Low Battery Warning @56% + Klaxon

[iDrone]

I was running a distance test at night, 250' altitude & 1000' out then around 12 minutes into flight I accelerated full throttle forward for 5 seconds when all of a sudden I got a Klaxon horn, red outline around the screen, red battery numbers, slow red blinking lights on the PV, but @56% ??? Brought it back, connected to Assistant, all cells were even around 3.8v. Checked the Low Batt settings: 30% & 15% (no where near 56%). This doesn't sound like our classic "invalid battery" warning issue as there were no messages & the battery gauge was registering continuously. I thought it might be temperature, but its only 45°F on the ground, not sure about 250' up, plus we've all seen plenty of PV owners fly in colder temps. I wonder if this is the way it now behaves when the data pins lose contact since we upgraded to v1.05 firmware and new apps. Of my two batteries, this one is the one that originally gave the "invalid battery" warning before the v1.05 update, never had that problem with the other one.

iDrone

 

[Pull_Up]

I had something similar on my last flight - flight data here: http://flytrex.com/mission/quadcopter-p ... wton-5839/

You can see the big climb I did towards the end of the flight on the graphs at the bottom. Pretty much full power, then there's a small plateau? I got the klaxon there, but it went away as soon as I reduced throttle a little. I held station for a while to trouble shoot but everything was ok so went up again. Same thing, but only with anything higher than about 75% on the throttle. I just decreased the climb rate. I had no issues hovering and no further incidents on the way down until the proper alarm started sounding (at the level I have set in the Assistant software).

I put it down to a temperature drop combined with a high load situation (big climb) towards the end of a flight (there's a lag on the temp sensor, but you can see the ambient dropped in the climb, but not by much - and before the climb it went up! Warm battery? Sensor is mounted on the outside under the battery bay). I had been range testing too and also doing a bit of downwind speed testing, too, so there had been lots more full throttle than I would usually play with. Didn't lose telemetry or get any warnings other than klaxon and a blinking red border around the screen.

NB I never had any invalid battery errors in flight before the firmware update. However before this flight I got one when I first inserted the battery and switched on. I removed and re-seated the battery and the message cleared. I did my usual 1 minute low hover to test everything and had no issues and the Vision flew very nicely.

 

[HollyFlier]

Just got my replacement PV from DroneFly. Did all the updates, calibration, etc and took it out for my first flight. About 10 minutes in and at 54% battery, got the low voltage warning as described above. Red lights flashing on the Phantom and immediate descent. I was able to maintain altitude and control. Luckily, this was a test flight and I was only about 10 feet up. Power cycled everything and tried again. After about 30 seconds in the air, got the same warning. Tried 3 or 4 more times, all with the same result.
At this point I thought it was the actual voltage dropping below the preset threshold. Checked it with a volt meter and it read 11.29v. Not sure what to do next. I'm thinking it may be a bad battery or was the cold weather (20*F), but at this point, my confidence in the PV is just about zero! Will call DroneFly on Monday and see what happens? Anybody have any ideas in the meantime?

 

[HollyFlier]

After sending an email to Dronefly.com and DJI explaining my latest battery issue (see previous post), I received a call from Tony at DJI US Support. After discussing what happened, he suggested that he thought the battery was defective and for my troubles would authorize Dronefly.com to ship me TWO replacement batteries! He also agreed that if it turns out that the battery is not the problem, that DJI will authorize Dronefly.com to issue a FULL refund with no restocking fees. Of course Dronefly.com has been silent this entire time. I just hope that it is the battery and I can start flying again! Sounds too good to be true. Will keep you guys posted.

 

[iDrone]

I filed a report w/DJI & CC'd their support line and my dealer. This latest issue cropping up midflight doesn't leave me with much confidence flying very far for fear of losing it; there's no way to predict when it will suddenly issue a low battery warning, or worse if it will initiate an auto-landing wherever it happens to be when that happens.

iDrone

 

[Pull_Up]

Auto-landing is better than plummeting, though. Don't forget that if it does initiate auto-land you should be able to override by giving it some throttle and then be able to steer it a bit closer to a more suitable landing site... allegedly!

 

[MrFlats]

I had something similar on my last flight - flight data here: http://flytrex.com/mission/quadcopter-p ... wton-5839/

You can see the big climb I did towards the end of the flight on the graphs at the bottom. Pretty much full power, then there's a small plateau? I got the klaxon there, but it went away as soon as I reduced throttle a little. I held station for a while to trouble shoot but everything was ok so went up again. Same thing, but only with anything higher than about 75% on the throttle. I just decreased the climb rate. I had no issues hovering and no further incidents on the way down until the proper alarm started sounding (at the level I have set in the Assistant software).

I put it down to a temperature drop combined with a high load situation (big climb) towards the end of a flight (there's a lag on the temp sensor, but you can see the ambient dropped in the climb, but not by much - and before the climb it went up! Warm battery? Sensor is mounted on the outside under the battery bay). I had been range testing too and also doing a bit of downwind speed testing, too, so there had been lots more full throttle than I would usually play with. Didn't lose telemetry or get any warnings other than klaxon and a blinking red border around the screen.

NB I never had any invalid battery errors in flight before the firmware update. However before this flight I got one when I first inserted the battery and switched on. I removed and re-seated the battery and the message cleared. I did my usual 1 minute low hover to test everything and had no issues and the Vision flew very nicely.

How did you achieve all the flight data?

Jeff

 

[Pull_Up]

I got a Flytrex core and fitted it to the Vision. As no one had actually fitted one I volunteered to guinea pig it to make sure it worked and come up with the least complex fitting option. See http://www.flytrex.com for details of the board itself and http://flytrex.com/support/flytrex-core ... tallation/ for specific installation. The video in my signature walks you through opening up the Vision if you need the help on that too.

Great little unit that weighs only a few grammes and Amit, the guy behind it, is very customer-focussed too. You don't have to share all your flight data if you don't want to - you can keep it all private just to you and use it as an online log book for your aircraft, for example.

 

[HollyFlier]

Pull_up,
Since you were the PV / Flytrex Beta tester, I have a question for you. Since I have some downtime, as I wait for my replacement battery, I was looking at how to best install the Flytrex. I know the recommended install is to cut the connector off (then re-solder) to fish it through the open hole in the Phantom body. Using the non-Vision cable to test on, I was able to bend each wire 'clip' enough to free it from the connector. Once out of the connector, I bent the 'clips' back up and reinserted each wire back into the connector. It seems to work? I plan on using this method when I install my Flytrex as it would be a much cleaner installation. Did you guys look at this method? Would it be possible to get the Vision cable shipped without a connector installed? Any reason I should not use this method? Thanks for the info and help!

 

[Pull_Up]

Hi Holly,

We don't actually recommend a solder job, although for a neat solution that would be optimal. We also looked at snipping one of the strakes out of the air vents in the bottom shell to allow another no solder option. However we wanted something that non-technical, non-solderers (like me!) could do without damaging the shell beyond a minimum or risking ruining the cable. The shell plastic is soft enough to be carved out with a craft knife or similar just a little way to allow the wires to exit between the shell joint. It isn't brittle so no danger of cracking things if you go gently. If you have a small flat file that would also work to just file out a notch. Alternatively a Dremmel or similar cut cut a notch. Lots of options.

Amit reports that others have done a similar method to you - removing the wires from the connector. In his experience it can prove more fiddly than soldering, and if you mess it up you need to order another wire. Not bad for his business but he doesn't want to recommend a method that could cause a problem. If you have gone ahead and found a technique that works then I say go for it! Using the spare hole above one of the landing legs would certainly provide the neatest solution, but it does require either your method or breaking out the soldering iron. Of course if you want to remove the Flytrex or move it to another aircraft you're going to have to do it again - if that weakens things too much then you're in for another cable.

Once you've installed it your way just power up the Vision (with a micro sd inserted into the Flytrex of course!) and "fly" it around you garden by walking it around for a couple of minutes. If the data saved on the card can be successfully uploaded to the Flytrex site then you know your wiring solution works.

 

[Driffill]

Pull up, I keep telling you, it is easier to take the wires out of the plug on the four wire cable than you think! In all honesty, cutting and soldering is harder, and you still have just as much chance (if not more) of connecting the wrong wires or melting thru the insulation if you solder the cable.

The official phantom method shown on the flytrex site shows the cable coming from the battery door, however all the installations I've seen of a flytrex on a phantom, have the cable running out via another hole.

 

[Pull_Up]

Hi Driffill,

In increasing order of difficulty (and chance of messing up your wiring): 1. The Flytrex "approved" Vision method (i.e. cut a small notch and route externally); 2. The remove the wires method (providing you get it right); 3. The cut-and-solder method.

Those who are skilled and experienced with a soldering iron can probably switch out 2 and 3.

It's whatever floats your boat - bottom line is the Flytrex works great with the Vision however you route the wiring... Me I'm happy with it all hanging out, man!

 

[MrFlats]

I got a Flytrex core and fitted it to the Vision. As no one had actually fitted one I volunteered to guinea pig it to make sure it worked and come up with the least complex fitting option. See http://www.flytrex.com for details of the board itself and http://flytrex.com/support/flytrex-core ... tallation/ for specific installation. The video in my signature walks you through opening up the Vision if you need the help on that too.

Great little unit that weighs only a few grammes and Amit, the guy behind it, is very customer-focussed too. You don't have to share all your flight data if you don't want to - you can keep it all private just to you and use it as an online log book for your aircraft, for example.

Viewed your video. Thanks! The Flytrex has my full attention right now. Sounds very facinating.

Jeff aka MrFlats

 

[pileosnafu]

Today was my first "longer" flight since the upgrade. I too got this warning @ around 56%. But then it stopped. I flew until about 40% and changed batteries. It was a bit windy here today 30+ guests so I didn't want to be far away. I was just trying to capture some shots of my neighborhood

 

[semaj]

Received my PV on 01/03... I have 3 batteries... This exact issue has happened to me using all three batteries... At 41%, 48%, 37%... All with either a big climb or a hard push forward... Has only occurred during the cold weather, it's was around 20 degrees... I wonder if it's a temp issue combined with a fast strong battery pull...

 

[iDrone]

Contact cleaner can't hurt (as long as it isn't greasy or oily which tends to attract debris) but with v1.05 or older if you lost your battery's data connection, the Vision app would display an " invalid battery" warning and your battery gas gauge would go to zero (no battery telemetry). I don't know if anyone has tested this yet with v1.08 (taping off the pins to see what the app does). So if that part of the firmware is still the same, intermittent contact should still display "invalid battery" not "low battery". In other words: if your battery gauge is working in the app, then presumably you have battery telemetry thru the gold pins.

iDrone :ugeek:

 

[iDrone]

Here's the result of booting-up Vision on v1.08 firmware with its battery data pins taped off:


Granted this isn't duplicating an in-flight intermittent connection. But notice the gauge is blank... no reading, not even 0%. This doesn't match the reports of "Low Battery" w/sudden drops to a low percentage remaining.

iDrone