Low battery temp

[Nick Gruber]

After updating to FW 1.6 I now get a "low battery temperature, warm or replace" message on one of my batteries. The battery is fairly new with maybe 15 cycles on it. The temp reads about 13.5 degrees Celsius which should be fine. My other battery works just fine. Any thoughts?
Nick

 

[The Editor]

After updating to FW 1.6 I now get a "low battery temperature, warm or replace" message on one of my batteries. The battery is fairly new with maybe 15 cycles on it. The temp reads about 13.5 degrees Celsius which should be fine. My other battery works just fine. Any thoughts?
Nick

Have you tried warming it?

 

[Nick Gruber]

I haven't tried warming it. My other battery was the same temp and worked just fine. if it doesn't work at 13 degrees Celsius than it's useless to me. I bought the battery from indoors to outside when I got the warning.

 

[The Editor]

I haven't tried warming it. My other battery was the same temp and worked just fine. if it doesn't work at 13 degrees Celsius than it's useless to me. I bought the battery from indoors to outside when I got the warning.

Compare your reported battery temps via telemetry between the 'good' and 'bad' battery. If they are both reporting the same temp then your temperature sensors are working.
I assume all your batteries are running the same firmware and are up to date?

 

[Nick Gruber]

The two batteries read the same temperatures only difference is one works and one doesn't.

 

[The Editor]

The two batteries read the same temperatures only difference is one works and one doesn't.

What temperature are they both reading?
And firmware version on both......?

 

[Canuck32]

I believe the cutoff temp on the new FW is 15 C. I've had only one battery not fire up and it showed temp of 14.5 C. When I warmed it up it worked fine. FWIW I've done several flights now (12) below -15 C and a quick one at -24 C (windchill was -31 C) with no battery problems.

I keep my batteries inside and warm and only bring them to the craft when I am ready to fly, quick fire up with GPS home lock and check sensors then launch and hover for 30 or so seconds before flying off. I also try to "work" the battery by vertically climbing before transitional lift flight. I'm using the battery stickers and keep an eye on the voltage of the batteries. Lowest battery temp I saw was 20.5 C on the cold flight with about 30 C on the warmer flights.

 

[IrishSights]

I believe the cutoff temp on the new FW is 15 C. I've had only one battery not fire up and it showed temp of 14.5 C. When I warmed it up it worked fine. FWIW I've done several flights now (12) below -15 C and a quick one at -24 C (windchill was -31 C) with no battery problems.

I keep my batteries inside and warm and only bring them to the craft when I am ready to fly, quick fire up with GPS home lock and check sensors then launch and hover for 30 or so seconds before flying off. I also try to "work" the battery by vertically climbing before transitional lift flight. I'm using the battery stickers and keep an eye on the voltage of the batteries. Lowest battery temp I saw was 20.5 C on the cold flight with about 30 C on the warmer flights.

What's your source for the 15 C cutoff?

 

[Nick Gruber]

Both my batteries were reading 13 degrees however only one works. Seems like a joke if you can't use a battery when it's at 13 degrees. Sounds like a ploy to get us to buy a battery warmer.

 

[Canuck32]

I don't use a battery warmer. I just keep them warm in a vehicle or building and bring them out when ready to fly. I do recommend though using the battery insulation stickers as I've found they keep the batteries about 10 C warmer in flight compared to non insulated batteries.

The issue is all Lipo batteries don't like cold weather and loose performance in delivering power at lower temps. I believe DJI is just trying to be proactive in helping people to fly in colder temps and increase the safety of the unit.

 

[The Editor]

Both my batteries were reading 13 degrees however only one works. Seems like a joke if you can't use a battery when it's at 13 degrees. Sounds like a ploy to get us to buy a battery warmer.

You can - you just need to warm it first!

 

[RaptorMan]

Out of curiosity, when flying in low temps what change in battery temp do people see while flying? For example, if the air temp was 10F and the battery temp at startup was, say, 20F, what change would you expect to see while flying? Given the high power loading on the battery and the internal resistance the simple act of operating the copter will tend to heat up the battery and that would tend to counter the tendency to lose temp due to colder air temps.

The reason I ask is if you were planning to preheat the battery before flight would you want to heat it to 86F (30C) with the expectation that the temp will go down a bit or would preheating to 86F cause the battery to overheat in flight?

Difficult question given the difference in air temp, but I'm curious to know about what temp to reheat the battery to maximize performance and minimize problems.


Brian

 

[Scotflieger]

Out of curiosity, when flying in low temps what change in battery temp do people see while flying? For example, if the air temp was 10F and the battery temp at startup was, say, 20F, what change would you expect to see while flying? Given the high power loading on the battery and the internal resistance the simple act of operating the copter will tend to heat up the battery and that would tend to counter the tendency to lose temp due to colder air temps.

The reason I ask is if you were planning to preheat the battery before flight would you want to heat it to 86F (30C) with the expectation that the temp will go down a bit or would preheating to 86F cause the battery to overheat in flight?

Difficult question given the difference in air temp, but I'm curious to know about what temp to reheat the battery to maximize performance and minimize problems.

Working in Iso units (celsius), the aircraft will not start with a battery temperature of 11C but will with 13C (air temp 2-3C). You also get the "Warning - Low battery temperature, war or replace the battery".

Once running DJI recommend hovering for a minute or two to allow the battery to reach 20C. Having done this post take off warm up a couple of times I found that the battery dialog shows less stress in flight (ie. fewer yellow/red cell warning). At the end of a flight of 10 mins the battery temperature is up to 39-40C as normal. I have also been using the DJI battery heater which will heat the battery to 20C in 10mins for the loss of 2-3% of available charge. You can also pre-heat the next battery while you fly with the first.

I have not yet flown in freezing conditions (<0C) nor tried the insulating stickers.

 

[Mani]

Just did some flights in -17 Celsius. Inspire 1/ X5 running on latest firmware. Used the DJI battery warmer before flight, everything worked smooth.
However I kept my bird on a short leash, as the Inspire manual says very clearly that we should operate the aircraft in maximum -10 degrees Celsius.
So my question for you is quite simple.
Is it safe to fly my bird with -15 /-20 degrees Celsius ?
I'm spending my holidays in Bucovina, on the north parth of Romania, close to the Ukrainean border.
The weather is great, almost no wind, sunny, just freezing cold, and I would like to caputure some aerial images with the beautiful mountains around.
What would be the maximum altitude / range allowed in these conditions ?
Thx.

p.s if we use the DJI battery heater, we still need to use the insulated stickers ?

 

[ringolong]

And firmware version on both......?

 

[Nick Gruber]

My understanding is the firmware only applies to the aircraft and not the batteries. That being said I did try updating both batteries with the firmware. When I tried updating the second battery nothing happened. So I dont think the batteries can be updated because there isnt anything to be updated. Clear as mud? Haha.

 

[ringolong]

It is a little confusing Does the firmware match for both? You have to remove the update file before the second battery will update.

 

[Mani]

My understanding is the firmware only applies to the aircraft and not the batteries. That being said I did try updating both batteries with the firmware. When I tried updating the second battery nothing happened. So I dont think the batteries can be updated because there isnt anything to be updated. Clear as mud? Haha.

The latest firmware updates only the aircraft, the previous firmware updated the batteries too. So if you updated from the previous version to latest firmware, your batteries should be fine.

 

[Mani]

It is a little confusing Does the firmware match for both? You have to remove the update file before the second battery will update.

You do not have to remov the update file before the second battery will update, that was neccessary for previous firmwares, when updating RC. With the latest firmwares, you just have to update first the aircraft, afterwards all your batteries.

 

[The Editor]

It is a little confusing Does the firmware match for both? You have to remove the update file before the second battery will update.

OK - first of all, you should really update your app - v1.0.3 is decades ago and there have been several stability enhancements and better safety features added along the way.
Secondly, you are running a mismatch in the way your RC will be updated.v1.0.3 never supported update via tablet which is currently the only way you can update. The version you are running requires updates to be actioned through USB drive/stick which is no longer supported!
Why are you running such an old non supported version?
Thirdly, when you do you battery updates the remote and tablet should NOT be on. You should simply cycle through the batteries one by one with the audible tones and lights on the battery themselves giving you the indication that the update is in progress/complete.