P4 Firmware Bringing dead battery back to life-Firmware issue?

[travishauch]

Hi. I have a P4 battery that I received which was not working (led 1 flashing, would not charge.) I cracked it open and found it overall to be 2.5 volts. I was able to charge each cell and get it 15.3 volts and now I have led 2 and 3 on solid. I've read that means a firmware issue. I've also read the people have had success by putting the battery in the drone and doing a firmware upgrade. Problem with mine is that the drone does not turn on. I cannot get the battery to respond to any button presses. Is the voltage too low for it to turn on? My other charged batteries sit at 17 volts. I know the battery doesn't output voltage to it's connector unless it's on. I'm guessing that's my problem. Something is wrong with the board and I'm not going to be able to turn it on to get power to the drone and attempt a firmware update.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd greatly appreciate.

Thanks!

P.S. My first post here but active user at mavicpilots.com

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

I'm not gonna be much help....But i'd like to know how you cracked it open and how did you charge each cell separately like that actually this Might Help with a future answer here ....hey that battery was not working was it gave to you or bought used Or New !.....why no return or warranty's involved ?

 

[Just_nick]

I'm not gonna be much help....But i'd like to know how you cracked it open and how did you charge each cell separately like that actually this Might Help with a future answer here ....hey that battery was not working was it gave to you or bought used Or New !.....why no return or warranty's involved ?

I'm guessing he did something like hook up a charger to the main positive and negative wires.

 

[With The Birds]

Try leaving the balance connector off the board for 60min and then reconnect. If you still have no joy you might try fully charhing with a LiPO charger (connected directly to the pack). Reality is if you found the cells at 2.5V there is nothing that can be done, they are almost certainly cactus.

 

[travishauch]

Try leaving the balance connector off the board for 60min and then reconnect. If you still have no joy you might try fully charhing with a LiPO charger (connected directly to the pack). Reality is if you found the cells at 2.5V there is nothing that can be done, they are almost certainly cactus.

I did try leaving the balance connector off. It's actually been off for about a week. I was thinking of de-soldering the negative lead off the board to see if maybe that would help a "reset" of some sort. I did charge the pack as whole with a SkyRC balance charger on NIMH mode which got me up to 15.5 at 1amp. I didn't want to go any higher on the amperage and it took a long time to get there. Still won't turn on. I'm wondering if 15.5 is too low as well.

What is the lowest voltage anyone has seen on their functioning battery? Maybe that will give me a number to shoot for.

 

[Just_nick]

I did try leaving the balance connector off. It's actually been off for about a week. I was thinking of de-soldering the negative lead off the board to see if maybe that would help a "reset" of some sort. I did charge the pack as whole with a SkyRC balance charger on NIMH mode which got me up to 15.5 at 1amp. I didn't want to go any higher on the amperage and it took a long time to get there. Still won't turn on. I'm wondering if 15.5 is too low as well.

What is the lowest voltage anyone has seen on their functioning battery? Maybe that will give me a number to shoot for.

Try for 17V, though I would only charge it with a LiPo battery charger. That being said, your battery board itself may be toast. If it is, you can kiss the battery goodbye. Not only do you have to solder in a new chip, it also has to be programmed. And the programmer itself is $100.

 

[MotorCycle-Man]

Good thing you have not blew up that battery and hurt your self.....STOP before you have a serious Accident !
your safety is worth a new battery !

 

[With The Birds]

I did try leaving the balance connector off. It's actually been off for about a week. I was thinking of de-soldering the negative lead off the board to see if maybe that would help a "reset" of some sort. I did charge the pack as whole with a SkyRC balance charger on NIMH mode which got me up to 15.5 at 1amp. I didn't want to go any higher on the amperage and it took a long time to get there. Still won't turn on. I'm wondering if 15.5 is too low as well.

What is the lowest voltage anyone has seen on their functioning battery? Maybe that will give me a number to shoot for.

If the cells have been at 2.5V for any length of time you can safely forget about them coming good no matter what you try. I would be inclined to measure the IR and see what you get for curiosity sake.