Phantom 3 Professional Battery Failure when I was over 50% battery level

I'm pretty sure they (sq trade) are still doing it.
I got a 3 year on 5-28-15 for $270
I don't believe they will cover you. Take your money, yes, cover you, no.

And to the post above about homeowners covering it, you better pay attention to your deductible. In my situation paying out of pocket would make way more sense than an insurance claim.
 
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as I mentioned in a previous post, the description of the incident exhibit the exact symptoms of a battery that was not seated properly... ie, not pushed in all the way. We've seen it before numerous times in the P2X's, and since the engineering is the same in the P3, I can almost guarantee that's what happened here. Everyone should add "push battery in all the way" to their pre-flight checklist.
 
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I think its a weak plastic hold clip on these batteries and holder and vibration plus movement and nature its would take no time to release that and have poor connection even if its clicked all the way in
 
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as I mentioned in a previous post, the description of the incident exhibit the exact symptoms of a battery that was not seated properly... ie, not pushed in all the way. We've seen it before numerous times in the P2X's, and since the engineering is the same in the P3, I can almost guarantee that's what happened here. Everyone should add "push battery in all the way" to their pre-flight checklist.

If that is the case (and I believe it could be, as I've noticed that my batteries don't fit flush due to moulding inconsistencies in the battery 'caps'), then perhaps DJI should think about re-engineering the shell to include a thumbscrew that needs to be turned to secure the pack - that can't be screwed in unless two threads align & the pack is as far in as it should be.

It's easy to think that a hefty shove is enough to seat the battery properly; On my P2V+ it takes a hefty shove AND a proper pec-fly press to seat the pack properly, and I won't take off until I'm happy the shut-lines are the same, top and bottom, and both clips are biting.
 
Maybe a strong rubber band over the phantom body and battery end would help keep it in place so not to slip out
 
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If it's seated properly in the first place, it won't slip out. I slam mine in every time, then give it a solid shove with the palm of my hand, and make sure the gap is as small as I can possibly make it.
 
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If it's seated properly in the first place, it won't slip out. I slam mine in every time, then give it a solid shove with the palm of my hand, and make sure the gap is as small as I can possibly make it.
Over 300 Flights on P2 and P3 combined, never hapenned to me, but i'll add this to check list anyway.
 
I don't understand why DJI decided to go their own way on connector technology. There's an absolute plethora of bespoke connectors out there which ensure correct polarity and clamp together securely...!
 
My P2V nearly landed on some 100' trees when it went into low battery autolanding with over 50% remaining. I was able to over-ride it with up throttle and steer to a safe landing. This was happening at 30-50% battery almost every time I flew, but I kept it close when it got below 50%. Yes, the battery was seated properly, and it only happened with the original battery. I had also tried cleaning the contacts with DeoxIT. DJI replaced that battery under warranty and the problem has not resurfaced.
 
So I took my new Phantom 3 Professional out to the beach this weekend to get some nice beach and water video footage. I had my battery fully charged and ready to go. When I got to my take off point I made sure and calibrated it and got the Safe to Fly With GPS, so I took off and flew it up and down the beach a few times, 10 minutes into my flight, I had looked and it said 51% battery so since I was flying over water I was being extra careful and wanted to get back before I got under 30% just to be safe, all of a sudden a red signal flashed across the screen "Critically low voltage, the aircraft will land now" I was still about 500 yards or so offshore and maybe a quarter mile down the beach heading back when it said this I immediately started to try to make it back, my FPV went out so I hit the return home button the controller started beeping as if it was working but no Phantom in sight, my stomach dropped and I waited and waited... no Phantom 3 professional returned... So I checked my flight log and it seemed that the battery went from over half charged to nothing in a matter of seconds and went into the water. Has anyone had this type of experience? You can see it went down seconds after the critical low voltage warning, I was being so careful to do EVERYTHING by the book as well. I emailed DJI, we will see what they do for me but I am still sick, I have only had this a few weeks and was feeling very confident about flying it safely. See my attached image of the last screenshot captured.
I truly feel for you. I may still be able to find mine, launching a expedition this Sunday to look for it at the bottom of the lake.
image1.PNG
 
Wow....sorry to hear. That really sucks.....you may not have seen them...but there has been discussions about "breaking in" the battery to avoid errors like you recieved.....
The added bad news is that dji apparently does not approve of flying over water...so this may be a determining factor to what action they take....wish you the best......btw were you able to locate the p3 ?
This right from DJI web site, they have many pics and vid's of it over water.

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Tonight I'm going to rig up a Velcro strip to attach to the battery and case after the battery is inserted to help hold it in as an insurance policy. :) That's what I did on my F40 with the modified door for the larger battery. May not look sexy but who cares.
 
I fly over water quite a bit since i live on a peninsula surrounded by beach and ocean.. ;)

Anyway I put one of these on mine...hopefully it never gets tested. Knock on my head.

http://www.getterback.com/

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DJI would not encourage a standard connector, it's in their interest to make their batteries as 'non-standard' as possible to keep prices high.
I don't understand why DJI decided to go their own way on connector technology. There's an absolute plethora of bespoke connectors out there which ensure correct polarity and clamp together securely...!
 
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I'm afraid this issue is occurring more often with the new P-3 model, than with it's predecessors P2-V and V+. I flown those models quite a bit over water with no issues for over a yr. now. The battery fit on those models was much different than on the new P-3, requiring quite a bit of strength to simply remove the battery from its holder. The P-3 doesn't appear to fit as snug, and requires less manipulation to remove the battery. The pendulum has swung to the other side, so to speak, and now there may be more concern of the battery dislodging for one reason or the another. On the other side of the coin, there very well may be the possibility of defective batteries making there way to prospective P-3 customers which can not be ruled out, until proven otherwise.
I honestly believe this incident as disheartening as it is, has nothing to do with the model being flown over water.
I do agree, although DJI for what ever reason now recommends not flying over water, has done quite a bit of advertising showing same, and believe if they feel the model should not be flown over water should place a disclaimer warning not to be flown in that manner when advertising the Phantom, IMO.
 
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The battery on my one week old Phantom 3 Pro is hard as hell to remove. It snaps in solidly too. Living in Texas, I don't know what is worse, losing your quad in the water, or over a snake infested field.
 
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A failure is a failure, and they WILL happen.

It should be obvious why they caution against flying over water.
 

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