HOW TO: Monitor battery voltage to watch for signs of failure

[cobra46]

I am using the mavic for fun on weekends, no flights in the weekdays. Now i have 3 batteries and I store them with 50% of charge, is it ok?

That's actually the best way to store them. If you notice, a lot of consumer electronics come from the factory a half charge.

 

[stratos]

Yeah i thought so to, just notice different cell life between my batteries... and wondering if i just need to charge them up? or they just go bad

mhh that is a good question. I mean what I would do it probably let the battery drain and then charge them up.
And then check the health but this might not answer your specific concern.

 

[SoapyGolem]

mhh that is a good question. I mean what I would do it probably let the battery drain and then charge them up.
And then check the health but this might not answer your specific concern.

So i charged all my batteries up, and yeah they are now at 12.3 volts each cell at 4.1..............so a lower battery the volts go down i guess and the cells.... good to know haha

 

[msinger]

So i charged all my batteries up, and yeah they are now at 12.3 volts each cell at 4.1..............so a lower battery the volts go down i guess and the cells

You got it. When you're comparing the cell voltage to check a battery's health, it's best to check it out when the battery is fully charged.

 

[SteelFlyer]

Does anyone have any real-world experience on just how quickly the batteries degrade if you keep them charged full? I carry my Mavic with me at all times in case I see something cool and want to capture it. I hate the idea of not having my batteries fully charged and missing an opportunity. While I would like to have the batteries last a long time, I can also afford $89 every once in a while. I'm just trying to get an idea of how big a deal this really is.

 

[SteelFlyer]

It's important to monitor the battery voltage in each cell of the DJI smart battery. Be aware of the following:

1) Monitor the battery to ensure all cells maintain a similar voltage.
2) Do not allow any of the battery cells to drop below 3.3V.
3) Consider landing your Mavic when (or before) the first battery cell reaches 3.4V.
4) Your battery will shut off mid-flight if the voltage drops below 3.0V.

You can display the voltage of the lowest battery cell on the main screen of the DJI GO application. To do so, enable the "Show Voltage On Main Screen" setting in the "Aircraft Battery" --> "Advanced Settings" section of the DJI GO settings.

Man this is great information. Always learning! Thanks!

 

[SoapyGolem]

Does anyone have any real-world experience on just how quickly the batteries degrade if you keep them charged full? I carry my Mavic with me at all times in case I see something cool and want to capture it. I hate the idea of not having my batteries fully charged and missing an opportunity. While I would like to have the batteries last a long time, I can also afford $89 every once in a while. I'm just trying to get an idea of how big a deal this really is.

They do have automatic discharge so as long as you keep using them, and not storing them at 100% you should be fine, but typically 500 charges is when a battery starts degrading in life.

 

[Sevic pro]

It's important to monitor the battery voltage in each cell of the DJI smart battery. Be aware of the following:

1) Monitor the battery to ensure all cells maintain a similar voltage.
2) Do not allow any of the battery cells to drop below 3.3V.
3) Consider landing your Mavic when (or before) the first battery cell reaches 3.4V.
4) Your battery will shut off mid-flight if the voltage drops below 3.0V.

You can display the voltage of the lowest battery cell on the main screen of the DJI GO application. To do so, enable the "Show Voltage On Main Screen" setting in the "Aircraft Battery" --> "Advanced Settings" section of the DJI GO settings.

View attachment 1007

View attachment 1008


Once enabled, the lowest battery cell voltage will appear at the top, right of the DJI GO application -- like this:

View attachment 1009


In the "Remote Controller Settings" section of the DJI GO settings, you can set either C1 or C2 to "Battery Info" to quickly open/close the battery settings.

View attachment 1010


Below is an example that shows a battery that has a consistent voltage in each battery cell.

View attachment 1011


And, here's an example that shows a damaged battery:

View attachment 1012


It's important to ensure your battery is in good health prior to takeoff. Flying with a battery that has one or more bad cells could cause the battery to discharge very quickly and/or your Mavic to shut off mid-flight and drop from the sky.

Great post, answered the question I came here for. I will definitely be looking closer at these settings. The first charge of one of my batteries and first day of owning my mavic, it went from 14% to 4%, cut out and dropped. Not too far as I was hovering low getting ready to land but ended up with gimbal obstruction error so had it replaced anyway. Would you think this would have just been a new battery 'break in' type of thing or faulty battery?

 

[msinger]

Did you check out your flight log? It sounds like you continued to fly until the first battery cell dropped below 3.0V.

 

[Sevic pro]

No, I didn't check the log. Pretty sure that is what happened but what I don't understand is why it didn't even get a chance to auto land at 10%, it went from 14%-4% in a matter of seconds.

 

[msinger]

I'm not sure. It's hard to discuss the data before it has been presented.

 

[Threshold]

So iOS displays the batter voltage info but android doesn't?

 

[hookalakupua]

It's important to monitor the battery voltage in each cell of the DJI smart battery. Be aware of the following:

1) Monitor the battery to ensure all cells maintain a similar voltage.
2) Do not allow any of the battery cells to drop below 3.3V.
3) Consider landing your Mavic when (or before) the first battery cell reaches 3.4V.
4) Your battery will shut off mid-flight if the voltage drops below 3.0V.

You can display the voltage of the lowest battery cell on the main screen of the DJI GO application. To do so, enable the "Show Voltage On Main Screen" setting in the "Aircraft Battery" --> "Advanced Settings" section of the DJI GO settings.

View attachment 1007

View attachment 1008


Once enabled, the lowest battery cell voltage will appear at the top, right of the DJI GO application -- like this:

View attachment 1009


In the "Remote Controller Settings" section of the DJI GO settings, you can set either C1 or C2 to "Battery Info" to quickly open/close the battery settings.

View attachment 1010


Below is an example that shows a battery that has a consistent voltage in each battery cell.

View attachment 1011


And, here's an example that shows a damaged battery:

View attachment 1012


It's important to ensure your battery is in good health prior to takeoff. Flying with a battery that has one or more bad cells could cause the battery to discharge very quickly and/or your Mavic to shut off mid-flight and drop from the sky.[/QUOTEW
What a fantastic post! Thanks for the inormation.

 

[Sevic pro]

I'm not sure. It's hard to discuss the data before it has been presented.

True, as I said, that drone was returned so can't get the log but all good now, I know how to monitor it. Thanks again.

 

[msinger]

True, as I said, that drone was returned so can't get the log

The TXT flight log is stored on your mobile device.

 

[msinger]

So iOS displays the batter voltage info but android doesn't?

That setting is also available in the Android version of DJI GO.

 

[Sevic pro]

The TXT flight log is stored on your mobile device.

OK, didn't realise that. I'm learning.
So it looks like all 3 cells where well under 3v before it got to 10% then tried to auto land at 4%(2.529v) but notice it went from 11%-4% in 4.6 seconds.
I will be landing at 20% from now on.

DJI Phantom & Mavic Flight Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com

 

[Doyleh13]

Outstanding info! Thanks!

 

[msinger]

it looks like all 3 cells where well under 3v before it got to 10% then tried to auto land at 4%(2.529v) but notice it went from 11%-4% in 4.6 seconds

I'm surprised the battery lasted that long before it shut off. 20% is kind of sketchy too, but it would be doable if you're careful. If you want to play it safe, 30% or 3.0V (whichever comes first) would be safer.

FYI, the individual battery cell levels in my log viewer are not accurate. I am just dividing the voltage by 3 since the flight log does not include the individual battery cell levels.

 

[Sevic pro]

I'm surprised the battery lasted that long before it shut off. 20% is kind of sketchy too, but it would be doable if you're careful. If you want to play it safe, 30% or 3.0V (whichever comes first) would be safer.

FYI, the individual battery cell levels in my log viewer are not accurate. I am just dividing the voltage by 3 since the flight log does not include the individual battery cell levels.

30% it is. Thanks so much for your help.