Someone will be hurt if DJI doesn't change its Mavic 2 battery mounting clip

[Checki]

You will find when the battery does start to swell up , the rubber band will be of no help.

This is why the Seal on the Wet Suit all the way around the Battery is so effective.

Coal
Phantomrain.org

Uhm, sorry. You said SWELL UP?

then you should discard your battery and get a new one instead of force it into the device! That's just careless!

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Uhm, sorry. You said SWELL UP?

then you should discard your battery and get a new one instead of force it into the device! That's just careless!

 

[Phantomrain.org]

"
Checki said:
Uhm, sorry. You said SWELL UP?

then you should discard your battery and get a new one instead of force it into the device! That's just careless!




Yeah, its really easy to grab a battery not notice that there is a slight bulge and for it to pop the clip and disconnect.

One of the reasons why we made the Battery covers for the battery is because the Power buttons our prone to letting moisture in the battery.

So no one is going to try and force a swollen battery in , especially once they see what happens when that battery gets perforated, you will run for your life, the smoke alone could kill you not to mention the shooting flames .

We advise to protect the battery and understand that when the battery does swell it can pop the clip and the rubber band will be of little help, So its not so much about being careless as you need to protect your batteries which the wet suit does very effectively .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly you Mavic in the Rain
Coal

 

[GadgetGuy]

Why not just use a thick rubber band? Just move it out of the way to change battery, then slide it back in position... Cheap and working.

The rubber band will keep the battery from falling out, but won't stop it from disconnecting electrically as it swells. You need a strap/with little or no elasticity. Either heavy rubber or a velcro strap, or gaffers tape.

 

[GadgetGuy]

"
Checki said:
Uhm, sorry. You said SWELL UP?

then you should discard your battery and get a new one instead of force it into the device! That's just careless!




Yeah, its really easy to grab a battery not notice that there is a slight bulge and for it to pop the clip and disconnect.

One of the reasons why we made the Battery covers for the battery is because the Power buttons our prone to letting moisture in the battery.

So no one is going to try and force a swollen battery in , especially once they see what happens when that battery gets perforated, you will run for your life, the smoke alone could kill you not to mention the shooting flames .

We advise to protect the battery and understand that when the battery does swell it can pop the clip and the rubber band will be of little help, So its not so much about being careless as you need to protect your batteries which the wet suit does very effectively .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly you Mavic in the Rain
Coal

The swelling batteries swell even more during use from the heat. What looks like acceptably flat at launch can become a really bowed bottom within a few minutes of flight, and will pop the clips, leading to an electrical disconnect, and falling from the sky, even if the battery doesn't fall out until impact.

 

[Phil Brinkman]

I agree that the battery lock should be better - but what do you mean when you say 'evidently'?
Did you see the battery pop out?

Just have to assume that because of the wonky way it went in and the slight gap between the battery and the fuselage. I didn't see it pop out; I briefly was looking at my controller. But it was in the sky in my field of view one second and, 2 seconds later, it was gone.

 

[gnirtS]

The rubber band will keep the battery from falling out, but won't stop it from disconnecting electrically as it swells. You need a strap/with little or no elasticity. Either heavy rubber or a velcro strap, or gaffers tape.

Yep, duct tape is the only real method that "works".
I did some tests with my initial 3 all swelling batteries. With an elastic band or anything stretchy the battery will still dislodge enough to electrically disconnect even if it doesnt fall out.
I could replicate this 100% of the time by lightly shaking the drone (so far less forces than it'd get from wind and standard flight moves).

Even with duct tape 2 out of my 3 batteries swell so much the side of the drone case bulges causing a disconnect so tape cant help there. It will however help a small case.

*Anything* thats flexible be that a band, neoprene from those ridiculous suit things and so on wont address the problem of the electrical contact being broken.

My batteries 1 and 3 ive binned as they're swollen constantly and unusable. My battery 2 looks on the outside a perfectly normal battery size wise BUT swells massively after 1-2 minutes of flight. Therefore its my firmware update/ground test unit only.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Yep, duct tape is the only real method that "works".
I did some tests with my initial 3 all swelling batteries. With an elastic band or anything stretchy the battery will still dislodge enough to electrically disconnect even if it doesnt fall out.
I could replicate this 100% of the time by lightly shaking the drone (so far less forces than it'd get from wind and standard flight moves).

Even with duct tape 2 out of my 3 batteries swell so much the side of the drone case bulges causing a disconnect so tape cant help there. It will however help a small case.

*Anything* thats flexible be that a band, neoprene from those ridiculous suit things and so on wont address the problem of the electrical contact being broken.

My batteries 1 and 3 ive binned as they're swollen constantly and unusable. My battery 2 looks on the outside a perfectly normal battery size wise BUT swells massively after 1-2 minutes of flight. Therefore its my firmware update/ground test unit only.

Your wrong about that : The Neoprene Wet Suit covers Seal with and strong Adhesive the locks in the Battery , this was seals out the Rain and you cannot pull it off unless you break the seal.

Considering how many flights we have in the Pouring Rain this year and the fact that the batteries do not swell, were in pretty good shape.

So anyone that has the Wet Suit will tell you unless they break the seal they cannot pull off the battery nor will it budge.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain !
Coal

 

[gnirtS]

You continue to peddle your snake oil. Neoprene quite simply is flexible and will not hold a battery to prevent electrical disconnection (as well as causing far more stress on the components through overheating).

Breaking a seal has nothing to do with preventing movement internally but then you already know that but wont admit it.

 

[Gray52]

A simple tug on the battery will save you battery from coming out. You also get a warning on your screen about the battery not inserted properly. Had this just before I was about to take off, pushed down on the battery and heard the click.

 

[gnirtS]

A simple tug on the battery will save you battery from coming out. You also get a warning on your screen about the battery not inserted properly. Had this just before I was about to take off, pushed down on the battery and heard the click.

Not when they, like lots of M2 batteries are doing, swell when warm. A tug wont help that.

 

[Jazzy Joe]

I use a massive reusable ziptie. It is as strong as it gets (no play at all), and super light.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I use a massive reusable ziptie. It is as strong as it gets (no play at all), and super light.

View attachment 96697View attachment 96698

At some point, with no place else to release the pressure, the circuit boards inside would be at risk of cracking. I have had phones and even an Apple Watch break open from expanding internal LiPos from heat while charging, which is comparable to heat from discharging from use in flight in an aircraft. Best used for ground based operations only.

 

[owg666]

Speaking of swelling batteries. I have 4 of them. A repair ticket is created with DJI and they're going back shortly for inspection. All from 2018. I had my M2P land with one battery clip up. I was lucky. Those batteries got retired quick. Have since bought 4 new ones. Hopefully DJI will replace the 4 swelled batteries also.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Speaking of swelling batteries. I have 4 of them. A repair ticket is created with DJI and they're going back shortly for inspection. All from 2018. I had my M2P land with one battery clip up. I was lucky. Those batteries got retired quick. Have since bought 4 new ones. Hopefully DJI will replace the 4 swelled batteries also.

Please keep us posted on the status of the replacement by DJI.

 

[owg666]

Please keep us posted on the status of the replacement by DJI.

Will do !!!

 

[Baqca Sanke]

Okay am i just ignorant.... ime your batteries should not be swelling at all. If i had batteries swelling that much i’d be tossing them in the reclycing..... not taping them to my bird jesus that sounds so ragasd. Esp for a 1500$ drone

 

[bfine]

After my Mavic 2 Pro fell from the sky at 122 feet because the battery had evidently come loose, I went looking for others who experienced the same thing. It's shocking the number of people who have had the same experience. In some cases, the battery has buckled; in others, the tabs have become loose. But the common thread seems to be a fatal design flaw that DJI has so far shown no inclination to fix: The springs intended to provide pressure on the tabs to hold the battery against the body of the drone get "mushy" over time. This can can cause the tabs to slip out of their slots, disconnecting the battery and turning your drone into a 2-pound brick.

The folks at drone-retriever.com appear to have put their finger on the problem here. From that post: "The metal used for the spring section of the retention design is NOT made of spring steel but rather is made of plain steel. If the battery retention clips are deflected beyond their design point they will not provide adequate tension against the plastic locking mechanism on the drone body which could easily cause the battery to disengage."

In hindsight, I'm certain that's what happened in my case. Before my flight, the tab on the right side of the battery did not provide the usual, satisfying "click" indicating it had properly snapped into place. I took it out, examined the battery, determined it was not buckled, and checked to make sure there was no foreign matter in the battery compartment. I put it back in, and this time both tabs clicked, but the sound was softer than usual and -- this should have been a huge red flag -- the back of the battery was sitting just proud of the body of the aircraft, by about a millimeter. But all systems appeared otherwise normal, so I took off. About a minute and a half into my flight over an empty parking lot, the drone just dropped from the sky.

Thanks to my DJI Care Refresh+, I was able to replace the drone and battery. But the bigger concern is, what is DJI going to do to fix this very obvious safety hazard? Already, you can see lots of people resorting to velcro straps and zip ties as a belt-and-suspenders fix. I see at least one company is also selling this after-market battery holder, but I haven't seen any reviews of it yet. These are ridiculous solutions to ensure your $1,500 flying camera can perform its first job, which is to stay in the air.

This does not appear to be a problem on new batteries at all. The replacement battery I got snaps into place much more sharply, and it takes more pressure to depress the tabs. But the tabs on my two remaining batteries, which are about a year old, have the same soft feel. It's simply unreasonable to a.) expect Mavic owners to replace their costly and perfectly good batteries once a year, and b.) know with certainty when the tabs on their batteries have become too deflected to safely fly.

After landing and doing a post flight inspection I was horrified what I found, the battery on one side had come unclipped. I did a search however didn't fine your post until searching further. Luckily I found this before it dropped from the sky! Now I have to find a solution and how to report this to DJI.

 

[bfine]

In my case , no they are not swelling

Okay am i just ignorant.... ime your batteries should not be swelling at all. If i had batteries swelling that much i’d be tossing them in the reclycing..... not taping them to my bird jesus that sounds so ragasd. Esp for a 1500$ drone

 

[GadgetGuy]

In my case , no they are not swelling

Then why is it unclipped? Without the swelling, a failure in the clip is highly unlikely to lead to the separation you depict. If it is only the clip, and there is no swelling, a little gaffers tape across the two surfaces will replace the failed clip, and prevent separation during flight, and prevent a battery disconnect in flight. Different issue. Easy fix. If you failed to properly clip in BOTH sides before flight, that is pilot error. Both sides must be securely clipped before flight.