Repair of Mavic Mini.

[Jaandoui]

Hello everyone,
I got my drone Mavic Mini to salt water for less than 20 secondes. Well i washed it with fresh water, dried it in rice for 48h and turned it on. It turned on and the 4 motors seems to be working. But the camera on the app doesnt seem to be working and the battery is a bit warm and the indicator of the battery level isnt working correctly ( i dont know if there is any other problem ). And i want to repair it ( i bought it 1 month ago ).
I would like to have a general idea about the costs. How much will it cost me to repair it at DJI ?
Thank you guys !!

 

[Lastrexking]

Don't try the battery again - it's very dangerous to try a battery that has water damage.

As for the cost - only DJI can tell you that.

 

[bumper]

You washed it in "fresh water"? While that's okay for a *first* wash, if distilled water isn't available, the drone should not be powered up until it is submerged and thoroughly rinsed with distilled water and dried. Distilled water is an insulator . . . fresh water, due to the dissolved solids, is a conductor of electricity and will cause electrolysis (corrosion) of adjacent parts on circuit boards etc.

The drill is, remove battery immediately after submersion in water (salt water is the worst, but "fresh" water is bad too - just takes longer for damage to occur). Submerge with whatever fresh water you have until you can submerge in distilled water. Do not power up until it is thoroughly dry, inside and out.

This would apply to the battery as well. Just don't leave it around anything combustible in the process. Damage to the battery will occur very quickly as the cells will basically be shorted by the impure water.

 

[lannes]

I think you have to resign your self that it is a lost cause, salt water is very corrosive and once it gets under the conformal circuit board coating it's about over

The salts under the coating will remain after drying and these will continue to corrode

 

[Jaandoui]

Don't try the battery again - it's very dangerous to try a battery that has water damage.

As for the cost - only DJI can tell you that.

No i used another battery which isnt damaged.

 

[Jaandoui]

You washed it in "fresh water"? While that's okay for a *first* wash, if distilled water isn't available, the drone should not be powered up until it is submerged and thoroughly rinsed with distilled water and dried. Distilled water is an insulator . . . fresh water, due to the dissolved solids, is a conductor of electricity and will cause electrolysis (corrosion) of adjacent parts on circuit boards etc.

The drill is, remove battery immediately after submersion in water (salt water is the worst, but "fresh" water is bad too - just takes longer for damage to occur). Submerge with whatever fresh water you have until you can submerge in distilled water. Do not power up until it is thoroughly dry, inside and out.

This would apply to the battery as well. Just don't leave it around anything combustible in the process. Damage to the battery will occur very quickly as the cells will basically be shorted by the impure water.

Thanks for your answer. I really dont have distilled water where i am. I actually see that the drone situation is stable now, no more corrosion. Its completely dry. What is damaged was damaged during those 20 secondes apparently.
Any ideas about the costs of repair ?

 

[Jaandoui]

I think you have to resign your self that it is a lost cause, salt water is very corrosive and once it gets under the conformal circuit board coating it's about over

The salts under the coating will remain after drying and these will continue to corrode

As explained, i washed it in fresh water to suppress any remaining salt.

 

[bumper]

Understand that there will still be residue inside the drone on circuit boards and in connectors etc, as the tap water dried it left those impurities behind. This residue can conduct with humidity in the air, causing short circuits, or at a minimum, high resistance leakage.

Sending it in for repair is one option. Another is to dunk that puppy in distilled water, shake, drain, repeat several times. Then drain and dry thoroughly, really well with desiccant before powering up and testing. If it still fails, then send it for repair or replace.

 

[Deleted member 114292]

Thanks for your answer. I really dont have distilled water where i am. I actually see that the drone situation is stable now, no more corrosion. Its completely dry. What is damaged was damaged during those 20 secondes apparently.
Any ideas about the costs of repair ?

I’d really be interested to know where you live I’ve never heard of any place where there are no supermarkets which is where you can get distilled water.

 

[Jack43]

Hello everyone,
I got my drone Mavic Mini to salt water for less than 20 secondes. Well i washed it with fresh water, dried it in rice for 48h and turned it on. It turned on and the 4 motors seems to be working. But the camera on the app doesnt seem to be working and the battery is a bit warm and the indicator of the battery level isnt working correctly ( i dont know if there is any other problem ). And i want to repair it ( i bought it 1 month ago ).
I would like to have a general idea about the costs. How much will it cost me to repair it at DJI ?
Thank you guys !!

Hi,
I had more or less the same problem, but my mini was in to freshwater. The repair cost was 83Euro! (91US $)
cheers, Paul

 

[BushWacker]

If you are in such a remote area that you can't buy distilled water at a local supermarket you can always boil water and capture the steam which is what distilling is.