"Clicking" P3A

[cheddarman]

I've noticed a clicking sound coming from my P3A after a flight, battery turned off but still in the drone.
Initially I thought it was coming from the gimbal but it sounds louder at the Vision Positioning Unit.
The drone flies perfectly................took this today.....

Any ideas please?

 

[Oso]

I've noticed a clicking sound coming from my P3A after a flight, battery turned off but still in the drone.
Initially I thought it was coming from the gimbal but it sounds louder at the Vision Positioning Unit.
The drone flies perfectly................took this today.....

Any ideas please?

Does this sound like what you’re hearing?

Clicking sound p3a

So when ive been flying my bird i use 3x batterys so i get x3 flights around 15-20 mins per flight once ive finished with my bird i bring it down to pack away i turn the battery off & my bird starts making like a clicking noise reminds me like overheating but it isnt i'm new to drones so it...

phantompilots.com

 

[3rdof5]

Are you using a 3rd party battery?

 

[cheddarman]

The video sound is a little bit exaggerated but yes, it "ticks". I'll try to isolate it better next flight (also see if it does it with Bothe batteries).
I am using original DJI batteries.

 

[cheddarman]

I lie, I've just realised that the clicking one is NOT of original DJI manufacture. It has a model number DL-UAV-DJ3 but no manufacturer name anywhere.

What are the thoughts on the safety of flying with this battery? The 5 second test comes up good, it doesn't get any hotter than the DJI one, there is no swelling and it behaves exactly the same, it just clicks when the drone is turned off after a flight.

I would add that there is no indication in the flight log of any discrepancy between the cells.........

 

[3rdof5]

I have the same model of battery that does the same thing as yours. It's hard to speculate just how safe it is to fly with. So far, mine hasn't shown any issues during flight, same temp and flight time as my OEM battery. I don't have full trust in it though and I only use that battery for nearby flights and only over land just in case it should ever fail I will be able to recover my aircraft. Your guess is as good as anyone's on how safe it is. For longer flights over water I only use my OEM battery.

 

[3rdof5]

To further clarify, when my battery first made the clicking sound after flight, i removed the battery and connected my voltmeter to the battery terminals. Even though the battery appeared to be off there was full voltage showing at the battery terminals although almost no current. I believe the clicking is the aircraft trying and failing to power up as there isnt enough current to complete the power up. This tells me the battery control board on this battery is different than OEM. This is further confirmed by the fact that this battery also will not auto discharge. I can set it to auto discharge (mine are set at 3 days) but after fully charging all 3 of batteries after a weekend of flying and putting them away for a week, when i check the charge levels a week later, 2 show 2 solid leds with the 3rd flashing (normal) but this battery still shows all 4 solid leds. So this tells me the control board DOES NOT function the same as OEM, it does not shut off properly when hot after a long flight, and it DOES NOT autodischarge. Makes me nervous about just how stable it is when turned on... The lipo cells themselves are probably perfectly trustworthy, its just the control circuitry that I distrust.

 

[cheddarman]

You got me thinking there 3rdof5 so just checked my batteries and both are identical, when turned off zero voltage at the main terminals and on the OEM, 0.045 volts at the two little terminals and on the other 0.125volts.
When I turn them on I get the same 17.25 volts on both main terminals. I have no idea what current they each deliver as I have no way of connecting an ammeter between the battery and the AC.- well I could with a lot of fiddling about!

 

[3rdof5]

I'm sure if you check the voltage on the 3rd party battery after flight (while clicking) you will get the same results I did. After resting and cooling off it does completely shutdown and voltage shows zero. I'm aware of these quirks and just live with them. Now i treat this battery like my P2 battery (which do not have the auto discharge ability) and when I recharge after flight I only charge to 65% (storage level) to protect the lipo cells. And like I said, I only use this battery for short close flights and over land only.