Battery indicator on DJI Fly question/issue

[SoaringViking]

Hi,

It has been several weeks since flying. I made a small flight yesterday with no issues. I think at that point I was then prompted for a firmware update which I went ahead and did. Assume not a coincidence but since then I have tried to use 2 100% charged batteries and on the DJI Fly app they show as close to 100% charged but they always show 00:00:00 for flight time remaining. I actually haven't tried to takeoff/fly since was worried about a crash (was just when was getting dusk). Any ideas? Below shows what I am talking about with 98% battery but showing 0 time until RTH/Forced Landing/Battery Depleted.

Thanks!

 

[StantonZ]

Since we don't know what (if anything) the firmware update may have done, I think you're going to have to try and fly one (or both) of these batts and see what happens. I suppose you can stay "close to home", but you need some logs/data to look at. It's possible they need nothing more than a charge/discharge cycle to be "right" again.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I dont think it starts calculate until you take off .
Make sure also you batteries have been updated .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain.

 

[SoaringViking]

I dont think it starts calculate until you take off .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain.

Yea to be honest that is what I couldn't remember. I will try a take-off just to let it hover for a bit and see what it does. Thanks!

 

[Kilrah]

Remaining time depends on power consumption, so you need to be flying for it to know what the consumption is and display something.

 

[Pappy]

Battery remaining time will not be displayed until several seconds after takeoff. The remaining time will be continually updated as the MA2 is airborne. When you fly away from the home point the time will decrease depending on how quickly you fly away and conversely can actually remain the same or increase when flying back to the home point.

For me the top number "Until RTH" is the one I go by. I avoid the "until forced landing" time like the plague and never ever keep the MA2 in the air for "Until battery depleted".

 

[cien952]

Battery remaining time will not be displayed until several seconds after takeoff. The remaining time will be continually updated as the MA2 is airborne. When you fly away from the home point the time will decrease depending on how quickly you fly away and conversely can actually remain the same or increase when flying back to the home point.

For me the top number "Until RTH" is the one I go by. I avoid the "until forced landing" time like the plague and never ever keep the MA2 in the air for "Until battery depleted".

In case of physical degradation of the batteries, are these indications reliable? Or like Parrot Anafi, they do not take this degradation into account, and give false indications causing the drone to fall ? Thanks.

 

[Kilrah]

Yes it will take degradation into account, at least up to a point. You want to make a full cycle to the batteries every few months for the meter to learn the current real capacity.

 

[cien952]

Yes it will take degradation into account, at least up to a point. You want to make a full cycle to the batteries every few months for the meter to learn the current real capacity.

Thanks, please specify for me, how to do a "full cycle", sorry for my ignorance.

 

[Kilrah]

Fully discharge until the battery turns itself off, then full charge

 

[A.O.]

Fully discharge until the battery turns itself off, then full charge

Ok, how do you go about doing that without dropping the drone out of the sky? Sorry, new guy here.

 

[Pappy]

Ok, how do you go about doing that without dropping the drone out of the sky? Sorry, new guy here.

If you have the Fly More package, use the "Battery to Powerbank Adapter" and use it to power or charge usb devices until the battery is discharged. Or knowing that you have to fully discharge the battery on the next flight, just hover over the landing spot at the end of your flight until the drone forces a landing (you'll need to push and hold the left stick to keep it in the air until depleted).

 

[A.O.]

If you have the Fly More package, use the "Battery to Powerbank Adapter" and use it to power or charge usb devices until the battery is discharged. Or knowing that you have to fully discharge the battery on the next flight, just hover over the landing spot at the end of your flight until the drone forces a landing (you'll need to push and hold the left stick to keep it in the air until depleted).

Don't have the fly more package , but the other I can do , thanks

 

[DanMan32]

I would not routinely discharge the battery until it shuts down. To the point of forced landing is low enough.

 

[Kilrah]

Ok, how do you go about doing that without dropping the drone out of the sky? Sorry, new guy here.

Hover close to the ground to 10%, then land just leave the aircraft on until it turns off.

I would not routinely discharge the battery until it shuts down. To the point of forced landing is low enough.

Not routinely, but as I said once every few months.

I've had aircraft fly for several minutes with 0% battery displayed when that hasn't been done in a while and the meter is quite a bit out of cal, so long after the forced landing obviously.

 

[cien952]

Thanks, please specify for me, how to do a "full cycle", sorry for my ignorance.

O.K.,

Charge cycle​

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A charge cycle is the process of charging a rechargeable battery and discharging it as required into a load. The term is typically used to specify a battery's expected life, as the number of charge cycles affects life more than the mere passage of time. Discharging the battery fully before recharging may be called "deep discharge"; partially discharging then recharging may be called "shallow discharge".
Each charge cycle can depend on how long it takes to be completed.[clarification needed] Each battery is affected differently by charge cycles.
In general, number of cycles for a rechargeable battery indicates how many times it can undergo the process of complete charging and discharging until failure or it starting to lose capacity.[1][2][3][4]
Apple Inc. clarifies that a charge cycle means using all the battery's capacity, but not necessarily by discharging it from 100% to 0%: "You complete one charge cycle when you’ve used (discharged) an amount that equals 100% of your battery’s capacity — but not necessarily all from one charge. For instance, you might use 75% of your battery’s capacity one day, then recharge it fully overnight. If you use 25% the next day, you will have discharged a total of 100%, and the two days will add up to one charge cycle.
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Reading this, I understand that this type of battery, controls the charge cycle even between different charges. Now if that's what this thing is for, discharging everything and recharging ... it looks like a procedure, from the previous generation of batteries. After all, this type of battery is 'pompously' advertised, as having no 'addictions' to charging. Anyway, many 'hunches' and few certainties.
Does 'our smart battery' work like this?

 

[DanMan32]

Hover close to the ground to 10%, then land just leave the aircraft on until it turns off.


Not routinely, but as I said once every few months.

I've had aircraft fly for several minutes with 0% battery displayed when that hasn't been done in a while and the meter is quite a bit out of cal, so long after the forced landing obviously.

Monthly is routine. I wouldn't go that low that often. Actually don't do it intentionally at all. Down to 10% or so is low enough.

 

[Kilrah]

Monthly is routine.

What do you not understand about "every few months"?
I do it maybe after roughly half a year.

Down to 10% or so is low enough.

As explained above it's not, it doesn't help relearn the true battery capacity since the meter (rightly) goes pessimistic and will say "10%" gradually earlier with time with more and more of the actual battery capacity being below it.

 

[DanMan32]

Have you really recovered any flight time right after doing that?

The risk to me in damaging your battery outweighs the reward.

 

[Kilrah]

Yes a few minutes, but what matters most isn't the flight time but keeping an accurate reporting of the battery state. Most of the cases of "my battery fell from 40% to 0 in 30 seconds" incidents would be prevented by doing this.

There is no damaging the battery by doing that <10 times in the battery's entire life.