Battery disconnected error

[Nowelly]

I usually fly Phantoms, but, got a Mavic Air from the missus for Christmas which has been proving to be an ideal second drone for stealth and discretion especially. But, tonight, had a strange issue. First, after switching on and refreshing the compass, it had a battery disconnected / communication error warning on screen. I switched off the drone, booted it back up, all then seemed fine, battery at 100%, then took off at 2.4Ghz, using my DJI Crystal Sky as the viewer (which I find to be far more stable than 3rd party phones and tablets), and onward to a position I wanted to photograph a gorgeous setting sun and low lying fog in mountain scenery here in Northern Spain. Everything was going fine, connection strong, clear line of sight, in Sport Mode flying out quickly to get it into position but once there, the battery suddenly went down to 0% (I can't remember what it had been, but at least 70%) and it wanted to land. RTH was also triggered, but, when doing nothing on the sticks it proceeded to descend, and it was over a kilometre out (over 1000 metres) , and the GO app was not allowing me to override RTH. However, I noticed I could gain ascent and directional control of the aircraft, and the next 5-6 minutes I was solely focused on getting the bird back. Eventually it got back (thankfully) with the battery still reading 0% and a flashing single light on the battery: and I immediately shut the drone down, took that battery out, and it was too dark to attempt to retry the mission.

Has anyone experienced such bizarre battery behaviour as this? Certainly not something I am used to on the P4 Pro. Before leaving the UK for Spain, ensured all firmware updates had been entirely refreshed, and GPS tonight - no issues: 18-20 satellites - clear LoS all the way... But a worry at least, because the last thing I need is a battery failing on me in the air.

Any helpers/ fellow victims or anyone received a DJI explanation or similar (I expect the latter to be most unlikely!)

Thanks very much - Craig (Nowelly)

 

[Starz]

May find something here?
Official DJI Mavic Air ***Owner's Thread*** - RC Groups

 

[JDawg]

I usually fly Phantoms, but, got a Mavic Air from the missus for Christmas which has been proving to be an ideal second drone for stealth and discretion especially. But, tonight, had a strange issue. First, after switching on and refreshing the compass, it had a battery disconnected / communication error warning on screen. I switched off the drone, booted it back up, all then seemed fine, battery at 100%, then took off at 2.4Ghz, using my DJI Crystal Sky as the viewer (which I find to be far more stable than 3rd party phones and tablets), and onward to a position I wanted to photograph a gorgeous setting sun and low lying fog in mountain scenery here in Northern Spain. Everything was going fine, connection strong, clear line of sight, in Sport Mode flying out quickly to get it into position but once there, the battery suddenly went down to 0% (I can't remember what it had been, but at least 70%) and it wanted to land. RTH was also triggered, but, when doing nothing on the sticks it proceeded to descend, and it was over a kilometre out (over 1000 metres) , and the GO app was not allowing me to override RTH. However, I noticed I could gain ascent and directional control of the aircraft, and the next 5-6 minutes I was solely focused on getting the bird back. Eventually it got back (thankfully) with the battery still reading 0% and a flashing single light on the battery: and I immediately shut the drone down, took that battery out, and it was too dark to attempt to retry the mission.

Has anyone experienced such bizarre battery behaviour as this? Certainly not something I am used to on the P4 Pro. Before leaving the UK for Spain, ensured all firmware updates had been entirely refreshed, and GPS tonight - no issues: 18-20 satellites - clear LoS all the way... But a worry at least, because the last thing I need is a battery failing on me in the air.

Any helpers/ fellow victims or anyone received a DJI explanation or similar (I expect the latter to be most unlikely!)

Thanks very much - Craig (Nowelly)

What does your flight log show is happening?

 

[Nowelly]

Just been reviewing the flight log and this is what happened :

1) 260 metres out from position I switched to Sport Mode, batt at 94% at this point, to get to my desired position quicker and beat sunset

2) lifted aircraft to max altitude (120 metres set) to maximise signal as I flew out beyond 1500 metres, signal was still good. 77% battery at this point

3) at 1900 metres sudden change: all propulsion slowed right down, battery read 72%, but then went to 0% immediately at that point. Message popped up: "critically low power, aircraft is landing" and something quickly about propulsion being cut off to preserve battery (propulsion output has been limited to preserve battery health)

4) RTH then kicked in, aircraft started descending. The aircraft actually descended to -57 m then said: "critically low power aircraft landing"

Bizarrely though, i managed to fly back, raise its nose and gain height above my start position and bring it back even though I could not override RTH or its desire to land!

What does your flight log show is happening?

 

[Nowelly]

Just been reviewing the flight log and this is what happened :

1) 260 metres out from position I switched to Sport Mode, batt at 94% at this point, to get to my desired position quicker and beat sunset

2) lifted aircraft to max altitude (120 metres set) to maximise signal as I flew out beyond 1500 metres, signal was still good. 77% battery at this point

3) at 1900 metres sudden change: all propulsion slowed right down, battery read 72%, but then went to 0% immediately at that point. Message popped up: "critically low power, aircraft is landing" and something quickly about propulsion being cut off to preserve battery (propulsion output has been limited to preserve battery health)

4) RTH then kicked in, aircraft started descending. The aircraft actually descended to -57 m then said: "critically low power aircraft landing"

Bizarrely though, i managed to fly back, raise its nose and gain height above my start position and bring it back even though I could not override RTH or its desire to land!

Does this mean Mavic Air has limits to how long you can use sport mode or how much stress the battery / motors will accept before protectionist measures start to kick in?

 

[Jackcutrone]

Don’t know about the air but on the pro some people have posted about the battery being not completely seated and giving some results as you describe. Otherwise either the ac or the battery is likely defective

 

[JSKCKNIT]

Reading several posts on this, it seems there's a batch of dumb smart batteries for the Mavic Air.

 

[JDawg]

Does this mean Mavic Air has limits to how long you can use sport mode or how much stress the battery / motors will accept before protectionist measures start to kick in?

Can you post your log?

 

[Nowelly]

Not in a position to do that here mate, sorry. Up in the mountains in Northern Spain at in-laws, no wifi, no Internet, and very ropey mobile network at the best of times.

Can you post your log?

 

[Nowelly]

...That's why I tried to describe the key events as accurately as possible on the mission!