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

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.
Today from DJI web site.
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Our little phantoms must take some stick from the winds high up so its a fight against nature.The gimbal sorts whats really going on is my thoughts
 
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.
Same exact thing happened to me but battery was @ 30% and I was line of site so I brought it back.... It was landing in the trees!
 
I think he was sharing solidarity with the OP, being that both their birds ended up in the drink. If you read the thread about his mishap he clearly understands it was operator error.
 
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Sorry for the loss of your P3, I had a battery not seat correctly (my fault) on my P2 and it landed in a tree with 40% even though the app showed low battery. When I retrieved it the battery was loose in the mount, re-inserting it then showed the correct power level. So now part of my pre-flight is to tug on the battery after inserting it to insure it is locked in place, as I to fly over some water on occasion.
 
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I had the same error!!! My P3 got lost. Did you get any answer from DJI?
I was flying with 90% battery and suddenly no signal and I lost the P3.

Any suggestions?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I would get DJI to give you a new one. P3 is brand new. It should not fail so soon -- software or because of a loose battery. Report it and provide the flight logs to DJI.
 
I had exactly the same issue yesterday, with a brand new battery. I was on like 70%, then I got the warning and it auto-landed. I could just abort in time before it hit the ground. After that, the message didn't appear again that flight (I was kind of silly to keep flying until it reached 30% but nothing went wrong anymore). Seems like there is an issue yes.
 
Several people on this thread stated you should post the video, but it is my understanding that the only thing you have left after an accident is the flight path information. The video and photos are not on the table, only on the SD card. Am I correct? I know it is different if you are "live streaming" but for most flights the video and stills are only available if you can get the micro SD card.

There are ways to "transfer" from the SD card to the tablet, but that takes quite a while and is not practical during an actual flight.

I was wondering if the pilot has the ability to regain control from this "Critical Battery" Warning and use whatever flight time is possible to get it back over land? I lost a P2 + to a damaged battery cell and the "immediate landing" hit a tree, fell onto concrete and ruined the gimbal.

I know DJI is trying to avoid a "free fall" but losing your $1,300 Phantom (+ more for accessories) is a painful experience. The "smart battery" tries to warn you if the battery is showing problems, but there are still too many of these reports. Maybe someone should offer a "small" airbag type floating device triggered if it gets wet. At least you would have a wet Phantom to take home and analyze the video.

I try to "test fly" new batteries at a few feet high to see if they have issues, and to "condition them" properly for a longer flight time. Seems like a lot of work until you read one of these "Lost my Phantom" stories again.

If your Phantom crashes over land, say in trees or a neighborhood, you should go close to where it is, establish a link and download the last video on the SD card. It may help you find the exact location of your crashed, or landed drone. The battery will still power the link and video transfer for an hour or two. You should also shut down the motors using the throttle down, to preserve battery life while you transfer the video to your tablet.

I know it is a panic time, but if you can "press the record video" during a crisis or battery forced landing, you might have a better chance of finding your Phantom.
 
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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Never leave home without it!
 
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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.
Same here. The last 3 batteries I have bought really fit tight. Hard to get them out. They really snap in snug. No worries here about wimpy fitting batteries.
 
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It could be anything, bad cell, bad or failed circuit in the smart battery hardware-- loose battery--- I had the same reading and was fortunate enough to have it close by and landed safely. The battery was out about 1/16 inch and I was sure that I had seated it properly. ( I obviously didn't.) :eek:

I in agreement about the smart battery-- needs to be dumbed down to a lipo without all the fancy circuitry. It is just another place to fail. :(
 
It could be anything, bad cell, bad or failed circuit in the smart battery hardware-- loose battery--- I had the same reading and was fortunate enough to have it close by and landed safely. The battery was out about 1/16 inch and I was sure that I had seated it properly. ( I obviously didn't.) :eek:

I in agreement about the smart battery-- needs to be dumbed down to a lipo without all the fancy circuitry. It is just another place to fail. :(
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it the smart part of the battery that saved you from crashing?
 
My take on the battery system is the data pins are a weak link in the system. The Phantom needs to know the condition of the battery and that is derived through the data pins. That data is used for auto landing and RTH functions. The small spring loaded pins potentially could momentarily lose connection due to vibration and surfaces that are slightly contaminated with tarnish or dust etc. causing a mis-read. I know this data communication has been used to verify original DJI batteries for example.

However, it's very unlikely that the actual power connectors would lose connection without the battery actually becoming unseated and falling out. I question the design that says even though you have power on the main power connectors, the AC can be shut off because of data interruption. The firmware could be designed so that once airborne, as long as there is power on the main terminals, it should fly.

In my case I had a fresh battery, took off and went straight up to 80'. My display said "Battery communication error, fly carefully" (P2V) Next thing I know it's falling straight down with no power.

Every since that episode, I clean the battery and bird connections every other flight or so. I use a small eraser to polish the surfaces and add a small amount of DeOxit. I haven't had any problems since.

Geo
 
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