From the start - for almost 100 flights - I had never noticed any  battery current overload errors until after the last battery firmware  update - ( a few weeks ago )

For most of the first 50 or so flights - i almost always stayed in sport mode just flying around a small area getting practice at high speed and learning to maneuver the Mavic .
I went full speed almost all the time in every direction constantly .  Not one battery error .
After that I mostly flew in standard mode and having longer and more distant flights .

I never saw any battery warnings or errors until immediately after the last battery firmware update - I saw one right away when I went to sport mode the first time - then again a few more times after that .  But I don't go into sport mode very much any more .

It happens when I go full forward and upward at the same time .  I have not changed props or had damage to props during this transition of FW or after ...
I now have to avoid doing that due to fear of the error happeining - It does seem to happen mostly when first starting with a freshly charged battery and less likely after the battery has lost some of its charge - however - i haven't tried testing it much because I certainly want to avoid it happening .

Has anyone else noticed battery overcurrent during discharge errors since the battery FW update a few weeks ago ?

Maybe if I can get some of you to try full up and forward speed in sport mode at the start of your flight after putting in a fully ( and recently ) charged battery ... ( not one that was charged the previous day ( s ) )

If this problem is repeatable - I hope we can get  some attention drawn to it to have it investigated .

Thank you .

While in sports mode, switch to the radar view, does the error appear when power bar is at max? Then I think this is normal. I fly in sports mode most of the time and I always monitor this indicator level as not to push it to the max often or too long, it's bad for the lipo batteries because it's discharging more than its discharge "C" rate.

Nazar78 Posted at 2017-10-10 01:04
While in sports mode, switch to the radar view, does the error appear when power bar is at max? Then I think this is normal. I fly in sports mode most of the time and I always monitor this indicator level as not to push it to the max often or too long, it's bad for the lipo batteries because it's discharging more than its discharge "C" rate.

Thanks for your input and advice .

It seems that you are validating my question of it being repeatable, however I tend to vary from your opinion that this is ' normal ' to have a damaging malfunction happen when employing standard procedures, using standard equipment, having been maintained in a standard fashion within a standard environment ...

Nothing that I am doing is out of bounds or non-standard .

My opinion is that it is a design flaw or maintenance / update problem / error that is causing damage to my system .  ( that is - IF - this error is widespread enough to be repeatable among similar but separate devices )

Otherwise, if it is not repeatable then I may have a faulty hardware device ...

Thanks again for your input - I haven't payed much attention to the radar view or the power bar - so I will take your advice and check that out next time .

I sure hope your statement about it discharging more than its discharge  ' C ' rate is mistaken - I would hate to think that DJI has commited another * Kong Error * by failing to regulate their products to not self-destruct during normal operations ! ! !

* Kong Error * ( new label tag to use for describing DJI snafus )

Actually this warning/error is a good indicator and the device limits itself, so this is 'normal'. I remember the days where we need to self gauge the amount of discharge burst rate when pulling stunts on the RC aircrafts without bloating the lipos.

2 of my batteries regularly give me over discharge errors, but 1 of my batteries typically does not.  that was until yesterday when it was fighting for its life in a wind/rainstorm battery #1 gave its first "battery error- over discharge warning" but it was fighting really hard, so cant blame it...  but battery 2 and 3 i have always give me warnings and errors for batteries when in sport mode and moving hard..  i was scared at first however no issues so far, and if it keeps pulling too hard for too long it starts reducing its self a bit if it can. i had battery #3 tell me its over discharging then few seconds later on screen said that its reducing aircraft speed on battery warning..

It may be worth trying the same with a brand new battery, I don’t even begin to pretend that I know much about this but is there not deterioration as the battery gets older and maybe the update was a coincidence?

Zamboon Posted at 2017-10-10 01:44
It may be worth trying the same with a brand new battery, I don’t even begin to pretend that I know much about this but is there not deterioration as the battery gets older and maybe the update was a coincidence?

You have stated a good valid point to consider .
I have 4 batteries so each one is only discharged about 10 times .

My idea of regulation for the unit is instead of letting the battery discharge beyond the ' C ' rating and give an error - it should reduce demand from the motor on the battery BEFORE an error condition occurs .

It is quite understandable that when an ' out of control ' event happens that the system would fail to regulate the demand for current - such as a large sudden wind gust or an obstacle stopping the propeller - that a momentary error would happen ... but

When no such adverse condition exists - the system should be robust enough to NEVER malfunction by allowing NORMAL operations to demand more current from the battery than its designed maximum rating .

Applying full throttle is not considered an abnormal procedure in my opinion when operating a superior ' intelligent ' device .

I cannot contemplate any reason why it can't be prevented by design in the software .

I suppose that if I adjust the settings on the joystick to be less aggressive that it won't happen any more  .  However, I still maintain the belief that a robust system should operate in every permissible manner WITHOUT error or damaging itself AND without requiring the operator to make adjustments to standard operations in order to prevent errors and damage due to design pitfalls .

Are there any written directives in the operating manual - or any disclaiming notes or policies in the warranty agreement that stipulate that the user is responsible for attenuating input controls and / or adjusting their piloting motions to compensate for and prevent battery discharge problems ? ? ?

I don't think so - >  Maybe it could be worded like this ->

' to prevent damage or fire / explosion / destruction of your drone :
never perform piloting activities or configure physical input mechanics via software settings in such a manner that it causes a battery to discharge beyond its designated ' C ' rating . '

' failing to to prevent damage or fire / explosion / destruction of your drone :
by performing piloting activities or configuring physical input mechanics via software settings in such a manner that it causes a battery to discharge beyond its designated ' C ' rating will void your warranty .  DJI will not be held responsible for pilot failure to comply with operating manual directives in this case .'

DJI message forum posting :

Customer :
Help - I pushed the left joystick to full throttle and the drone exploded and there is nothing left but a cloud of dust .

DJI Support :
Quickly vacuum the dust from the air and direct the vacuum output into a sealable container .  We will send you a shipping label for you to send it to us for evaluation .

...

DJI Support :
After examining the particles present in the shippment you supplied, we have determined that your pressing the left joystick to full throttle has clearly violated the warranty due to the effect of it causing the battery discharge to proceed beyond its designed limits .  Evidence shows that some of the dust in the container exhibited traits that only occur during electron overexcitementality events and these events are common occurances when pilots fail to adhere to the prescribed directive to maintain their activities and configurations in a manner which positively precludes the possibility of an overcurrent discharge of the battery .

We are sorry for your loss and we appreciate your patiience .

Osee Posted at 2017-10-10 02:15
You have stated a good valid point to consider .
I have 4 batteries so each one is only discharged about 10 times .

The message is admittedly vague and perhaps poorly worded (as some of DJI's messages are), but I believe what it's really intended to communicate is that the battery isn't capable of delivering enough current to do what the aircraft is being commanded to do given its current flight conditions. That doesn't necessarily indicate any sort of design flaw or error on the pilot's part: it's really just informational and intended to help you adjust to the circumstances of the flight.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-10-10 02:35
The message is admittedly vague and perhaps poorly worded (as some of DJI's messages are), but I believe what it's really intended to communicate is that the battery isn't capable of delivering enough current to doing what the aircraft is being commanded to do given its current flight conditions. That doesn't necessarily indicate any sort of design flaw or error on the pilot's part: it's really just informational and intended to help you adjust to the circumstances of the flight.

It took me a minute to figure out what message you were referring to as being vague and poorly worded .
At first I didn't know if you were talking about my message or the person's message to whom I was replying .

Then I understood that you meant the error message in the Go App .

Point taken -

You are elucidating on what is my point exactly .

If the current flight conditions are somewhat extraordinary then I agree there should be an informational message / warning / error that your equipment is sustaining damage .

If there are NO adverse flight conditions then I claim that there should NEVER be occasion for an informational message / warning / error that your equipment is sustaining damage .

Furthermore ->

If there are NO adverse flight conditions and there IS an occasion of an informational message / warning / error that your equipment is sustaining damage .  Then it is a design flaw .

I do not consider operating the unit within the bounds of its designed limiations to be extraordinary or adverse .
I should be able to fly it at full potential, under normal conditions, without incurring damage .

Should there be a warning in the operating manual : ->

Warning :
Operating the drone at full throttle, even in ideal conditions, is likely and often damaging to the battery .  Piloting for prolonged time periods in this manner will severely shorten the lifespan of the battery and may cause harm to the motors .

Osee Posted at 2017-10-10 02:49
It took me a minute to figure out what message you were referring to as being vague and poorly worded .
At first I didn't know if you were talking about my message or the person's message to whom I was replying .

Yes, I was referring to the message in the Go app. However, I don't think that it's indicating that the equipment is "sustaining damage" but just the opposite: that the current is being limited to ensure that it the aircraft doesn't sustain damage, but with the result that it may not be able to do what you're commanding or expecting it to do.

It may also be displayed when the battery is delivering the needed current, but when continuing to do so for an extended period of time is harmful to the battery's long-term performance. If that's the case, then it's not indicating a catastrophic situation but merely a warning that you probably should land or at least find a way to fly without putting so much of a strain on the battery. At least that's my interpretation of the message, but again it's admittedly vague and to the best of my knowledge not clearly explained anywhere. DJI's documentation often leaves something to be desired, but they make the best drones on the market by far.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-10-10 02:56
Yes, I was referring to the message in the Go app. However, I don't think that it's indicating that the equipment is "sustaining damage" but just the opposite: that the current is being limited to ensure that it the aircraft doesn't sustain damage, but with the result that it may not be able to do what you're commanding or expecting it to do.

It may also be displayed when the battery is delivering the needed current, but when continuing to do so for an extended period of time is harmful to the battery's long-term performance. If that's the case, then it's not indicating a catastrophic situation but merely a warning that you probably should land or at least find a way to fly without putting so much of a strain on the battery. At least that's my interpretation of the message, but again it's admittedly vague and to the best of my knowledge not clearly explained anywhere. DJI's documentation often leaves something to be desired, but they make the best drones on the market by far.

Now that is the kind of information that I crave - and I hope you are 100 % correct .

If that is the case then I will gladly eat every word that I typed and sing praises to DJI for their excellent protection system in this regard .

However, as optimistic as you are - I am not convinced .

You made me feel better for a minute though - I sure hope you are right .

Osee Posted at 2017-10-10 03:07
Now that is the kind of information that I crave - and I hope you are 100 % correct .

If that is the case then I will gladly eat every word that I typed and sing praises to DJI for their excellent protection system in this regard .

I sure hope you are right

Even if I am, it could change in the next firmware release without any indication from DJI; that's just how they roll.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-10-10 02:56
Yes, I was referring to the message in the Go app. However, I don't think that it's indicating that the equipment is "sustaining damage" but just the opposite: that the current is being limited to ensure that it the aircraft doesn't sustain damage, but with the result that it may not be able to do what you're commanding or expecting it to do.

It may also be displayed when the battery is delivering the needed current, but when continuing to do so for an extended period of time is harmful to the battery's long-term performance. If that's the case, then it's not indicating a catastrophic situation but merely a warning that you probably should land or at least find a way to fly without putting so much of a strain on the battery. At least that's my interpretation of the message, but again it's admittedly vague and to the best of my knowledge not clearly explained anywhere. DJI's documentation often leaves something to be desired, but they make the best drones on the market by far.

By the way Captain : I have just a few questions .

How many times have you equivalently flown around the world ?
and
How much time would it take for all your travels to be made at the speed of light ?
or
At the air speed velocity of an unladen European swallow ?

Hi Osee, please try to fully discharge the battery then charge it to full, if the issue persists, if the error message shows up on the app, could you please provide us with the screenshots of the error message and the battery info? Thank you.

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-10-10 03:08
I sure hope you are right

Even if I am, it could change in the next firmware release without any indication from DJI; that's just how they roll.

Understood -
It would be nice if they at least would label it with a proper indicator .
Such as warning for indicating that it is a preventative message .
Or Error for indicating that malfunction has occurred .

That is why I think it is actually a malfunction resulting in damage, because they indicate it is an error and they even vibrate the phone or the controller ...

Maybe I am giving them too much credence by thinking they would or could provide a proper indication without extreme guidance or coercion .

I don't know if you read my rant about the first two days that I had the drone ->
I spent 16 battery charges trying to fix my system to solve a ' network error ' while trying to activate .
I finally downloaded an older Go App version and it gave an error of ' NOSERVERDEVICESFOUND ' .

Funny how my network suddenly corrected itself as soon as they got their servers working again ...

I have seen forum messages lately about activation problems and I understand that the latest Go App version has a more appropriate error message ... maybe they paid attention to some of my outbursts #

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-10-10 03:32
Hi Osee, please try to fully discharge the battery then charge it to full, if the issue persists, if the error message shows up on the app, could you please provide us with the screenshots of the error message and the battery info? Thank you.

Thank you for your response -
I don't know how to do a screenshot - I don't think the error stays on the screen for me to get another phone and take a picture or not .

I can try the discharge / charge process and see what happens .

DJI Thor Posted at 2017-10-10 03:32
Hi Osee, please try to fully discharge the battery then charge it to full, if the issue persists, if the error message shows up on the app, could you please provide us with the screenshots of the error message and the battery info? Thank you.

Hmmm,

Since I know a bit about electronics and because of your advice - I am starting to wonder about this overcurrent discharge rate indication ...

Is it really a precise measurement of current ?
or
Is it really a calculation based on battery voltage ?  With the calculation being that if there is a sudden drop in voltage that it is assumed an overcurrent has occurred ?

Being that your directive is to fully discharge and charge the battery, gives me the idea that maybe the fully charged characteristics of the battery can change - leading to the supposition that in some circumstances the fully charged battery may exhibit a larger than normal voltage drop during high current demands .

In the case that I am thinking about - it is really that the battery is experiencing a sudden voltage drop and NOT an overcurrent discharge .  Possibly due to the battery having an initial voltage somewhat higher than normal at full charge .  And that higher voltage drops suddenly during the first moments of high demand flight, if done immediately after starting a flight with a newly charged battery ...

Therefore a conditioning session of fully discharging then fully charging the battery may remedy the situation by preventing the initial charge from being abnormally high ...

I suppose that it could be that the initial charge voltage is higher than usual OR the charateristic of the fully charged battery is that it is momentarily unable to supply as much current as it normally would -  so then the initial high demand flight would also cause a larger voltage  drop due to the battery not being able to supply the normal amount of  current at full charge .

In any event - it appears that after some time of flight - when the battery has discharged to a voltage point lower than the fully charged voltage - that the probability of having  an overcurrent error diminishes .

Of course there are 3 possible origins of this indicaton - internal to the battery - internal to the drone - internal to the Go App - I think it is doubtful that it is the battery that generates the overcurrent error - and probably not the drone - most likely it is just the Go App that is monitoring the voltage and seeing a sudden drop .
I will be amazed if it is the battery - I will be surprised if it is the drone - I will consider it reasonable if it is the Go App .

I am not referring to the origin of the signal - of course that is coming from the battery - I am referring to the point of intelligence that is making the determination about the error level being reached .  I doubt that the battery or the drone is producing the error flag .  And I doubt that it is an actual current reading .

Once again - I will be amazed if it is the battery producing the actual error code based on true current measurements - then that code is passed to the drone then to the Go App .
Most likely it is just the drone reading and relaying the current battery voltage to the Go App and the App is making the determination to raise the error .

IS THERE A WAY TO GET A CONFIRMATION OR DENIAL OF THIS HYPOTHESIS ?  from a genuine technical advisor who KNOWS exactly how the system operates ?

I would very much appreciate being informed that I am CORRECT or INCORRECT .
I don't care about being right or wrong - I care about understanding what is really happening .

Thank you DJI support for any help you can give on this topic - your response of relative and pertinent information in this regard will be proof of your good will towards your customers .

I am actually hopeful that it is just a calculation based on the voltage because a calculation based upon voltage drop may be erroneous and not necessarily indicative of battery damage . I am starting to think I am all wrong; that it is not a calculation in the Go App based on voltage .

If it is a function of the battery itself making the determination that an overcurrent discharge error has occured - then it is indicative that the battery is sustaining damage .

That would be bad and it will be interesting to see if DJI admits to it and posts it here .

I really am trying to be optimistic - it is just very difficult to do so .