while flying out to about 1000' and 100' altitude I got the EARLY BATTERY WARNING @ 58%, yes boys and girls, I said 58%. I flipped to HOME mode and pulled back on the stick to start her home at once. As she drew near I started the decent, bird got 10' out and 10' up when the motors just SHUT DOWN, no warning and it fell out of the sky, it flipped and landed on one arm bending it up. Battery only had 16 cycles on it, the other 2 both have 20 cycles without issue. Data pins and power blades are cleaned every 10 flights. This REALLY pisses me off as now I not only have a battery I can't trust but also my bird is broken and will need a new shell. Nothing else is damaged, gimbal & camera stayed put and the motors seem tight and spin up fine, assistant says all is good. Anyone know where the best place to buy a new shell is???? Should I even waste my time on DJI? by rights they should replace the battery and shell, but I am not going to hold my breath.

 

[gtojon]

I am still on firmware # 3.00 I have 2 of 4 batteries that are bad. 34 & 38 discharges, the first one at 38 discharges started blinking red at 60% & autoland at 34% The latest one is blinking at 35% & autoland at 30% These are absolutely the worst RC batteries of all time! I have no trust in using my GS anymore!!

I also have a friend that I had to barrow both of his batteries. Only had to use one, but at 17 discharges, it started blinking at 40% & auto lands at 30%. Seems like the reason they lowered the price, is they found a cheaper supplier

Cheers, Jon

 

[TheEngineer]

Well this is awesome...Over $600 in batteries and I now have 1 out of the 4 that still works. The rest all start flashing red and go auto land around 55%.