Severe Battery Temp Problems = 4hrs to charge 2 batteries

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This whole battery temperature problem is becoming a pretty major one for me. I've only had 2 flights, used two batteries and have spent a total of 4hrs trying to get them to charge. The documentation states the batteries will not charge if the temperature of the battery is over 40 Celsius. I put the battery back in the P3 and checked the temp from the app and the battery was reporting 38 degrees Celsius.

Two hours later, battery is room temp, and still no go. Anyone else have this problem? The first battery took 2hrs before it would let me charge, this one is working on close to 3hrs.
 
This whole battery temperature problem is becoming a pretty major one for me. I've only had 2 flights, used two batteries and have spent a total of 4hrs trying to get them to charge. The documentation states the batteries will not charge if the temperature of the battery is over 40 Celsius. I put the battery back in the P3 and checked the temp from the app and the battery was reporting 38 degrees Celsius.

Two hours later, battery is room temp, and still no go. Anyone else have this problem? The first battery took 2hrs before it would let me charge, this one is working on close to 3hrs.
Cant say I have had any problem but if not in field you can drop in freezer for 5 minutes then charge.
I have noticed on occasion though that the battery leds blinked as if it were to hot, but if I checked the charge at 10 minutes intervals it was charging. When it got to like 75% the leds were showing like a normal charge
 
Cant say I have had any problem but if not in field you can drop in freezer for 5 minutes then charge.
I have noticed on occasion though that the battery leds blinked as if it were to hot, but if I checked the charge at 10 minutes intervals it was charging. When it got to like 75% the leds were showing like a normal charge
I may have found a fix, but I'm not sure if it will work when the battery is actually hot. Buried in the P3 manual it states that if the battery is 75% or more charged you cannot charge it to 100% unless you turn it on before connecting it to the charger. Turning the battery on before connecting to the charger was news to me.

So I decided to try it on the battery that simply refused to charge. I turned the battery on (single press then long press), connected it to the charger, and it started charging. Will definitely be interested to see if this trick works when the battery is actually over the 40 Celsius threshold.

I am really trying to avoid the manual cooling down route, I need to know what to expect from these batteries before trusting them in the field. Carrying around a 12V fridge is definitely not a step in the right direction in my book.
 
So I was getting ready to start a thread on battery temperature being high after a flight. My battery always has to cool for a while i a breeze to get low enough for the charger to kick in. I don't think the battery gets above 110F but will check in a few minutes. I used a thermal camera and the battery felt hot to the touch but read about 104F after the flight off 15 minutes in the chopper. Will check soon and upload a thermal of the battery.
 
So I was getting ready to start a thread on battery temperature being high after a flight. My battery always has to cool for a while i a breeze to get low enough for the charger to kick in. I don't think the battery gets above 110F but will check in a few minutes. I used a thermal camera and the battery felt hot to the touch but read about 104F after the flight off 15 minutes in the chopper. Will check soon and upload a thermal of the battery.

Will definitely be interested to see if turning on the battery before connecting the charger reduces your wait time.
 
I may have found a fix, but I'm not sure if it will work when the battery is actually hot. Buried in the P3 manual it states that if the battery is 75% or more charged you cannot charge it to 100% unless you turn it on before connecting it to the charger. Turning the battery on before connecting to the charger was news to me.

So I decided to try it on the battery that simply refused to charge. I turned the battery on (single press then long press), connected it to the charger, and it started charging. Will definitely be interested to see if this trick works when the battery is actually over the 40 Celsius threshold.

I am really trying to avoid the manual cooling down route, I need to know what to expect from these batteries before trusting them in the field. Carrying around a 12V fridge is definitely not a step in the right direction in my book.
This may be why mine was charging even when said hot as I had turned mine on as this is what we did with the P2+ to get a almost full battery to complete;)
 
I may have found a fix, but I'm not sure if it will work when the battery is actually hot. Buried in the P3 manual it states that if the battery is 75% or more charged you cannot charge it to 100% unless you turn it on before connecting it to the charger. Turning the battery on before connecting to the charger was news to me.

So I decided to try it on the battery that simply refused to charge. I turned the battery on (single press then long press), connected it to the charger, and it started charging. Will definitely be interested to see if this trick works when the battery is actually over the 40 Celsius threshold.

I am really trying to avoid the manual cooling down route, I need to know what to expect from these batteries before trusting them in the field. Carrying around a 12V fridge is definitely not a step in the right direction in my book.
The trick of turning the battery on has been discussed here a few times before. The concensus from most, especially those with a lot of lipo experience (unlike myself), is that this works in a pinch but is not a good thing to do often. It will greatly shorten the life of the battery. I think it had to do with the chemistry of the battery itself.
 
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I don't see how it will shorten the battery's life since before DJI came along you had a balancing board and the charging leads which connected to the battery which had no on/off switch; they were always on. I have dealt with LiPos for years, they are just batteries which happen to have precise balancing requirements since they are separated into cells; as long as DJI's integrated balancing circuit can handle the connection while the battery is on I think it would be fine.

Even if it were proven to shorten the life of the battery, for me getting the job done is more important. That means getting back in the air as quickly as possible. I'm certainly going to let it cool down a bit, but I can't afford to wait 2hrs to start the charging process.
 
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I don't see how it will shorten the battery's life since before DJI came along you had a balancing board and the charging leads which connected to the battery which had no on/off switch; they were always on. I have dealt with LiPos for years, they are just batteries which happen to have precise balancing requirements since they are separated into cells; as long as DJI's integrated balancing circuit can handle the connection while the battery is on I think it would be fine.

Even if it were proven to shorten the life of the battery, for me getting the job done is more important. That means getting back in the air as quickly as possible. I'm certainly going to let it cool down a bit, but I can't afford to wait 2hrs to start the charging process.
If battery cooling is a time issue for you, because it needs to go on the charger now--
Carry a small frozen cooler block and a small cooler . Place battery in a small zip lock bag on the cooler block in a zip lock bag and you are ready to charge in about two minutes.
38P103_AS01.JPG
Or if you are close to your vehicle, which is probably the case if you need to charge the battery, turn on the AC if the vehicle has one, and hold the battery in frontof the vent for a couple of minutes and the battery cools quickly.

Both work quite well.
 
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If battery cooling is a time issue for you, because it needs to go on the charger now--
Carry a small frozen cooler block and a small cooler . Place battery in a small zip lock bag on the cooler block in a zip lock bag and you are ready to charge in about two minutes.
Or if you are close to your vehicle, which is probably the case if you need to charge the battery, turn on the AC if the vehicle has one, and hold the battery in frontof the vent for a couple of minutes and the battery cools quickly.

Both work quite well.

I'll have to see, my truck gets up to 130 degrees inside while I'm out filming, and I'm usually going for 8-9hrs a day, I'm not sure many cooling solutions would hold up to that kind of heat. My P2 never had a problem with it except that the car charger would get so hot sometimes that it would stop charging....batteries though no problem. I try to always park in the shade and leave the windows cracked but it does not help much.
 
Checked out the whole thing. When you turn the battery on it will charge, regardless of temperature. Had one at 125F immediately start charging.
 
Checked out the whole thing. When you turn the battery on it will charge, regardless of temperature. Had one at 125F immediately start charging.
May not be a good idea-- until there is more data----- regarding charging this new lipo chemistry until the battery temperature cools down. The fact that the charger will not start on if the battery is above a certain temperature, may be a designed safety factor included with the Smart Battery. If turning it on overrides a designed safety factor purposely build into the battery, turning the battery on may compromise that design.

Could we hear from a DJI rep on this forum on this issue????? Thank you
 
+1

The charging process is when you hear of most LiPo 'accidents'.
While I believe DJI has erred on the side of caution, bypassing safety protocols comes at your own risk.
 
+1

The charging process is when you hear of most LiPo 'accidents'.
While I believe DJI has erred on the side of caution, bypassing safety protocols comes at your own risk.
I certainly agree, it is there for your own safety but I have two problems with their current implementation:

1) Both batteries would not charge even when the battery itself reported a lower internal temp than DJI stated was required.
2) DJI should have made it so that you could leave it on the charger and whenever the battery's temp dropped to the proper level it started charging. The batteries I have won't start charging unless I remove them from the charger and reconnect them, meaning now I have to remember to keep trying.
 
Not completely on the subject but do any of you store your batteries in the refrigerator? I've heard mention of it but wanted to know if that's the way to go to improve battery life.
 
I have RC heli LiPos that I have had for years and still no problems. Only stored at room temperatures. And an RC heli drains a LiPo far faster than a P3, so I think room temp would be fine. Also, technically, not sure if anyone does this but technically they are supposed to be stored in LiPo bags when not in use, a LiPo bag in a refrigerator might collect moisture which would be bad. I have so many LiPos by now that I may actually get the bags:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i:aps,k:lipo bag
 
I certainly agree, it is there for your own safety but I have two problems with their current implementation:

1) Both batteries would not charge even when the battery itself reported a lower internal temp than DJI stated was required.
2) DJI should have made it so that you could leave it on the charger and whenever the battery's temp dropped to the proper level it started charging. The batteries I have won't start charging unless I remove them from the charger and reconnect them, meaning now I have to remember to keep trying.
Actually that is the way it is supposed to work. I connected a hot battery, got the to hot to charge led's, left it on the charger and 40 minutes later looked at it and it was charging. In the battery manual it states it will start charging once cooled to the proper temp.
My first battery is normally ready to charge by the time I finish the second flight as I have a 12v fan in the back of my suv I sit it under.
 
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Actually that is the way it is supposed to work. I connected a hot battery, got the to hot to charge led's, left it on the charger and 40 minutes later looked at it and it was charging. In the battery manual it states it will start charging once cooled to the proper temp.
My first battery is normally ready to charge by the time I finish the second flight as I have a 12v fan in the back of my suv I sit it under.
Same for me. I plug it in, get the too hot indicator but leave it. Later when I check on it, I find it charging.
 
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Mine may need a firmware upgrade, neither of the two I've used so far start charging on their own, and they won't charge even when the app says the battery is only 38C.
 

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