MM submerged

[cbstec]

So I crashed my MM today and it landed into water, got to it quick and shook as much water out as possible, took out the battery and tried to dry it as best I could, (still not sure if it was operator error or not).
Anyway tried putting back the battery after about 10 minutes and it powered up. But when I tried to fly it showed a power system error and wouldn’t fly. Got home now and tried it again, it appear the wet battery is not working ( flashing lights in the charger) and with a new battery the MM will not power up at all.
Any suggestions?, what are my options to repair/replace?

 

[ff22]

Bag of desiccant. Place in front of fan moving air over and through it. Electronics should not be powered back on until you are pretty sure it is really dry.

Good luck

 

[old man mavic]

if it was fresh water you may be able to save it, as said above you need to dry it out for some time to make sure there is no more moisture in side of it,the battery will most likely be damaged so dont use it again

 

[lannes]

wash/dunk in distilled water a few times after removing battery, then dry as suggested by ff22.

dry for a few days at least.

 

[Airbeaver]

You would have had a better chance if you waited longer then 10 minutes after getting it wet to try it out again. You should have left it for days, not minutes. Would be very surprised if it's ok and you will probably need it replaced.

 

[bumper]

Distilled water, as lannes suggests.

It is a major no-no to power up the drone while still wet. ALL water, except pure, distilled water, will conduct electricity based on how much dissolved solids it contains. Internal circuits are shorted and with power on, electrolysis (corrosion) can occur between connector pins inside plugs and between circuit board traces.

Sea water is the worst you will normally encounter (unless you make a habit of flying over sewage treatment plants ). So the drill is to flush, shake out, and flush again with distilled until it's really clean . . . then dry for a good long time with desiccant (dry rice works, but silica gel is best, though most people won't have enough of that handy).

 

[WithTheBirds]

Distilled water, as lannes suggests.

It is a major no-no to power up the drone while still wet. ALL water, except pure, distilled water, will conduct electricity based on how much dissolved solids it contains. Internal circuits are shorted and with power on, electrolysis (corrosion) can occur between connector pins inside plugs and between circuit board traces.

Sea water is the worst you will normally encounter (unless you make a habit of flying over sewage treatment plants ). So the drill is to flush, shake out, and flush again with distilled until it's really clean . . . then dry for a good long time with desiccant (dry rice works, but silica gel is best, though most people won't have enough of that handy).

Placing the item near an AC outlet (on cool cycle) is the best readily available means of removing moisture quickly.

Rice is next to useless- one of the most encountered old wives takes in the electronics field.

 

[pauljmuk]

Placing the item near an AC outlet (on cool cycle) is the best readily available means of removing moisture quickly.

Rice is next to useless- one of the most encountered old wives takes in the electronics field.

I don't believe rice is useless. Saying that as someone who dropped an earlier version iPhone in a sink of water to the point you could pour water out of it - totally dead, bubbles in the screen. Patience is all it took - 4 weeks totally submerged in fresh dry rice in a sealed container. Worked fine with only a couple of tiny small marks in the screen. Went on to be used as a phone as long as you'd expect any other phone to be used.

I also collect all those sachets of silica gel you get with some products and have a box full - hyper absorbent too. If something similar happens to me again, it will be a mix of rice and silica gel packets (i've got hundreds!!)

 

[WithTheBirds]

I don't believe rice is useless. Saying that as someone who dropped an earlier version iPhone in a sink of water to the point you could pour water out of it - totally dead, bubbles in the screen. Patience is all it took - 4 weeks totally submerged in fresh dry rice in a sealed container. Worked fine with only a couple of tiny small marks in the screen. Went on to be used as a phone as long as you'd expect any other phone to be used.

I also collect all those sachets of silica gel you get with some products and have a box full - hyper absorbent too. If something similar happens to me again, it will be a mix of rice and silica gel packets (i've got hundreds!!)

My claim was next to useless- to add clarity I am saying that there are many alternatives to dry uncooked rice that significantly outperform it as a means to removing moisture from electronics. Placing the item in the airflow of an AC outiet is one.

Edit- this might be if interest How We Drowned Nine Phones and Found The Truth About Rice

Found it just now with a simple google search I performed in the interest of ensuring I wasn’t giving misleading information. I gave up on rice early in my endeavours of tackling moisture ingress with electronics.

I have found disassembly followed by fresh water wash and submersion in IPA bath gives a very good outcome. The biggest challenge in have has was a MacBook that had a pint of Guinness enter through the keyboard (a deliberate act to kill it). That mainboard went in the dishwasher before the ipa bath. The optical drive couldn’t be rescued however it was still functioning several years later.

 

[pauljmuk]

My claim was next to useless- to add clarity I am saying that there are many alternatives to dry uncooked rice that significantly outperform it as a means to removing moisture from electronics. Placing the item in the airflow of an AC outiet is one.

Suppose it depends on the turnaround speed you want. I was in no rush so just left it there for an age. Wasn't quick! But rice IS super absorbent!

Yes though, am sure there are other ways - and equally, silica gel is massively more absorbent than rice. It's just that, rice is something most people have to hand in every home (I'm in UK - nobody has AC over here)

 

[WithTheBirds]

Suppose it depends on the turnaround speed you want. I was in no rush so just left it there for an age. Wasn't quick! But rice IS super absorbent!

Yes though, am sure there are other ways - and equally, silica gel is massively more absorbent than rice. It's just that, rice is something most people have to hand in every home (I'm in UK - nobody has AC over here)

Well you probably have couscous or oatmeal handy if you don’t have a cat.....

All I am saying is that rice has an unearned reputation with respect to any magical qualities as a desiccant.

 

[pauljmuk]

Yes fair point - but in a pinch - they all work, and rice DID work (I don't have a cat).

 

[m80116]

MM IFB are quite well sealed. I suggest you take the adhesive tag off and let it dry after shaking out the possible water ingress.

As for the MM it should be fine if it was just for a short period of time under water... there are anyway several shields into which the water eventually gets into. Depending on the minerals dissolved into the water they can leave quite a residue behind, that might continue to corrode the electronics with time and humidity (aided by electricity).

If you have the possibility rinse the drone with isopropyl alcohol spray to displace the water and spray de-oxidant afterwards.

Both MM and IFB have water sensitive stickers so your warranty is now voided. I'd expect a battery to die for a prolonged contact with water (the bms IC) despite the cells being still perfectly fine.

 

[lannes]

If all else fails maybe try some deox-it after opening the bodyshell and disconnecting some of the ribbon connectors, spray inside connectors and on contacts etc.

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how to open MM

DJI Mavic Mini teardown and rebuild video with step-by-step instructions

Check out this DJI Mavic Mini tear-down and rebuilt video if you have a minute and are interested in the inner workings of DJI's latest drone.

dronedj.com

 

[cbstec]

Thanks for all the advice!, didn’t expect this to be a deep dive into the drying qualities of rice!!
Anyway, I’m travelling so didn’t have access to all the wonderful stuff you have suggested, I suspended lithe mm over an incandescent light bulb for a few hours and this morning it is working fine. By the way it was clean water. The battery is still flashing in the charger so suspect it’s screwed, but will give it a few days. This forum is an excellent resource, thanks again!!

 

[unionglzr]

wash/dunk in distilled water a few times after removing battery, then dry as suggested by ff22.

dry for a few days at least.

put in rice

 

[unionglzr]

So I crashed my MM today and it landed into water, got to it quick and shook as much water out as possible, took out the battery and tried to dry it as best I could, (still not sure if it was operator error or not).
Anyway tried putting back the battery after about 10 minutes and it powered up. But when I tried to fly it showed a power system error and wouldn’t fly. Got home now and tried it again, it appear the wet battery is not working ( flashing lights in the charger) and with a new battery the MM will not power up at all.
Any suggestions?, what are my options to repair/replace?

putting battery back in that quickly not good

 

[Capt KO]

Very glad you got it working congratulations. ?
And thanks for posting your solution.

 

[tasselcarey]

I had a crash today. Dried MM with two blow dryers (one blowing at gimble and one through open battery door) for about 1 hr. Should I drop in rice? Or just leave it out for a day to try before checking? Any ideas help.

 

[WithTheBirds]

I had a crash today. Dried MM with two blow dryers (one blowing at gimble and one through open battery door) for about 1 hr. Should I drop in rice? Or just leave it out for a day to try before checking? Any ideas help.

Leaving it out will dry faster than using rice..... Rice is almost useless as a desiccant.