Smart Controller Self-Discharge

RussOnTheRoad · Feb 28, 2021

I'm wondering about the rate of self-discharge on the DJI Smart Controller. Mine seems to self-discharge much faster than the flight batteries for my Mavic 2 Zoom. I'm wondering if that is typical.

My flight batteries for the drone seem to sit happily for months discharging very little from the storage level, whereas the SC goes dead long before the flight batteries would. This has happened to me at least a couple or three times if I recall. Now I know Ineed to check the SC more frequently than the flight battteries.

What should I expect from the SC in terms of self-discharge? Is that which I am seeing typical?

lannes · Mar 1, 2021

Irrespective of the discharge rate, you should be charging it every 3 mths to maintain battery health.
If it discharges before then, you shouldn't leave it discharged for too long.

RussOnTheRoad · Mar 1, 2021

lannes said:
Irrespective of the discharge rate, you should be charging it every 3 mths to maintain battery health.
If it discharges before then, you shouldn't leave it discharged for too long.

View attachment 124858

Thanks for that. ?

JoG · Mar 8, 2021

I had my smart controller run out of batteries this weekend during flight; it was the first time I had something happen like this. I had checked battery level of the controller in the morning before flight by short press on the power button and it lit up 3lights and 1 blinking. So between 75 and 100% battery remaining so I thought.

But I had not used the SC for about 1-2months. 10min into the flight it just quit on me. My M2p was about 700m out.

At this point I sent my wife to our car with the SC so it could recharge and I hoped to regain control of the drone. But battery was not charging fast enough to turn it back on.

Luckily M2p triggerd return to home and it came back and landed safely.
I will never use the stupid light indicators to check battery level again. I'll definitely power on the controller to check real level.
Just a heads up for anyone using the SC. It drains a lot of battery when not in use and I suppose the light indicators keep showing the level from when it was last turned off.

lannes · Mar 10, 2021

JoG said:
I had my smart controller run out of batteries this weekend during flight; it was the first time I had something happen like this. I had checked battery level of the controller in the morning before flight by short press on the power button and it lit up 3lights and 1 blinking. So between 75 and 100% battery remaining so I thought.

But I had not used the SC for about 1-2months. 10min into the flight it just quit on me. My M2p was about 700m out.

At this point I sent my wife to our car with the SC so it could recharge and I hoped to regain control of the drone. But battery was not charging fast enough to turn it back on.

Luckily M2p triggerd return to home and it came back and landed safely.
I will never use the stupid light indicators to check battery level again. I'll definitely power on the controller to check real level.
Just a heads up for anyone using the SC. It drains a lot of battery when not in use and I suppose the light indicators keep showing the level from when it was last turned off.