I have P3P, 4 battery packs (1 newer than other 3).  Lately I've been getting the Propulsion Output Limited to protect battery warning on the newer and an older battery (haven't used two others (charging those now)).  I had been flying without warnings, getting great distances but lately distances are 1/2 what they'd been and speeds are down.  Yes the batteries are 100% charged at start of mission.  This P3P has flown 6 hours 23 minutes, 305663 feet total flights 42.  Any reason why performance isn't what it had been when unit was new (2 months ago)?

Have you recently updated the P3?

I noticed that message on my P3A starting in February.  

The propulsion output is to protect the battery, your distance should not change at all. And if you are getting half the distance of what you used to, then you may have a battery issue.

I also got this warning today.  Does anyone know exactly what happens when this safeguard is activated?   Does it slow the motors down?  Decrease distance or altitude?  Thanks.

Firmware 1.5 (maybe 1.6) lowered motor output if there was voltage losses/spikes detected. This was due to cold climates and flying with cold batteries. The cold batteries would cause the P3's to drop as the motor would just shut off in mid-flight. DJI then introduced the firmware to cap the motor output in order to prevent the sudden drop from grace.

This has been in there for a long time people, a couple of months at least.

And it is not an error, it's a new safeguard put in by DJI to protect the battery (as Ken mentions). I for one am glad its there.

It isn't an error message. It doesn't say error anywhere. It's just an informational message.

Well, i think the power actually is limited at this point, to protect the ESC.. you REALLY do not want ESC to fail while in the air.. I assume it's watching the amperage and limits a bit. I have heard that's more common in cold temp, and also USUALLY (not always) happens when you have full throttle up and full speed ahead...
I would be concerned if this starts happening often, but then again I would pay attention how I am flying and review stick positions in the DJI replay....
One thing that i find annoying, is that if i play back the flight i will see this warning ONCE, but then in the same replay it does not show up, unless I quit the app and restart the replay. Healthy Drones, does capture the message, I think, but not the sticks position... I wish that DJI app would keep track of warnings/notifications and display them EVERY time at that time index...  this is on Android.. perhaps this is not an issue on IOS?

Phantomski Posted at 2016-5-30 09:45
Well, i think the power actually is limited at this point, to protect the ESC.. you REALLY do not wa ...

Actually, it is to protect the aircraft in general, not specific parts like batteries or ESCs. It is done to stop the aircraft falling out of the sky when a cold battery cannot deliver the full current demanded of it.

Ah, really? Interesting! That is not (obviously) what I assumed ;) Either way it is not something to ignore....

Phantomski Posted at 2016-5-30 13:48
Ah, really? Interesting! That is not (obviously) what I assumed ;) Either way it is not something to ...

Yeah, it is one of those cryptic DJI messages. It is sort of like having one come up in your car saying 'Driving power limited in order to protect the fuel pump'

It is a bit disturbing when you get that message while hovering just after takeoff in mild wind...

johnsr Posted at 2016-5-31 00:07
It is a bit disturbing when you get that message while hovering just after takeoff in mild wind...{: ...

My batteries weren't "cold", were inside house were temperature was 66 degrees F.  Temps outside where flying were around 50 degrees.  Doesn't matter now, my P3P crashed in heavily wooded area a few days ago after 16 minutes 32 seconds of flight time, battery was fully charged. Had only flied 6000 feet and had it on auto-home.

john.j.rowan.jr Posted at 2016-6-19 17:34
My batteries weren't "cold", were inside house were temperature was 66 degrees F.  Temps outside w ...

Sorry to hear about your crash. I hope that you have recovered your P3P.
Mine crashed in a dense oak forest at the end of last summer; it took me several trips using the GPS info to finally find it (ejected battery was also nearby). I was fairly lucky with only prop and body-shell damage (I use a camera gimbal guard); so I was able to replace the body-shell myself. My P3P has flown over 150 flights since then. So don't give up.
Best of luck!

P.S. as to my remark about the warning appearing while hovering in mild wind... the temperatures were not low either.

johnsr Posted at 2016-6-20 14:16
Sorry to hear about your crash. I hope that you have recovered your P3P.
Mine crashed in a dense o ...

mind sharing which gimbal guard you have and where you got it from?

Thanks.

dbortolli Posted at 2016-6-20 16:23
mind sharing which gimbal guard you have and where you got it from?

Thanks.

It's a carbon fiber guard (24 grams) which I bought along with my P3P from my DJI supplier in France. Sorry, but I don't know who made it. It's the common design, a bit off-center to avoid seeing it when you film downwards, and its held on with zip ties.