Batteries apparently discharging

CharlesT · Apr 23, 2019

I have the H Realsense and three Yuneec batteries. All of them charge to 100% on a balance charger, yet soon after take off (30 seconds to 1 minute) the ST16 reports low battery voltage and requires me to land... Put the batteries back on the charger and they report 100% charge!

Is this a problem with my batteries or with the H?

One suggestion has been to discharge the batteries and then charge them again - should I discharge them to 0% or just storage charge?

Wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

Thanks in anticipation.

WTFDproject · Apr 23, 2019

Sounds mostly like three bad batteries. How long have you had them, and what was your charging, storage routine?

Possible problems with the bird would have to be addressed by someone familiar with the Typhoon H.

Vaguely possible a bad charger, but since it sounds like the bird initially reports full charge, I doubt you have a charger issue.

Assuming the charger is good, you could use the charger to put one of the batteries into storage charge, and see if it takes a reasonably long time to discharge. Dropping too quickly to storage charge would be another possible indicator of bad battery. Maybe someone can speak to the normal time it takes to reach storage charge on TH battery? It would help that sort of estimation if you tell what charger you are using.

Mrgs1 · Apr 23, 2019

Do you use a third party charger able to storage mode? How old are the batteries and have they been stored fully charged for any long periods of time? Are they puffy? Did you when you had good flight times run down to warnings quite often? Internal resistance would be handy to know too.

Mrgs1 · Apr 23, 2019

No

CharlesT said:
I have the H Realsense and three Yuneec batteries. All of them charge to 100% on a balance charger, yet soon after take off (30 seconds to 1 minute) the ST16 reports low battery voltage and requires me to land... Put the batteries back on the charger and they report 100% charge!

Is this a problem with my batteries or with the H?

One suggestion has been to discharge the batteries and then charge them again - should I discharge them to 0% or just storage charge?

Wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

Thanks in anticipation.

No don't discharge to zero.

LiPo battery care

There have been some comments and questions recently about proper care of LiPo batteries such as the ones we use in our Typhoon H aircraft. This article does a very good job of providing insight into these batteries and guidance on maintenance of them. There are a number of good chargers...

yuneecpilots.com

rdonson · Apr 23, 2019

CharlesT said:
One suggestion has been to discharge the batteries and then charge them again - should I discharge them to 0% or just storage charge?

NEVER discharge your batteries to ZERO, NEVER!

It is a good practice to discharge to "Storage Level" voltage.

What kind of charger are you using???

CharlesT · Apr 23, 2019

rdonson said:
NEVER discharge your batteries to ZERO, NEVER!

It is a good practice to discharge to "Storage Level" voltage.

What kind of charger are you using???

Hi. I use the Overlander RC-D100

CharlesT · Apr 23, 2019

WTFDproject said:
Sounds mostly like three bad batteries. How long have you had them, and what was your charging, storage routine?

Possible problems with the bird would have to be addressed by someone familiar with the Typhoon H.

Vaguely possible a bad charger, but since it sounds like the bird initially reports full charge, I doubt you have a charger issue.

Assuming the charger is good, you could use the charger to put one of the batteries into storage charge, and see if it takes a reasonably long time to discharge. Dropping too quickly to storage charge would be another possible indicator of bad battery. Maybe someone can speak to the normal time it takes to reach storage charge on TH battery? It would help that sort of estimation if you tell what charger you are using.

Thanks - this sounds like it's going to be expensive at close on £100/battery! I use the Overlander RC-D100 and have had the batteries for 3 years (they came with the machine when it was released for sale). I generally use them and then store them, charging when next using them.

Mrgs1 · Apr 23, 2019

CharlesT said:
Thanks - this sounds like it's going to be expensive at close on £100/battery! I use the Overlander RC-D100 and have had the batteries for 3 years (they came with the machine when it was released for sale). I generally use them and then store them, charging when next using them.

What's the internal resistance for the batteries?
How many flights approx?
There only good for a certain amount of charges.
Three years is getting borderline.

CharlesT · Apr 23, 2019

Mrgs1 said:
What's the internal resistance for the batteries?
How many flights approx?
There only good for a certain amount of charges.
Three years is getting borderline.

How do I measure internal resistance?

Mrgs1 · Apr 23, 2019

CharlesT said:
How do I measure internal resistance?

CharlesT · Apr 24, 2019

CharlesT said:
How do I measure internal resistance?

Hi. Resistance reading on one of then is 12, 9, 13, 11 (4 cells).

Phaedrus · Apr 24, 2019

That's a tad on the high side. On my H+ packs I see and average of 5 to 7 milliohms per cell.

FlushVision · Apr 24, 2019

I was gonna say something but realized I was shooting from the hip in that my mindset was on dji smart batteries. My brain shifted into gear before I posted that bad advice...doh!

Mrgs1 · Apr 24, 2019

CharlesT said:
Hi. Resistance reading on one of then is 12, 9, 13, 11 (4 cells).

The tell tale signs of a battery coming to the end of it's useful life I'm afraid. Can still be used on the ground carefully for calibrations updating Sat's etc.

zoomhummer · Apr 24, 2019

Hello. Well this happened to me too. Last Saturday, it drained suddenly and I my Typhoon H Real Sense attempted an emergency landing on a rooftop. Now it has a broken retracting motor, the gimbal/camera detached from the plate and 4 broken props. Now I'm looking fo ways to fix it, I'll need to send it to the US (I'm in Colombia)

(I bought it last November)

billjohnsonstories · Apr 24, 2019

CharlesT said:
I have the H Realsense and three Yuneec batteries. All of them charge to 100% on a balance charger, yet soon after take off (30 seconds to 1 minute) the ST16 reports low battery voltage and requires me to land... Put the batteries back on the charger and they report 100% charge!

Is this a problem with my batteries or with the H?

One suggestion has been to discharge the batteries and then charge them again - should I discharge them to 0% or just storage charge?

Wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

Thanks in anticipation.

I just tried a new Power 4P battery and got the same message. When I try to charge it in the same charger as the 4 battery, the charger says "ready to charge", not "charging" or "charged". The 4 batteries are discontinued, and I don't know if the charger will work on the replacement 4P batteries.

Mrgs1 · Apr 24, 2019

billjohnsonstories said:
I just tried a new Power 4P battery and got the same message. When I try to charge it in the same charger as the 4 battery, the charger says "ready to charge", not "charging" or "charged". The 4 batteries are discontinued, and I don't know if the charger will work on the replacement 4P batteries.

What do you mean discontinued?

billjohnsonstories · Apr 24, 2019

I do not find 4 batteries available. The 4P battery has a different contact configuration and this could be why it isn't charging. Do I have to retrofit my Typhoon H to take 4P batteries?

Mrgs1 · Apr 24, 2019

CharlesT said:
Hi. Resistance reading on one of then is 12, 9, 13, 11 (4 cells).

Single figures for all mine. Typical 2018 battery has the highest IR total reading, only used twice. Hopefully might improve with use!

DoomMeister · Apr 24, 2019

billjohnsonstories said:
I do not find 4 batteries available. The 4P battery has a different contact configuration and this could be why it isn't charging. Do I have to retrofit my Typhoon H to take 4P batteries?

The Typhoon H uses 4S batteries (as in series) not 4P (as in parallel). What charger are you using? If the battery will not fit the charger it will not fit the Typhoon H either.

Edit: I need to amend my post. The 4P battery you are referring to is for the Typhoon H Plus and the H520 and is a LiHV (lithium polymer age) battery. To my knowledge it is usable in the H480, but the pins are slightly different for the balance leads and won’t work in the OEM charger for the H480. The OEM charger for the H480 is for a standard LiPo and would not fully charge the LiHV pack.

When you stated a 4P battery I was thinking of it as a 1S4P battery that would be only be a 3.7V battery pack.

2nd Edit: highlighted in red - autocorrect placed H480 after the TH Plus when I intended it to be H520.