P3A battery problem

[Bob Royall]

Was flying my P3A with battery at 60%. With no warning it went to critically low battery warning and landed. The battery seems good and I let it idle on the ground and at 30% I got low battery warning as programmed. Could a bad connection of the battery to the drone been the problem? I sprayed contact cleaner on the contacts and everything seems fine. I fly over water a lot and would hate for it to auto land in the water!

 

[pomonabill220]

How old is the battery?
How many charge/discharge cycles does it have?
It WASN'T charged to 100%!!! VERY BAD DECISION TO FLY!!! The charge percentage is an estimate if it isn't full and it probably went critical because of the low charge.
Looks like pilot error.

Post your flight log... that would tell alot!

 

[HitFactor]

After you charge up the battery take it for a test flight. Avoid flying over water until you verify the battery has not failed and is working as expected. If the battery doesn't work as expected it needs to be discarded and replaced.

 

[msinger]

If you upload your TXT flight here and post a link back here, we can review it and see if it indicates what happened.

 

[hph]

I've had the same thing happen with my P2V+ v.3.0. However, I knew the battery condition was low, as indicated by the top line as shown on the camera setting of the DJI software on my iPhone. I was actually testing some mods I had made on the RC and on the drone, itself, and had recalibrated the compass beforehand. I was letting the drone stay within a 10' radius from me and only 10' high. So, when the low bat warning came, I landed immediately.

It's recommended that those Li-Polymer bats be charged, followed by completely discharging and then fully recharged ever so often. I never store (1 wk or longer) a LiPo fully charged or fully discharged.

FYI, I replaced the antenna on the RC with a 5 dB omnidirectional linear pole and the two internal antennas on the drone with two 3 dB external omnidirectional linear poles.

While I was at it, I also replaced the stock compass disk with a newer model. The earlier one has been cited as the cause of fly-aways. I lost a similar model because of an uncontrolled fly-away. This is its replacement.

There are YouTube vids showing how these mods are done step-by-step. Patience is a necessity to minimize any "boo-boos" that might happen.

The main improvement - I no longer get single numbers of "birds" the drone is connected to for guidance. Flight is also more stable, not as "herky-jerky" as noted before at times, especially with a little wind in the mix.

I've done no long-range testing of the new setup as of yet.

 

[pomonabill220]

While I was at it, I also replaced the stock compass disk with a newer model.

Is that the GPS antenna and not the compass? I replaced my old P2's GPS antenna with a better one, and it did alot better!
Is this also true for the P3A?

 

[hph]

Yes, that was the GPS antenna, NOT the compass. My mistake.

The new GPS disk, or "puck," has a single lead that plugs into the board right beside where the compass lead plugs in.

My older v.3.0 GPS disk had two leads. It was the one giving the fly-away issue.

IIRC, in the old, or stock, version of the P2V+ v.3.0, the lead from the compass, from one of the vertical struts, plugged into the GPS board associated with the GPS antenna in the top of the upper shell.

The P3A has "enclosed" antennas, similar to the two in the v.3.0, in each of the four vertical struts. I dunno how they connect inside. My P3A flies very well, as is, so I'm not going to monkey around with it until necessary.

I now have my original purchase, the P2V with RC antenna mod, the P2V+ v.3.0, with RC and drone antenna mods and updated GPS puck, and the "virgin" P3A. I enjoy flying all of them!

I've bought an inexpensive pair of FPV goggles I'm gonna try, probably with the v.3.0.

 

[Lancioair]

Battery Problem?
On the same subject....Looking for some help.
I haven't used my Phantom 3 advanced since last November.
I fully charged both batteries and the remote.
I updated the App.
Updated the firmware in the remote controller and then the aircraft via the SD card After formatting it. The result was successful according to the file. Removed the firmware file from the SD card.
When I turn the aircraft on, with or without the Remote powered, with or without the SD card in, it starts making a loud continuous /intermittent noise.
There is no Battery Status indicator on the app. (battery itself shows 4 green bars). I can see the camera view on the app but it won't take off or power up the engines. I would really appreciate some help. This video will show what I'm talking about: