2 Out Of 3 Batteries Drain FAAAAAAST!

[seowashdc]

Two out of three batteries drain like you cannot believe. I slap one of them in, fire up the bird, lift off, and you can literally watch the display wind down from 100% to 30% in about two minutes. Literally.

I am using the DY5, and the read out shows balanced cells while charging. Each battery charges to 100% over a few hours, but like I say, when you put one in and light it off...

The only reason why I don't suspect a power drain in the H520 itself is because my one remaining battery is a trooper - gives me at least 20-some minutes on each outing.

Any thoughts or suggestions about what else I might do to save them? When I charge them up, they don't get hot; maybe slightly warm. With the display showing all cell voltages, I can't see the wisdom in using a voltmeter to see what it reads.

FWIW, I'm at or below sea level here on the Chesapeake Bay. We've had boiling hot days with high humidity, but I don't go out much in that weather because it's not worth it.

I'm thinking that two batteries just are dead, and I'll need to get at least two more.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Dang...

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

The one factor that you are not monitoring, likely has your answer... The DY5 while a good charger, does not show you Internal Resistance (IR). It is likely that one or more of the individual cells in each of those batteries has a significantly higher IR. That can be seen in the rapid decrease in percentage. The power is technically there, but it gets used up as heat, not voltage.

Unfortunately higher IR = increased heat = accelerated chemical processes that result in swelling, indicating the time to retire.

You need to do one of two options:

A) Continue using the DY5 charger. If you choose option A, you will need to purchase the cable adapters below and a small LiPo battery tester that can give you IR measurement.

Typhoon 520/H Plus Battery Cables

Tenergy 5-in-1 Battery Tester

or B) Get a 3rd party charger that will provide all the functions of the DY5 and easily give you the additional IR information you need... and you can use that charger on any other brand/model of RC that you might use as well. You will need the same battery cables listed above... and the charger listed below is a good choice, among others:

Hitec X2 AC Plus Black

 

[seowashdc]

Thanks so much. I did physically inspect the batteries for swelling, and can't see any, but in this case that doesn't mean anything.

So I'll go with option A.

Thanks so much for your detailed answer,

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

When you get those, post your individual cell IR for each battery... the numbers will tell if you need to replace. If one is still not too bad off, you could keep it but designate it a non-flight battery... for FW updates, calibrations, sitting on the ground to get the GPS almanac downloaded.

 

[seowashdc]

Sigh...I hope this isn't something defective in all H520 batteries that I'm going to have to set a budget each year to swap them out.

And the only thing analyzing IR is good for is to do trend analysis on when batteries are failing.

 

[biltno]

When you get those, post your individual cell IR for each battery... the numbers will tell if you need to replace. If one is still not too bad off, you could keep it but designate it a non-flight battery... for FW updates, calibrations, sitting on the ground to get the GPS almanac downloaded.

I know this topic has been addressed before but maybe there is something new I’m not aware of. I have a q500 4K and an H.
I need to get a charger that will fit the bill for everything including storage mode. Will I need 2 chargers?

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

And the only thing analyzing IR is good for is to do trend analysis on when batteries are failing.

It all comes down to how deeply an individual wants dive into into the various aspects of this hobby of ours. I salt water soaked 3 H batteries over a 15 month period... it became financially undesirable to continue to ignore the need for increased monitoring.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

I know this topic has been addressed before but maybe there is something new I’m not aware of. I have a q500 4K and an H.
I need to get a charger that will fit the bill for everything including storage mode. Will I need 2 chargers?

No, if you get a charger like the Hitec mentioned above, you only need the one unit to charge both kinds of batteries... you will just need the 2 different charge cables to accommodate each model's battery. As well, this charger can charge 2 batteries at once... which batteries depend on which cable is used.

 

[biltno]

No, if you get a charger like the Hitec mentioned above you, only need the one unit to charge both kinds of batteries... you will just need the 2 different charge cables to accommodate each model's battery. As well, this charger can charge 2 batteries at once... which batteries depend on which cable is used.

Sounds good thanks for the info.

 

[seowashdc]

Well, every time I take my birds out, I learn something new.

For grins and giggles, I charged up the two bricks to about 90%. I decided to try them one more time.

I got to my location and set every thing up. For the one bad battery, I noticed that while I pushed it in until I heard a click, I could still see a gap. I took the heel of my hand and put some *** into it, and the battery did another hard click into place.

So I got to wondering if this has been the issue all along.

I fired up the RC, lit off the bird, lifted off to about 20 feet, and let it settle for a minute. No battery drain.

So I figured, what the ****, fly the thing.

Sometimes I cannot believe the things that work. Sure enough, I haven't really been locking the battery all in the way to the internal plug. For this allegedly bad battery, I got 21 minutes of flying time.

Since I was on a roll, I took the other supposedly bricked battery and inserted it, using the heel of my hand to push steady and hard. Sure enough, it clicked loudly into place with no gap.

So I launched again with the battery charged up to about 98% and got about 23 minutes out of it.

Doh!!!! Trouble between the headset, pilot error, you name it.

So now I am charging them both up to 100% and hopefully I'll get a chance to flight test them fully before the remnants of Hurricane Michael supposedly dumps up to 4" of rain on us later this week.

That being said, all the diagnostic equipment I'm getting will still come in handy.

Many thanks to those of you who responded.

Doh!

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

Very glad you got that nailed down, and VERY glad that you did not have a mid-flight loss of power, which results in a "fall from the sky" event. Slap that puppy in like a magazine.

 

[seowashdc]

Yup, and I should know better, having used the Army M-16 for four years and the first thing the firing range instructor says is to seat that $%%^^&* magazine hard.

 

[seowashdc]

Update on this issue:

It does appear I have two bricked batteries. I went out two days ago after fully charging all 3 batteries, and the same two went from 100% to 30% in a couple minutes.

i charged them up again, and pulled them out this morning. The two suspect batteries are a little bit warm to the touch, while the good one is stone cold.

In addition, holding up the bad batteries next to the good one and doing visual comparison, each of the bad batteries is slightly - ever so slightly - swollen in the gray area on both sides, while the good one is perfectly flat with the orange area.

Looks like I'm getting new batteries after all...

 

[arruntus]

Update on this issue:

It does appear I have two bricked batteries. I went out two days ago after fully charging all 3 batteries, and the same two went from 100% to 30% in a couple minutes.

i charged them up again, and pulled them out this morning. The two suspect batteries are a little bit warm to the touch, while the good one is stone cold.

In addition, holding up the bad batteries next to the good one and doing visual comparison, each of the bad batteries is slightly - ever so slightly - swollen in the gray area on both sides, while the good one is perfectly flat with the orange area.

Looks like I'm getting new batteries after all...

You should think about what you've done with those batteries to get to this point. I mean, how did you store them? fully charged? Have you let them rest enough after a discharge and before you put them back on charge? Have you ever left them inside the car with a lot of heat? etc...

Minimal maintenance, of the errors unfortunately we learn quickly and when it is too late. This type of batteries are very dangerous and delicate at the same time. More than anything, so that it does not happen to you again and in any case to discard that they were defective of factory.

If it is the case that you have made some of those mistakes, welcome to the club, I am the first to make them and now I take care of them with much care, especially for the price they have

 

[AH-1G]

We'll on the bright side, being involved with this type of hobby, money isn't an issue.

 

[arruntus]

We'll on the bright side, being involved with this type of hobby, money isn't an issue.

You made me laugh, thank you

 

[seowashdc]

So, lesson learned from you all and talking to yuneec support. Store batteries at about 50% charge. Don't fully charge until you're ready to do missions, like the day before.

I found H520 batteries at CDW for less than advertised on the Yuneec site. Same batteries, same part numbers, specs, etc. I even called CDW and asked about the batteries and was told that they (CDW) get them directly from Yuneec. All told, paid $336 USD for two new ones that will be here in 3 days.

 

[seowashdc]

You should think about what you've done with those batteries to get to this point. I mean, how did you store them? fully charged? Have you let them rest enough after a discharge and before you put them back on charge? Have you ever left them inside the car with a lot of heat? etc...

Minimal maintenance, of the errors unfortunately we learn quickly and when it is too late. This type of batteries are very dangerous and delicate at the same time. More than anything, so that it does not happen to you again and in any case to discard that they were defective of factory.

If it is the case that you have made some of those mistakes, welcome to the club, I am the first to make them and now I take care of them with much care, especially for the price they have

Yep, learned that these are really fussy about being stored with a charge on them. Not the case with my Mavic Pro, but that's neither here nor there. I don't leave any LiPo batteries outside or in vehicles, period. It's too risky.

 

[Steve Carr]

Yep, learned that these are really fussy about being stored with a charge on them. Not the case with my Mavic Pro, but that's neither here nor there. I don't leave any LiPo batteries outside or in vehicles, period. It's too risky.

True. All Lipo's should be at storage voltage when not in use. Leaving them at full charge will significantly reduce the life.

 

[rames1651]

The Yuneec batts are a disappointment. I had three go down with bad cells after only 5 months & 10 charging cycles each. They're nothing special on the inside. Looks like the same 5kmAh 4S HK sells for $40. See pic.

Meanwhile my four DJI P4 batts are two years old & 30 cycles each and are good as new. I don't mind spending $160/pc. for that performance. Caveats: I keep my batts fully charged all the time because I fly for work usually once a week. I'm also on call for emergency response and the drone needs to be ready to go. My main concern is that the H520 is not the "commercial grade" product it is advertised to be.