Unused LiPo battery is toast

[JeffreyS]

I bought another spare M3P battery a year or two ago and never needed it. Today I removed the plastic wrap and put it on the charger. Nothing. No lights. Dead. Is this typical of LiPo's that never get used? Is there a procedure to revive this thing?

 

[Cafguy]

It can happen BUT
Try charging the Battery in the drone to "activate" it.

 

[GFields]

Yes it can happen. I would follow Cafguy's advice to see it that works

 

[JeffreyS]

Yes it can happen. I would follow Cafguy's advice to see it that works

I guess so. I am trying to charge this old/new battery while it is in the drone using the DJI high powered power supply that plugs into the drone's USB-C. Nothing. I tried pressing the button in various sequences, holding it down, and tapping on it with a mallet. Nothing. I don't know if I can manually trigger a charge cycle or an 'activation'. I'll leave it for an hour to see if it just needs to charge longer to show any life. Not too hopeful.

 

[Droning on and on...]

It's likely unrecoverable.

2 years is long enough to passively self-discharge below the voltage the BMS considers viable, especially a new battery that was at storage voltage to begin with.

 

[JeffreyS]

Still, the battery should recognize the charging voltage and show minimum life. OK, so much for these DJI 'intelligent' batteries!

 

[Droning on and on...]

Still, the battery should recognize the charging voltage and show minimum life. OK, so much for these DJI 'intelligent' batteries!

No, it shouldn't. It's behaving exactly the way DJI batteries all do: if any cell is undervoltage (I think 3v) it will mark the module dead and behave that way – no sign of "life" at all – without disassembly, directly charging the individual cells to be above the cutoff voltage, and resetting the BMS.

The voltage from the charger goes to the BMS, doesn't get anywhere near the lithium cells. The BMS just ignores it if the pack is bad.

 

[Cafguy]

Don't touch, fiddle with, move, or even taunt the Battery for one hour. IF the Battery is not doing anything after the hour Unplug it and dispose of it properly. It is gone.
Stay with it while charging it!

 

[Droning on and on...]

Especially taunting... don't do that. Known precursor to flyaways.

 

[AlanL]

Especially taunting... don't do that. Known precursor to flyaways.

It can't fly away if it can't fly at all

 

[AlanL]

After reading through this thread I just put my least used spare battery in the charger. I never really appreciated what could happen with LiPo at 0%. It does make sense in hindsight.

Bummer about the battery Jeffrey. This sucks.

 

[JeffreyS]

Especially taunting... don't do that. Known precursor to flyaways.

Yeah, I had a few choice words for it, but I'm over it now. Bought TWO new replacements today.

 

[EyesWideShut]

Another example of why to Use it or Lose it!

 

[Cafguy]

They should last about 2 years in the OEM package. maybe a little more if your lucky. That is what I have been told anyways- All my extra Batteries come slightly used

 

[DARKSeifer]

Everything degrades over time, for most things it really doesn't matter if it's used or not. Programmed obsolescence, oxidation, moisture, UV, entropy…

Batteries tend to last more while being used, if the voltage drops, they die. LiPo, ion, Ni-Mh, acid, etc.