Mavic crashlanded in water!!!

[Hauptmann]

Yesterday PM while flying my Mavic with low battery, it crashlanded in a shallow pond. It was submerged for about 5 minutes. When I got home, I used my air compressor to blow water out of all openings. I've been advised to remove the battery, flush the drone out with distilled water, flush again with isopropyl alcohol, then allow it to dry for a few days before replacing the battery and attempting flight.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated!!!

 

[Thwyllo]

How low was the battery exactly? That's not a chance to snipe by the way, just want to avoid the same problem. Hope it all dries out ok. How deep was it?!

 

[Thwyllo]

Oh...and the rice thing.

 

[Former Member]

Any other suggestions would be appreciated!!!

When you say crash landed, did it land due to critical battery, or did it land and crash as well? Do you happen to have DJI Refresh or any other type of insurance? If not, your warranty is probably void due to the submersion, so you can be more aggressive in trying to dry it out. I dont use rice because it leaves a white residue all over your components, and takes a long time to remove it after it dries. Here is what I would do:

1. Unfold the Mavics arms
2. Take the battery out
3. Take off the top body and bottom cover (heat sink).
4. Use a can of compressed air computer cleaner to blow off the components. I dont use my big compressor because sometimes it has moisture or other contaminants in the air spray. Blow off the FC ESC board until you dont see any moisture. Disconnect any connectors on the board and blow them out on both sides of the cable. Blow out the micro usb port and blow out the fan.
5. Flip it over and blow out the core board from the bottom. Disconnect all the core board connectors, 3 screws, remove the board and blow it off on both sides. Then blow off the FC board from the bottom.
6. Disconnect the 4 gimbal PCB ribbon cables and blow them out.
7. Blow out the gimbal best you can, but if you see any moisture inside the camera lens, you will need to take it apart.
8. Check the battery for external moisture and blow it off, especially the contact points. Press the battery power button before putting it back in the drone, make sure you get indicator lights. If the lights indicate a normal charge level, throw it on a charger until fully charged. DO NOT put it back in the drone before you do this.
9. After the battery has charged and you have it all put back together, put the battery in and try to power it up. If you see or smell any smoke, pull the battery out asap.

Not an easy task, but it will take an hour or two vs let it sit for a few days in rice. You will also be able to visually inspect all the components for damage and moisture.

The good news is that the survival rate in a fresh water submersion is much higher than a salt water submersion.

Please keep the forum posted with your progress and good luck!

 

[MALJ]

Hi, water and electronic does not work together. My MP suddenly wanted to taken a swim in our pool!? I got it out after just a few secunds and remowed the batteri. Now I get an ESC error and a new board is on it's way. Now, searching after simular on the net I found a lot of info that will help BUT no info about ESD(Electro Static Disharge) when working with electronic. I worked as manager within an global company and we had to have everthing from person and tools and benches grounded so NO electrostatic should harm the components. I see scilled peopel in this forum handling pcb's without ESD protection, WHY??