Four Flashing Lights on Battery during flight

[Chrislaf]

One of my Spark batteries has 4 flashing lights when it gets to the low battery warning and I am bringing it in for a landing. None of my other batteries do this (I have 4). It has happened the last 2 flights with this particular battery. There are no errors in DJI GO4 and the Spark flies fine. I use one of those plastic battery straps on all of my batteries but when the 4 lights start flashing I cannot turn off the battery after landing until I remove the battery strap. The button on the battery does not seem to register any clicks until the battery strap is removed. The battery strap itself does not cover the battery button just the lights.

Any ideas what is causing this and is it something to be concerned about? Note, I checked the manual and searched but could not find this particular problem.

Chris

Here is a picture of the clip I use:

 

[Haggi]

Firstly, I use the same battery strap.
Strap can not be the reason for this issue.
Make a flight with same battery but without strap to be sure.
To turn off battery is the same procedure as turning it on. (Tap once, tap and hold for >2 sec again)
Battery 4 led flashes..
Never seen it, never experienced it.
I would check my logs for cell deviation, maybe it's too hot, maybe it's too cold.
I do not think it's documented, only DJI can tell.
Would def concern me.
I would send an email to support at DJI.

 

[RotorWash]

Is this a newish battery or one you've had for a while? Possible battery firmware corruption issue and maybe GO4 doesn't catch it, could try connecting the AC with said battery to Assistant 2 to double check. After a flight does the battery temp and voltages look normal? Does the battery have any swelling at all? Seems odd that the clip has to be removed in order to turn the battery off. As Haggi said earlier, I'd be concerned as well.

 

[Chrislaf]

Thanks all for your replies. The battery in question has 74 charge cycles on it and will be 2 years old in January. The battery is displaying normal temps on landing and has no visible swelling. I put the battery in my Spark and brought up the battery info in GO4 and everything appears normal - cells, voltages and GO reports no problems.

I compared the clips on the battery to my newest battery and the clips appear to be the old style that have been the source of batteries coming out during flight problems reported on this forum, so for this reason I do not want to do a flight without my battery strap.

Also, when the battery is inserted into the Spark the battery button works normally and the battery can be turned on and off normally. I'm thinking that the battery is coming slightly loose during flight but not enough to disconnect and pushing back against the battery strap so that is why the button and lights get messed up. If this is happening then it is only a matter of time before there is a disconnect during flight.

When I get some time later today, I will contact DJI to see what they have to say. In the meantime, I will not fly with this battery until I get to the bottom of what is causing the 4 lights to flash and the battery button to not work properly after a flight.

Chris

 

[RotorWash]

I'm thinking that the battery is coming slightly loose during flight but not enough to disconnect and pushing back against the battery strap so that is why the button and lights get messed up. If this is happening then it is only a matter of time before there is a disconnect during flight.

When I get some time later today, I will contact DJI to see what they have to say. In the meantime, I will not fly with this battery until I get to the bottom of what is causing the 4 lights to flash and the battery button to not work properly after a flight.

Chris

Glad you caught this in time Chris. You're theory sounds very possible. Understandable not wanting to test without the strap. You could just let it run on the ground without the strap and let the battery die down on it's own just to see what the lights do then. Might help confirm whether it's something internal to the battery or even more point to the clips themselves. I had a battery malfunction on me a while back (different issue though) and it makes for a bad day very quickly.

 

[Chrislaf]

Well, I contacted DJI support and they want me to discharge the battery to 0% then charge it back to 100% as well as make sure my iOS GO4 app is updated (everything is updated including FlySafe).

How do I discharge the battery down to 0%? Do I just fly it till I get the low battery warning (hover above home point until it lands on its own)? I have never discharged any of my batteries down to 0% before.

I somehow don't think it is a battery charging issue but I have to go through their steps to troubleshoot.

Chris

 

[RotorWash]

Well, I contacted DJI support and they want me to discharge the battery to 0% then charge it back to 100% as well as make sure my iOS GO4 app is updated (everything is updated including FlySafe).

How do I discharge the battery down to 0%? Do I just fly it till I get the low battery warning (hover above home point until it lands on its own)? I have never discharged any of my batteries down to 0% before.

I somehow don't think it is a battery charging issue but I have to go through their steps to troubleshoot.

Chris

As I mentioned above just let it sit on the ground running until the battery depletes itself. Wouldn't recommend flying it to drain it.

 

[nilanjan118]

Well, I contacted DJI support and they want me to discharge the battery to 0% then charge it back to 100% as well as make sure my iOS GO4 app is updated (everything is updated including FlySafe).

How do I discharge the battery down to 0%? Do I just fly it till I get the low battery warning (hover above home point until it lands on its own)? I have never discharged any of my batteries down to 0% before.

I somehow don't think it is a battery charging issue but I have to go through their steps to troubleshoot.

Chris

Even if you hover just above the home point, it will start to auto land at 10% battery. You may throttle up to keep it in the air a bit more but even that won't be enough to bring it to 0% fully. I think the AC would have to simply sit on the ground from about 8% battery to bring the battery level further down.

As I mentioned above just let it sit on the ground running until the battery depletes itself. Wouldn't recommend flying it to drain it.

I think what DJI wants him to try is to complete one full charge cycle. So simply sitting on the ground will take a lot of time starting with 100% battery. As I said above, just fly around and make sure you are right above home point when you are approaching 10% battery. The AC will then start to auto land. From then on, you simply have to wait for the battery level to drop down further.

 

[Northwood Mediaworks]

Have you cleaned/inspected the contacts on the aircraft and battery? Could be something interfering with the contacts on the battery.. over the course of time sludge/dust/humidity all creating a patina of sorts ? ... might be worth a look with a magnifying glass.

 

[Chrislaf]

Thanks all for the replies.
Just turning the battery on and letting it deplete will take a long long time. I think I am going to take nilanjan’s advice and fly it around with my battery strap and then hover over the home point until it’s auto lands, then run it down to zero while it is sitting on ground .

@Northwood, my battery contacts are clean. The battery itself looks just like a brand new battery would. Dirty contacts would also not explain why the battery button works properly before flight (has a physical click), but after flight does not work properly and does not have a physical click until I remove the battery clip.

Chris

 

[RotorWash]

Really wouldn't take that long, you can lose 10% quick enough getting ready to take off. You could even run the motors w/o props some if you wanted to (doesn't hurt them) plus turn the camera on. But if you gotta have it faster than that, just hover the Sparky over a bed inside if possible. If you knew for sure the side clips were the problem and you have the back clip on, it wouldn't really matter but since the LEDs are acting screwy I just wouldn't chance damaging the drone but that's me and it is your decision.

 

[Chrislaf]

Really wouldn't take that long, you can lose 10% quick enough getting ready to take off. You could even run the motors w/o props some if you wanted to (doesn't hurt them) plus turn the camera on. But if you gotta have it faster than that, just hover the Sparky over a bed inside if possible. If you knew for sure the side clips were the problem and you have the back clip on, it wouldn't really matter but since the LEDs are acting screwy I just wouldn't chance damaging the drone but that's me and it is your decision.

I have the battery out of the drone but on. It would go much faster on the drone but am worried about heat issues especially if the drone is not airborne. If I get some time tomorrow I may try a short flight and hover to drain the battery but I am in no rush. I do have Care Refresh plus so if the drone did get inadvertently damaged at least I have that as a fall back. Regardless, even after I drain the battery and then recharge it, I still have to fly it to try to replicate the problem. DJI wants a video of it if it recurs.

Thanks for your help.

Chris

 

[RotorWash]

I have the battery out of the drone but on. It would go much faster on the drone but am worried about heat issues especially if the drone is not airborne. If I get some time tomorrow I may try a short flight and hover to drain the battery but I am in no rush. I do have Care Refresh plus so if the drone did get inadvertently damaged at least I have that as a fall back. Regardless, even after I drain the battery and then recharge it, I still have to fly it to try to replicate the problem. DJI wants a video of it if it recurs.

Thanks for your help.

Chris

You're welcome Chris. For sure a long time if there's no load on the battery. It's true the Spark doesn't have the best ventilation but you can always put a fan on it while running. Remember the simulator in the GO4 app required the craft be turned on and parked with usb connected (props off) for use. The problem may replicate itself in this manner as well but that's not known because it hasn't been tried. If DJI required me to replicate a possible loose connection or faulty battery issue needing any flight time, I'd probably dump the battery and be done with it. Good luck, let us know how you get along.

 

[Chrislaf]

You're welcome Chris. For sure a long time if there's no load on the battery. It's true the Spark doesn't have the best ventilation but you can always put a fan on it while running. Remember the simulator in the GO4 app required the craft be turned on and parked with usb connected (props off) for use. The problem may replicate itself in this manner as well but that's not known because it hasn't been tried. If DJI required me to replicate a possible loose connection or faulty battery issue needing any flight time, I'd probably dump the battery and be done with it. Good luck, let us know how you get along.

I have considered just using the battery just for diagnostic purposes and firmware updates as it has 74 charge cycles and it almost 2 years old (January).

Chris

 

[Spark 317]

I have considered just using the battery just for diagnostic purposes and firmware updates as it has 74 charge cycles and it almost 2 years old (January).

Chris

I was thinking about your posts and checked a couple of my batteries during my flights this morning.

I have nine, all of the old design made in June 2017 that were purchased at separate times.

One had 20 cycles, the other had 99.

So far so good, but will be keeping an eye on them.

 

[Chrislaf]

I was thinking about your posts and checked a couple of my batteries during my flights this morning.

I have nine, all of the old design made in June 2017 that were purchased at separate times.

One had 20 cycles, the other had 99.

So far so good, but will be keeping an eye on them.

The battery in question came with my Charging Station when I got it in January 2017. The other battery that came at the same time is the old style but so far no problems.

What bothers me is that there are no error messages to explain the 4 lights flashing and the battery button going wonky, so I am worried that I may have a sudden failure. Even though I have Care Refresh plus it will do me no good if it fails while flying over water which I do a lot of. I am beginning not to trust this battery now.

Chris

 

[Locutus40]

sounds like your strap is hitting the button and or causing the button to stick id stop using them the locking system works stock get a stock battery and youll be fine just tug on it before each flight...

 

[Chrislaf]

Well today I finally had a chance to drain my problem battery. I took Spark to a local isolated beach (no one was nearby). I kept Spark low and not very far so if it dropped out of the sky I could retrieve it. I had my battery strap on. While flying I kept an eye on the battery lights. Midway through the flight with just under 50% battery left I did some quick forward inputs and quick reverse inputs and immediately after the Sparks 4 lights began flashing. From then on I kept it near the home point over land and low (waist height) until the battery was about 12%. I landed and let it drain down to 0% before switching off. It’s charging now. During the flight and after landing I checked the battery status and everything seemed fine.

It seems clear to me that the battery strap is holding this battery in. I’ll contact DJI again and see what they say. Seems to me that these old style batteries should be recalled as they could cause a crash resulting in someone getting hurt or property damage.

Chris

 

[Locutus40]

you didnt need to fly it to drain it just leave it on in about 30 minutes it will die.. also to test it you didnt need to fly it far out fly it no more than 50 feet up and away why in case it does drop you dont kill anyone or damage property... like i said those straps are not worth it the stock battery tabs hold them in only reason they dont is you have a fake battery or the springs are getting weak from you putting batts in to many times etc just tug on it before a flight if it comes out then stop using it get a new drone main frame and voila solved or new battery springs etc

 

[Chrislaf]

you didnt need to fly it to drain it just leave it on in about 30 minutes it will die.. also to test it you didnt need to fly it far out fly it no more than 50 feet up and away why in case it does drop you dont kill anyone or damage property... like i said those straps are not worth it the stock battery tabs hold them in only reason they dont is you have a fake battery or the springs are getting weak from you putting batts in to many times etc just tug on it before a flight if it comes out then stop using it get a new drone main frame and voila solved or new battery springs etc

Thanks for your reply.
First, I realize I didn’t have to fly it to drain the battery. I was trying to determine if it was actually a battery problem or just the battery clips. On my previous flights, I only noticed this problem when I was bringing the drone in for a landing with a low battery (usually just under 30%). So, by flying the drone and doing some sudden forward and backward inputs I was able to rule out the problem being low battery related. Letting the drone sit on the ground for 30 min would not have made the 4 lights flash in this case.

Second, I did not fly over people or property (I never do) so I don’t know where you got that idea. I flew it at an isolated deserted beach over the beach area and over shallow water close to me so if it fell, I could retrieve it.

Third, I always push the battery in until I here the clicks and often give it a second push. I also give it a gentle pull to make sure it doesn’t come out. Regardless, I still use my battery strap on every flight.

Finally, I have 3 other batteries and they all work perfectly. The problem battery just started showing the problem and was working perfectly before. All of my 4 Spark batteries are genuine batteries purchased from DJI.

Chris