I am having an issue with my Phantom 3 battery. I plug it in the charger and it lights up normal. Then a few seconds later the green LED closest to the home button starts blinking 3 times continually. It even blinks when it is not in the Phantom or the charger. Any wisdom here?
Here is a link to a GIF of my battery.

https://twitter.com/AlexWorkman/status/597549261379735552/photo/1

Can't say much myself as the P3 is my first machine, but since i've had the thing it hasn't done this.  I'd contact support. Could be a faulty battery. not sure.

tjrchampion Posted at 2015-5-11 20:20
Can't say much myself as the P3 is my first machine, but since i've had the thing it hasn't done thi ...

I emailed support yesterday. I will post their response when I receive it. Enjoy your Phantom 3!

I had the same issue after an earlier flight.  The battery needed to cool to room temperature prior to taking a charge. Waiting 15 minutes solved the issue for me.

alexworkman Posted at 2015-5-11 20:53
I emailed support yesterday. I will post their response when I receive it. Enjoy your Phantom 3!

Look in your user manual. In the section about charging the aircraft battery, there are some drawings showing what the steady lights and flashing lights mean. The condition you describe indicates the charging mechanism/system thinks it's a little too warm at the moment.

Battery Charging Rule #1 - let the battery cool off somewhat after a flight before you immediately apply the charger
Battery Charging Rule #2 - if you live in a normally warm environment (I'm in central Florida) you might have to wait a while before it cools off enough to charge properly!

Personally I see me taking a totally different approach to battery management with the P3. If you have, for example, just a couple of batteries and plan on charging in the field, what happens if you're out in the field and the temp in the shade is 90 degrees? It could conceivably take just short of forever for your battery to cool down enough to tolerate charging. I think the answer, in my case, is to show up in the field with four or five batteries and worry about charging when I get back home!

I have a Phantom 3 and have been using it quite extensively. There are two reasons that it blinks and doesn't charge. 1.) The battery is too hot. It usually takes ten minutes (or 5 minutes in from of an A/C vent) for the battery to cool down enough for charging. The second reason for blinking is that the outlet isn't powerful enough. I have that problem in my car, which has an AC outlet. If the lights and air conditioner are on, it doesn't have enough juice to charge the battery.

To be fair to DJI, it charges very fast. But not having the backup batteries I wanted (they are on back-order) makes it very difficult to use this professionally right now.

foster1462@cox. Posted at 2015-5-12 07:00
I had the same issue after an earlier flight.  The battery needed to cool to room temperature prior  ...

I had the very same thing, it was common sense for the battery requiring some time to cool down after such exercise. And it's for the best, abusing Lithium Polymer battery ends up in them breathing fire.

first check your battey if its too hot, if it is then that is the reason why its not charging it means you need to cool down the battery first. And if your battery is not hot at all follow this simple steps to force your battey to enter into a Force Charging Mode..

1st: make sure the battery is off any no light on any of the LEDs
2nd : turn your battery on like usual button combination when you turn your Phantom on
3rd: if the battery turns on immediately plug in the charger cord to your battey and your battery should charge normally

I agree with @aburkefl on this point.  The 3 blinks on that particular indicator suggest that the temperature is too high for charging. see bottom of page 20 of the P3P user manual.

I have a similar problem where my battery wont charge and I waited several days before trying to charge again but no change.

The battery must stiill be under warrenty.  I would ask support if you can send it back.

The answer to charging batteries in a car is to use sine wave inverter with minimum 300w. Normal inverters are not good enuff specially plugged into the cigarette lighter or the Ac jack. Cost around $125ish on amazon

Air temp too high. I'm getting this and the temp in my apartment is 35c. Suggested range is 22-28c. Double blink means too low and triple blink means too high temp. Intelligent battery indeed!

SacTownRob Posted at 2015-6-26 04:38
I have a similar problem where my battery wont charge and I waited several days before trying to cha ...

I have the same issues. It just blinking constantly and not charging. Then it switching off. I have 3 other batteries - they are fine. What do I do?
I have just solve it. Battery is completly discharged and it does not want to start charging. Plug it in nimH/NICD charger for 10 minutes. 1C/ 5Ah - Max 10Ah. Disconnect. Connect it to your Phantom charger. Miracle. It is charging now, while I am typing.

Same problem, and when I plug the battery on the aircraft it shows on the app temperature of 233 C degrees (Impossible). To charge I turn it on and plug the charger. It seems those smart batteries are not that smart :/

Your apt is 35C?    I'd move.  Right now!

Olá amigos,
eu tenho hum Problema, Depois da Minha aeronave sofreu Uma Queda, eu Estou tendão hum Problema com a bateria.
Ligo uma bateria carregada EO 4º LED Pisca 3 vezes com o LED Vermelho e NÃO vai CARREGAR uma bateria.
Sera Que Alguém poderia Ajudar-me.
A bateria não carrega
Abraços

Hey Alex, sorry to hear about the battery issue. Unfortunately I am having the same issue and finally stumbled onto your question here after days of searching. Have you heard back from DJI yet? I am having the same or similar problem to what you describe.

The members that commented to your question all had spot-on advice for the typical scenario of an a battery that is either too hot or cold. This seems to be a little more then that though, I know this cant be the issue because I have not been able to use these batteries since it started happening a week ago. It has to have had a chance to cool down by now considering the average temperature in my home is 68 F.

The blinking issue is all over the charts for me... sometimes just the third light, other times it will sequence all of them and like one, two, three, four and then all four simultaniously. Other times it will just not turn on after the short press and second longer press to turn it on.

Its weird because i am trying to upgrade the firmware but I cant because the Phantom thinks that the battery is below 50% but it actually shows me its got a full charge with all four lights. It starts up normally and goes through the entire sound sequence and gimbal calibration and even finds satelites but it doesnt read the battery.

So my first thought was it might be the smart flight batteries internal telemetry sensor (the 4 small pins below power and ground connectors) so I cleaned them up with some alcohol and water even though it was very clean. I also did the same for the batteries sensor as well but still nothing.

Anything you can share would be greatly appreciated. I assume DJI must be getting this question a lot because if its happening to 2 out of my 3 batteries then the odds are fairly good its happening to others or will be soon. I have three other Phantoms
thanks

That happened to mine after I was flying it and it drained to 11%. It just means that the battery life was extremely low and if you leave it on the charger for long enough you will notice that it will return to its normal charging state after about 10 minutes

alexworkman Posted at 2015-5-11 20:53
I emailed support yesterday. I will post their response when I receive it. Enjoy your Phantom 3!

Need to cool down or warm up the battery to the normal temperature.

I don't know if there is a lists of blink codes or not, but it is NOT continuously blinking.  The blink code is 323.

HELP!!  Reading through these posts, I'm not finding exactly a solution.  My battery has stopped charging after 1 week and 5 flights.  The red power light and the LED 1 light constantly blink when I plug in the charger.  I can unplu the charger and press and hold the power button and all 4 LED's light up and the go off and only the red power button and LED 1 remain lit.  Then once plugged back into charger, the blink together on and off.

I inserted the battery back into the Phantom 3, and it shows it as critical low 4%.  The battery readings on the Pilot app shows everything as normal, and battery life is 100%.  It's been this way for 24 hours, the battery is not hot, nor was it hot or even warm when I initially plugged it in.  I read someone suggested that the charger that came with the Phantom 3 will not charge when the battery is too low and they used another type of charger.  I have no clue on how to do that, and really the charger doesn't charge??!!

Any help or guidance on this issue would be truly appreciated.  I only have the one battery at the moment so I can't test the charger in another battery.  I did order a second battery that is suppose to arrive Wednesday.  

Again, help, comments, suggestions greatly appreciated!!

First, how did it get so low?  It should never be allowed to go below about 10%, and not allowed to stay there.  Second, did you try the "turn it on, then charge it" trick?  With a cool battery, hit the button once, then a second time and hold it for a couple of seconds, just like you were turning it on to fly.  Then hook it to the charger while it is turned on.  That is supposed to force charge it.  If it doesn't work, send it back for replacement.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2016-1-4 10:42
First, how did it get so low?  It should never be allowed to go below about 10%, and not allowed to  ...

Gary, Thanks for the reply.  I had let the battery run all the way down as I read it was important todo this every 10 charges. I was right at 10 charges and let it drain down.  I have tried your suggestion again, and still nothing's to make sure it is .   I have a new battery ordered and I t should arrive tomorrow.  I plan to check Ithe battery and not the charger.  In either case, I will need to replace one of them!!  Thanks again.

wcafilho Posted at 2015-10-1 09:10
Same problem, and when I plug the battery on the aircraft it shows on the app temperature of 233 C d ...

this worked for me, thanks!!

Same thing happened to me, Tech support was in the dark too, but Temp is the Key.
Make sure you let your battery cool down then charge it.
if still problem within the first six months send it back they will exchange battery.

Insider51 Posted at 2016-6-22 23:36
Same thing happened to me, Tech support was in the dark too, but Temp is the Key.
Make sure you let  ...

It's in the user manual that 3 blinks on LED 4 means the battery temp is too high to charge.
If it does this and the battery is at room temperature then the battery may have an issue.
And what do you mean by tech support was in the dark?

Is there a list of error codes for this battery.  My 2nd green is flashing twice continually.

Seems this should be published some place but I can't seem to find it.

mike00 Posted at 2016-7-14 23:30
Is there a list of error codes for this battery.  My 2nd green is flashing twice continually.

Seems ...

Try downloading the manual, round about page 21 there is a list of LED and associated battery problem.

Aardvark Posted at 2016-7-14 18:53
Try downloading the manual, round about page 21 there is a list of LED and associated battery prob ...

But of course... LOL
.


Thanks!  Looks like I have over current issues.

Hi, not sure i am of the same issue like you guys have. I bought a new battery from DJI on-line store. The battery after fully charged, installed into aircraft and performed firmware update. The LEDs light continue to "run" and can't power down. LEDs stop running after a few days. When i press on the power up button, the LEDs light start running again,regardless battery in aircraft or battery itself just sit on carpet. Reported to DJI support and physical faulty battery sent back to DJI since 6/9 till today my case still open. Respond from DJI support, the battery NO PROBLEM instead suspect the issue is my aircraft. I told DJI support that i have another 3 batteries and i can still fly with them. Asked DJI to explain but no further respond. Initially was just requesting  for an exchange BUT rejected by DJI and reason is my aircraft faulty. Since DJI claimed that the battery is good, so i requested for REFUND instead (reported faulty battery within 7 days of receiving).....STILL NO RESPOND FROM DJI
https://www.dropbox.com/s/moxfgckgnczodym/IMG_1603.MOV?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1bd9b4ldjqngavb/IMG_1598.PNG?dl=0

Arvy55 Posted at 2015-5-19 18:39
first check your battey if its too hot, if it is then that is the reason why its not charging it mea ...

------1st: make sure the battery is off any no light on any of the LEDs
2nd : turn your battery on like usual button combination when you turn your Phantom on
3rd: if the battery turns on immediately plug in the charger cord to your battey and your battery should charge normally
-----


Thanks!!  This worked for me.  I had flown the day before so heat was not even an issue.  Following his steps, it is now charging normally and not giving me 3 quick blinks on green light 1.

If you look at the fine print on the side of the battery pack:

Operating Temp.
Charge: 0C - 40C

(This is 32F - 104F for us Yanks.)
A battery pack sitting on the front seat of your car in direct sunlight can get to 150F!

I have 3 blinks led 1 and red power, then all lights off repeat, can't find an answer, pressed and held power until red flashed and battery reports all 4 cells in good condition, note battery was at 50+% when I tried to charge and noted the problem, I completed a full discharge and have since tried several different methods and no luck, no idea whats happening but it is refusing to charge.

I tried normal charge, allow it to just sit coming on and off for an hour
Tried turning on battery then attaching charger
Tried same above but with a triple charging plate

SAME ISSUE AND ITS FRUSTRATING
I purchase the Phantom 3 Pro. Received the Unit a few days ago. Plugged in the Battery and left it for 4 hrs. First LED light was solid Second LED WAS FLASHING. That's all I get.
SO I went to Best Buy last Night after dealing with Tech Support in the Philippines WITH NO success and bought another Battery. Plugged that in over Night. Went to (2) solid LEDS and That's it. HOW DO I GET THESE BATTERIES FULLY CHARGED. Its very Frustrating. I'm very close to returning the entire Unit! I've seen some YouTube Videos with the Same issue.

ag0n Posted at 2015-9-30 19:06
Your apt is 35C?    I'd move.  Right now!

I think i'd sell that toy drone and invest in an air conditioner lol

rayrokni Posted at 2015-7-22 09:30
The answer to charging batteries in a car is to use sine wave inverter with minimum 300w. Normal inverters are not good enuff specially plugged into the cigarette lighter or the Ac jack. Cost around $125ish on amazon

Are you serious ?

For $15 - you can buy a car charger designed for P3 batterys and avoid the 12v to 110 / 220v then step down to 17.5V ......

300W cannot be pulled through a car ciggy socket !! Maximum before fuse would blow is just under 10A ... which is maximum 120W ....

Your charger will only pull from that inverter what it needs and thats subject to what the inverter can actually get from the socket !!

To have any chance of 300W is only if you connect direct to the car battery ... and they better be good gauge leads / connectors to supply that !!

$125 ..... sorry but that's silly !!

Nigel

www.ctv.kz Posted at 2015-8-5 07:24
I have the same issues. It just blinking constantly and not charging. Then it switching off. I have 3 other batteries - they are fine. What do I do?
I have just solve it. Battery is completly discharged and it does not want to start charging. Plug it in nimH/NICD charger for 10 minutes. 1C/ 5Ah - Max 10Ah. Disconnect. Connect it to your Phantom charger. Miracle. It is charging now, while I am typing.

Never thump 10A into these packs .... that's over 2C rate.

1C rate is more than enough 4.5 - 5A

A good way to cool packs to charge again if you are in hot climate ... the cheap picnic cool bags or boxes .. you can get them small enough for 4 or 5 P3 batterys or big enough for whole picnic ...

Get Ice Packs and freeze them ... get bottles of water or pop you want to drink while at site ... put those in fridge then transfer all to the bag just before leaving home ...

Fly ... put 'hot' pack into the bag ... 5 mins later - charge.

I also use these bags in reverse - in winter I put warm stuff in .... in fact I even have a warm LiPo sack that runs of a 3S LiPo that brings cold LiPo's up to working temp.

Nigel

CAET Posted at 2016-1-5 16:27
Gary, Thanks for the reply.  I had let the battery run all the way down as I read it was important todo this every 10 charges. I was right at 10 charges and let it drain down.  I have tried your suggestion again, and still nothing's to make sure it is .   I have a new battery ordered and I t should arrive tomorrow.  I plan to check Ithe battery and not the charger.  In either case, I will need to replace one of them!!  Thanks again.

NEVER do this crazy DEEP DISCHARGE RUBBISH !!

Even DJI do not recc'd it anymore !!

Ask any experienced LiPo user about this .... they will tell you and online confirms it as well ... Charge - Use - Storage Charge .... Next time you want battery ... same again ... Charge - Use - Storage.

Deep Discharge if done under strict control and proper users access to monitor individual cells can bring cells to better balance - but not with a DJI battery setup.

Nigel