Mavic Batteries will not charge

[Rich Sugden M.D.]

I have a couple of Mavic Pro drones that I have not flown for a year … and, along w. other DJI drones, I’ve been going through and updating firmware… and charging batteries and test flying them. None of the five Mavic batteries will charge, either individually or on the 4 battery group charger. Before charging, or trying to, the batteries showed two lights. Plugging them in they show one light flashing for awhile, not necessarily the lowest light, then dark and the 4 place charger light goes from green to red. Leaving the batteries on charge for hours makes no difference …. I even tried a 12v charger … same result.

Have not had this problem w. ANY other DJI batteries.

Any ideas?

 

[Cafguy]

Unfortunately you may have killed your batteryies Did you fully charge your batteries in anticipation of storing them? If you did then the batteries have probably Died. These smart batteries don't really do what most people believe they do, For instance A lot of people think that since the smart batterie discharges on its own it is safe to fully charge them before storage. In my experience (and I go thru Dozens of batteries a year) the batteries will not discharge fast enough to avoid damage. and storing them at full charge will kill them or greatly shorten the number of cycles you will get from a battery. (I am assuming this is what you have done because you have not flown in a year.) those batteries are actually like a LIVING thing that need care. Putting them away for a few months without attention is a good way to destroy batteries- I hope you can sort out your battery problem but it will probably require replacement of your batteries-.
A few simple tips to follow
1. At takeoff only use a fully charged battery.
2. NEVER fly your batterie below 12 percent. 15 Percent is even better and is what i use.
3. ALWAYS store your batteries at 60 percent They make chargers that will charge your batteries to 60 percent and they are a GREAT investment I credit my batteries longevity to this step more than any other.
finally
4. store those batteries in a cool shady area Sunlight and heat are batterie killers.

 

[Rich Sugden M.D.]

Unfortunately you may have killed your batteryies Did you fully charge your batteries in anticipation of storing them? If you did then the batteries have probably Died. These smart batteries don't really do what most people believe they do, For instance A lot of people think that since the smart batterie discharges on its own it is safe to fully charge them before storage. In my experience (and I go thru Dozens of batteries a year) the batteries will not discharge fast enough to avoid damage. and storing them at full charge will kill them or greatly shorten the number of cycles you will get from a battery. (I am assuming this is what you have done because you have not flown in a year.) those batteries are actually like a LIVING thing that need care. Putting them away for a few months without attention is a good way to destroy batteries- I hope you can sort out your battery problem but it will probably require replacement of your batteries-.
A few simple tips to follow
1. At takeoff only use a fully charged battery.
2. NEVER fly your batterie below 12 percent. 15 Percent is even better and is what i use.
3. ALWAYS store your batteries at 60 percent They make chargers that will charge your batteries to 60 percent and they are a GREAT investment I credit my batteries longevity to this step more than any other.
finally
4. store those batteries in a cool shady area Sunlight and heat are batterie killers.

Well, may have been a false alarm ... I left one of the batteries on the single-battery charger overnight and voila .. fully charged .. so now will do the same for the rest ... Doesn't make sense that you have to store the battery at 60% if it is going to auto-discharge in a few days to 60% ... I think they're smarter than we think!!

 

[Cafguy]

glad you solved the problem
actually NO they will not auto discharge fast enough believe me. The biggest cause of short battery life is storing them at 100 percent. I have done this and you will dramatically cut the number of cycles you will get from a battery by doing so. I will say that my business flys at least 6 hours daily and we go thru batteries like they are candy. I can get a little over 200 cycles from a battery cared for correctly, but won't get close to that number with improper care.

 

[Rich Sugden M.D.]

There may be something unique about the Mavic Pro battery, as I've been storing DJI, and many other drones', batteries at 100% for as long as drones have been sold in the US .. and this is the first time I've had a problem. I've got some Phantom drones that I haven't flown for a several years and they charged right up ...

 

[Cafguy]

In my business I fly the mavic pro I have 3 One of them is a P Pro. Also Air 2S , Mavic mini 2 and some other different brand drones. not to say that it will always happen but try this: Keep a list of each battery and its amount of cycles. now take one battery and treat it as you always have, and one battery and use the tips above I can promise you will see a great improvement in your battery life Some people might never see much of a degradation in life by just always keeping them at 100 as someone who squeezes out every cycle I can from a Battery I can say that you will be buying more battery's than you need to by doing so. just my experience
Glad you got it all sorted though and Happy Flying!!!

 

[Rich Sugden M.D.]

Thanks ... I'll try it.

 

[moldorf]

DJI has a 'battery maintenance' page.

DJI Drone Battery Maintenance Guide

between my Mini 2 and Mini 3, I have 10 batteries to maintain. It actually takes a bit of work and a regular schedule. The only guide I have are the lights on the charger and it's pretty rough guesswork to calculate a 60% charge according to those lights; and I have to be around and observant.

I have before simply put batteries in a drone, turned the drone on and hovered to bring the charge down. I did this in my man cave this winter but still my wife complained about the buzz. He complains about everything though so for me, her complaint was just more buzz added to the drone

I also have a Mavic 3 with three batteries. Those are easier to maintain because they have a button that shows charge level. That button has a secondary function though.. If to double tap that button and hold down for 2-3 seconds on the 2nd tap it automatically goes into a discharge cycle. I let the batteries drop from 4 lights to 3 and let the set at 3 lights for a while. Then the same double tap to stop the discharge cycle

 

[moldorf]

glad you solved the problem
actually NO they will not auto discharge fast enough believe me. The biggest cause of short battery life is storing them at 100 percent. I have done this and you will dramatically cut the number of cycles you will get from a battery by doing so. I will say that my business flys at least 6 hours daily and we go thru batteries like they are candy. I can get a little over 200 cycles from a battery cared for correctly, but won't get close to that number with improper care.

DJI batteries are supposedly 'intelligent' batteries. Well, DJI should make intelligent chargers with a choice of cycles: 1) a charge cycle that reaches 100%; and a 2) charge/discharge cycle that reaches 60%. Two different buttons on the charger with 2 different purpose; one is flying and the other is storage

take the guesswork out of battery maintenance.

 

[Cafguy]

DJI batteries are supposedly 'intelligent' batteries. Well, DJI should make intelligent chargers with a choice of cycles: 1) a charge cycle that reaches 100%; and a 2) charge/discharge cycle that reaches 60%. Two different buttons on the charger with 2 different purpose; one is flying and the other is storage

take the guesswork out of battery maintenance.

I agree. also I can't for the life of me understand why they only provide chargers that charge one battery at a time instead of simultaneously Maybe somebodys relative works for the YX charger company ( the guys that make those type of chargers) and why they don't include a storage charge option on the charger is probably a decision to keep us buying those expensive batterys.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

There may be something unique about the Mavic Pro battery, as I've been storing DJI, and many other drones', batteries at 100%

Mavic pro / platinum batteries, like later ones, will auto discharge to around 55% after X days (anything from 2-10 days as set in the app).
I can’t recall what mine are set at, think 5 days.
The OP likely let them fully discharge to 0% gradually, and they bricked.
Bringing them back is often possible the way they did in the method mentioned, charging them on the single cable (no hub) and leaving it on 24 hrs, sometimes for a coupon of days.

Edit typo

 

[Cafguy]

Mavic pro / platinum batteries, like later ones, will auto discharge to around 55% after X days (anything from 2-10 days as set in the app).
I can’t recall what mine are set at, think 5 days.
The OP likely let them fully discharge to 0% gradually, and they bricked.
Bringing them back is often possible the way they did in the better mentioned, charging them on the single cable (no hub) and leaving it on 24 hrs, sometimes for a coupon fo days.

Didn't think about. That is very true. The OP should defiantly look into this

 

[3rdof5]

DJI has a 'battery maintenance' page.

DJI Drone Battery Maintenance Guide

between my Mini 2 and Mini 3, I have 10 batteries to maintain. It actually takes a bit of work and a regular schedule. The only guide I have are the lights on the charger and it's pretty rough guesswork to calculate a 60% charge according to those lights; and I have to be around and observant.

I have before simply put batteries in a drone, turned the drone on and hovered to bring the charge down. I did this in my man cave this winter but still my wife complained about the buzz. He complains about everything though so for me, her complaint was just more buzz added to the drone

I also have a Mavic 3 with three batteries. Those are easier to maintain because they have a button that shows charge level. That button has a secondary function though.. If to double tap that button and hold down for 2-3 seconds on the 2nd tap it automatically goes into a discharge cycle. I let the batteries drop from 4 lights to 3 and let the set at 3 lights for a while. Then the same double tap to stop the discharge cycle

 

[3rdof5]

DJI has a 'battery maintenance' page.

DJI Drone Battery Maintenance Guide

between my Mini 2 and Mini 3, I have 10 batteries to maintain. It actually takes a bit of work and a regular schedule. The only guide I have are the lights on the charger and it's pretty rough guesswork to calculate a 60% charge according to those lights; and I have to be around and observant.

I have before simply put batteries in a drone, turned the drone on and hovered to bring the charge down. I did this in my man cave this winter but still my wife complained about the buzz. He complains about everything though so for me, her complaint was just more buzz added to the drone

I also have a Mavic 3 with three batteries. Those are easier to maintain because they have a button that shows charge level. That button has a secondary function though.. If to double tap that button and hold down for 2-3 seconds on the 2nd tap it automatically goes into a discharge cycle. I let the batteries drop from 4 lights to 3 and let the set at 3 lights for a while. Then the same double tap to stop the discharge cycle

You can actually start the discharge cycle manually? This is the first time I've seen this.
You say a double tap and hold on the 2nd tap for 3 seconds. Is this when turning it on or off?

 

[LoudThunder]

I think they're smarter than we think!!

Did you check the actual charge by installing it in the drone and test flying it to see if you get the anticipated flight time...

Some of these batteries seem to act like they have reset their "fully charged" meters but they can now only hold a partial charge, but think they are "Fully Charged..."

When you test it, keep your drone close to home, you do not want to be over trees or water when the battery says, "Opps, my bad, I'm dead, Think I'll just lie down here..."