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Problem with Car Charger
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16465 45 2017-1-14
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ampand
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hey there,

i just wanted to load the batteries of the mavic in the car. It didn`t work ...

on the car charger of dji is written:
Model: C3S78
Input: 13V/26V … 9A
Output: 13.05V…6A

in the online Store the specs a these ..

Produktmodell: C3S78
temp: 5° to 40° C
Input: 12,3-16 V (Limousine) 25-30 V (Bus)
output: 13,05 V; 6 A; 78 W
charging time*: 54 min




so - as every car battery has a 12 V output (NOT 13V) it won`t work. Thats ashame, as you sell it as acar charger with other specs.


You are not delivering, as the specs on your homepage are written.


So what are you going to do, making this work?




2017-1-14
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chippie
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United Kingdom
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It does work however the engine must be running at the time. The lighter in every car gives out 12v when the car is not running but 13.8v when the engine is idle.
EDIT: To be fair there are lots of car chargers out there that only work when the engine is running. There are 2 reasons for this, firstly due to the current that some chargers require and secondly as to not discharge the car battery to a non functioning state.
2017-1-14
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ampand
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chippie Posted at 2017-1-14 14:40
It does work however the engine must be running at the time. The lighter in every car gives out 12v when the car is not running but 13.8v when the engine is idle.

thats not the fact - the specs on the selling homepage are:

Input: 12,3-16 V (Limousine) 25-30 V (Bus)

so it must be able to charge the battery when the car is turned off. - How stupid would it be, let the car run for charging the battery.

It might be also a problem, if you are on expedition and are in the need of a batterypack which gives out 12,0 V. I could even load my MacBookPro like this.

And as said - the specs on the HP are 12,3 V and not 13V.
2017-1-14
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ampand
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chippie Posted at 2017-1-14 14:40
It does work however the engine must be running at the time. The lighter in every car gives out 12v when the car is not running but 13.8v when the engine is idle.
EDIT: To be fair there are lots of car chargers out there that only work when the engine is running. There are 2 reasons for this, firstly due to the current that some chargers require and secondly as to not discharge the car battery to a non functioning state.

ad to your edit ...


this is the full information on the dji store:

The Mavic Car Charger is used to charge the Intelligent Flight Battery through a car's cigarette lighter port. It comes with low-voltage protection to ensure enough starting battery voltage for the car. Overheating protection will automatically cut off charging if your cigarette lighter port exceeds a certain temperature.

Specifications
Product Model: C3S78
Operating Temperature: 41° to 104° F (5° to 40° C)
Input Voltage: 12.3-16 V (Sedan); 25-30 V (Coach)
DC Output: 13.05 V; 6 A; 78 W
Charge Time*: 54 min

so it means you have also protection of low-volt of your car battery - so thats also not an argument ...
2017-1-14
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chippie
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I was not referring to the Mavic Car charger, I was referring to other chargers that may require higher currents etc. It was an example.

Yes the specs on the DJI Website are not correct and they should have changed them or at least add the fact that the engine must be running.

There is really no point in arguing that it should charge with the engine off as it does not unfortunately. However there are other 3rd Party chargers on eBay that do this successfully.
2017-1-14
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ampand
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chippie Posted at 2017-1-14 15:03
I was not referring to the Mavic Car charger, I was referring to other chargers that may require higher currents etc. It was an example.

Yes the specs on the DJI Website are not correct and they should have changed them or at least add the fact that the engine must be running.

hmmm that would be the quickiest solution - to buy a 3rd party charger (but really this shouldn`t be the solution, if dji offers a car charger with this specs)

I`m just upset, how dji is giving wrong informations and charging for it money too.

but if they can´t provide as listed, they should also take it back and make a refund ...

2017-1-14
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icerecou
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ouaw.. so need to drive to charge..
2017-1-14
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chippie
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ampand Posted at 2017-1-14 15:10
hmmm that would be the quickiest solution - to buy a 3rd party charger (but really this shouldn`t be the solution, if dji offers a car charger with this specs)

I`m just upset, how dji is giving wrong informations and charging for it money too.

I am sure they will take it back for a refund and should pay for return shipping as it is slightly mis-represented. :-)
2017-1-14
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Landbo
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Denmark
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And there is not blown a fuse to your connector in the car  ?

Regards Leif.
2017-1-14
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fansa2b4bac9
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Greece
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my car charger not even open the green light when i am driving i have smart 451 and car charger dont work
2017-1-15
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CuaC
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Germany
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Have you tried to use other charger in your cig plug of your car? Maybe there is an issue there. To me it also makes sense that it works when the engine is turned on (In fact, my car cuts off the electricity on that port if the engine is turned off) I find the car charger to be something you use to charge your batteries when moving from one place to another. I.e. you film 10 minutes in one location, yo need to move to another one that´s 30 min away, so you plug the charger and get that battery up on your way.
2017-1-15
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ampand
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CuaC Posted at 2017-1-15 06:43
Have you tried to use other charger in your cig plug of your car? Maybe there is an issue there. To me it also makes sense that it works when the engine is turned on (In fact, my car cuts off the electricity on that port if the engine is turned off) I find the car charger to be something you use to charge your batteries when moving from one place to another. I.e. you film 10 minutes in one location, yo need to move to another one that´s 30 min away, so you plug the charger and get that battery up on your way.

if you have just a battery pack (in my case the goal zero sherpa 100) which has a 12 V plug, it should run referring to the specs on djis homepage.

But there is no chance ...

or what if you are on a location with your car and not traveling around - you have to run your car? My car has an extra battery for charging things and is made specially for such a case.

But anyhow - dji won`t get a solution - I´ll buy a third party charger, which workks - costs about 20 € and the car charger from dji 55 €

as above said - a refund shouldn`t be a problem because of the wrong information from dji
2017-1-15
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Dronoob
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Guys, get the basics right before you complain.

1) A fully charge lead acid battery has an output of around 12.7V. When you discharge it, the voltage drops. At 12V the charge level is around 20% and the battery won't be able to start your car anymore when it gets cold.

2) Lighter sockets in cars only work when the car is turned on. There might be cars that are different, but I have not seen many.

To check if the charger is broken, turn on the engine. The engine will output around 14V to charge the battery and the DJI charger will get the same voltage. If the charger is still not working, the lighter socket is broken, the charger is broken, or there is an issue between the socket and plug.

2017-1-15
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ampand
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i`ve written a mail to dji support germany - the answer says everything, how they support define:

Support8.DE (DJI)
Jan 16, 18:05 HKT

Sehr Amplatz,

stecken Sie das Autoladegerät an. Es ist das richtige product.*
Best Regards,
Technical Support
DJI GmbH

* connect your car charger. it`s the right product.


how bad is that?
2017-1-16
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Dronoob
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ampand Posted at 2017-1-16 02:08
i`ve written a mail to dji support germany - the answer says everything, how they support define:

Support8.DE (DJI)

Besides the bad service, what it now your exact problem? You started by complaining that it is a bad product but you never gave any more details about your problem.

Does the charger charge when the car is turned on? Is the plug broken? Or does the charger not work at all even when the socket provides sufficient voltage?
2017-1-16
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ampand
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Dronoob Posted at 2017-1-16 03:41
Besides the bad service, what it now your exact problem? You started by complaining that it is a bad product but you never gave any more details about your problem.

Does the charger charge when the car is turned on? Is the plug broken? Or does the charger not work at all even when the socket provides sufficient voltage?

as written first:

the car charger works fine - but only with 13 V

My issue is, that i want to charge the batteries without starting the engine of my car and also want to use my battery pack for expeditions (where i have no other power supply und this serves me 12 V) and here it doesn`t work - because it needs 13 V - on the dji homepage are the specs that there is input of 12,3 V.

I also asked a electrician to measure everything and he told me the same - with this charger from dji you can`t charge with 12 V. You need a plug which delivers 13 V (is also written on the back of the charger)

The problem is - dji is not delivering, what they are selling.

If they would have written in the specs 13 V - then it would be ok and I would have known, that this charger isn`t for my needs - now I have spent 55 € and can`t use it.

And as seen, djis TECHNICAL SERVICE is really poor - for giving such a unprofessional answer.
2017-1-16
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Dronoob
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ampand Posted at 2017-1-16 09:19
as written first:

the car charger works fine - but only with 13 V

OK, I guess I get your point. You have connected the charger to a system that delivers 12V and the charger does not work. It only starts working at higher voltages that you get when the car's engine is charging (at ~14V).

One thing that is not clear to me: Why does it not charge when the engine is off? A fully charged car battery should deliver 12.8V. Is that not sufficient? Is your battery too weak? Or does the charger not charge at 12.8V because it definitely wants 13V?

The charger has a USB port where its firmware can be updated. Maybe DJI can fix the required voltage with an update? I find 13V for a 12V charger not really good.
2017-1-16
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Jason Lane
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ampand Posted at 2017-1-16 09:19
as written first:

the car charger works fine - but only with 13 V

Are you sure your car's lighter port supplies power while the car is off? Most of the cars I've owned do not supply power with the car off.
2017-1-16
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ampand
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Jason Lane Posted at 2017-1-16 11:32
Are you sure your car's lighter port supplies power while the car is off? Most of the cars I've owned do not supply power with the car off.

yes - other chargers work fine
2017-1-16
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ampand
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Dronoob Posted at 2017-1-16 11:21
OK, I guess I get your point. You have connected the charger to a system that delivers 12V and the charger does not work. It only starts working at higher voltages that you get when the car's engine is charging (at ~14V).

One thing that is not clear to me: Why does it not charge when the engine is off? A fully charged car battery should deliver 12.8V. Is that not sufficient? Is your battery too weak? Or does the charger not charge at 12.8V because it definitely wants 13V?

at my car charger is no usb port
2017-1-16
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MIP
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Lots of DC to DC voltage step up converters out there which they may be using. This may expolain the substantial difference in amps in vs amps out.
2017-1-16
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Henry M.Y.
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Dear Ampand,

I own DJI car chargers for Inspire 1, Phantom 3 and Mavic Pro.

Whilst all 3 car chargers are announced by DJI to have identical input specifications i.e. 12.3 - 16V (sedan) as well as low-voltage protections, the Mavic Pro car charger is the ONLY charger that won't charge with engine-off. The other 2 car chargers work flawlessly charging Inspire 1 and Phantom 3 batteries with engine-off down to the point of low-voltage protection kicking-in. What is the point of low-voltage protection IF the Mavic Pro car charger won't function at all with engine-off?

There must be something wrong with my Mavic Pro car charger - either it is defective or it was manufactured with erroneous specifications. Having read through forum threads, I did not notice any case of having a single Mavic Pro car charger that functions as specified with engine-off. With all the reporting cases of Mavic Pro car charger not functioning with engine-off, I am of the view that my Mavic Pro charger, and probably all Mavic Pro car chargers released so far, were manufactured with erroneous specifications!

Hope DJI can look into the problem, and let us have a replacement of a functional Mavic Pro car charger!

Henry

2017-2-4
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fans8d2b2dd1
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Having the same issue here... Doesn't work at 12.98Vs. It only starts charging if I use a source above 13.1v's... wtf... Inspire & Phantom 3 pro car chargers work just fine....
2017-3-12
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Cristián4
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Hello, Have a same problem. Car charger dosent work (engine on and off).  Can anyone solve this issue or has some recommendation ?????{:4_157:}
2017-3-18
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chippie
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Cristián4 Posted at 2017-3-18 13:28
Hello, Have a same problem. Car charger dosent work (engine on and off).  Can anyone solve this issue or has some recommendation ?????

If you purchased it separately then return it to DJI, if not perhaps sell it yourself and buy the different style one of eBay or Amazon, they work fine with the engine off providing you get any voltage in that state of course. There is no work around I'm afraid.
2017-3-18
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Bintryin
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ampand Posted at 2017-1-16 09:19
as written first:

the car charger works fine - but only with 13 V

Mine charges just fine and I don't need the motor running just turn the key and have acc on
2017-3-18
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tellus1
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Mine will onky charge with engine running. Its very disappointing as i have a 2nd battery fitted just for charging items when we go away/camping
2017-3-18
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Cristián4
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chippie Posted at 2017-3-18 14:48
If you purchased it separately then return it to DJI, if not perhaps sell it yourself and buy the different style one of eBay or Amazon, they work fine with the engine off providing you get any voltage in that state of course. There is no work around I'm afraid.

thanks! i´ll buy some in Amazon.
2017-3-24
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JoeSlasher
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Thanks ampand for sharing.  I agree with you that this is false advertising as the input voltage range should work down to 12.3 volts.  I have the same issue you are experiencing with the Mavic Pro Car Charger not charging with the vehicle off.  The input voltage drops to around 12.5 volts on my car with the engine off.  The cutoff on my car charger is somewhere around 12.6 volts where the status light begins to blink and eventually turn off.  I plan on contacting DJI to see what options they offer.
2017-4-7
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JoeSlasher
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Bintryin Posted at 2017-3-18 17:51
Mine charges just fine and I don't need the motor running just turn the key and have acc on

Bintryin, you are the only one that I know of that has reported that your car charger functions with your engine off.  Please give us details to help us all out.  This will help us understand if all mavic pro chargers have a low cutoff issue at <13 volts or if some of the newer production units do allow the charger to charge down to 12.3 volts per specification.

What is your voltage at the car charger outlet when your vehicle is off?
Did you successfully charge a full battery with the vehicle off?
Did the status light stay solid or did it blink when the car is off?  If the voltage is around 12.5 v, I experienced the status light would blink.  When this occurs, the charger will not charge the battery.

Thanks for your help.
2017-4-7
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AACY
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I don't think this is a problem of voltage, but amperage.
2017-4-7
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truthseekers
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I just got a Mavic fly more bundle. I am electrically trained so know what im talking about here. The car charger didnt work for me in the car with engine off, running or driving for 7 hours. All it did was bring up one flashing light on the battery on charge,. Tried all three batts in the box. Nothing. Took it home and hooked it up to an **expensive** regulated bench power supply with 100% clean 13.8volt output. Nothing again.  

As an aside I found that the mains charger wouldt work on my 2 car inverters which worked happily with Phantom pro charger. Its fair enough that it may want a Pure Sine Wave inverter not my cheapo Modified Sine Wave ones. So I have ordered myself a Pure Sine Wave Inverter one because I need some form of car charging. However  I would like to use 2 chargers, this 12 volt one and my mains one... and if this issue happens on the next car charger i will be buying mains ones after that.... so I can confirm this is a problem for some of us... many people seem to be having it. I think DJI designed some very quirky chargers for the Mavic which may have fussy power requirements and maybe a lot of duds being sent out too?

Im in touch with DJI support to get it replaced... I will inform you what is said and what happens.
2017-4-13
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fans6a111c75
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Geez, bunch of people throwing numbers around here like they know what they're talking about...  A fully charged car battery that is not defective will put out 12.6 volts. Not 12, not 12.7, not 12.8, not 13. The 12.3v cutoff is to prevent you from being stranded with a dead battery. The first thing I'd check if your charger doesn't work with the key off is to have the battery load tested. You may have a battery on its way out, and not realize it.

Now, I've just discovered an issue with the Mavic Pro charger and my 2004 GMC pickup, the socket doesn't seem to like the DJI plug. The DJI plug works in my Tacoma, it works in my 500E, and it works in my M3 and my WRX. I'm not sure what the heck is so special about the GMC ( and I imagine most if not all GM products) lighter and accessory sockets, but I'm going to pull one and bench test it with the Mavic Pro charger. I'll post up if I find any issues... otherwise I'll be scratching my head and calling DJI support. Based on my last interaction with them, though, I'm not very confident I'll get a solution form them.
2017-4-15
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fans6a111c75
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<edit> My charger works in all my other vehicles with the engine running or not, but all my batteries are in good shape. Was a mechanic for over 2 decades, so I stay on top of that stuff.
2017-4-15
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Jeep_Daddy
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I wish it would charge while I'm at the park flying my Mavic, but I do go 4Wheelin' out in the desert and when I stop I'll fly until the battery needs charging and then drive my Jeep on down the trail. As I'm driving it will charge.  I have 3 batteries total, but think I'll buy a couple extra to resolve the problem.  I can tell you one thing that is really cool, and that is that the adapter than fit the Mavic battery with the 2 USB ports is great.  I charged my phone and the Mavic controller while I was resting and it only took about 15% of the smart batteries power to do it.
2017-6-14
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Jeep_Daddy
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Jeep_Daddy Posted at 2017-6-14 15:58
I wish it would charge while I'm at the park flying my Mavic, but I do go 4Wheelin' out in the desert and when I stop I'll fly until the battery needs charging and then drive my Jeep on down the trail. As I'm driving it will charge.  I have 3 batteries total, but think I'll buy a couple extra to resolve the problem.  I can tell you one thing that is really cool, and that is that the adapter than fit the Mavic battery with the 2 USB ports is great.  I charged my phone and the Mavic controller while I was resting and it only took about 15% of the smart batteries power to do it.

PS - how do I get more points so I can start a topic?
2017-6-14
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TekSone
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fans6a111c75 Posted at 2017-4-15 16:28
Geez, bunch of people throwing numbers around here like they know what they're talking about...  A fully charged car battery that is not defective will put out 12.6 volts. Not 12, not 12.7, not 12.8, not 13. The 12.3v cutoff is to prevent you from being stranded with a dead battery. The first thing I'd check if your charger doesn't work with the key off is to have the battery load tested. You may have a battery on its way out, and not realize it.

Now, I've just discovered an issue with the Mavic Pro charger and my 2004 GMC pickup, the socket doesn't seem to like the DJI plug. The DJI plug works in my Tacoma, it works in my 500E, and it works in my M3 and my WRX. I'm not sure what the heck is so special about the GMC ( and I imagine most if not all GM products) lighter and accessory sockets, but I'm going to pull one and bench test it with the Mavic Pro charger. I'll post up if I find any issues... otherwise I'll be scratching my head and calling DJI support. Based on my last interaction with them, though, I'm not very confident I'll get a solution form them.

I can tell you what my problem was when I used my friends laptop car charger and why I haven't bought this charger for my batteries. I have a cooler for keeping things cold when I go on long drives/camping and a product made to inflate floats, air mattresses, etc. I cannot run them from my vehicle, Goal Zero Yeti 150 or Goal Zero Yeti 400 12V ports. Look at the silver post of the plug.  See how the post is surrounded by the silver ring? Sometimes that keeps the post from making a solid connection to the backside of the 12V ports. Some times the width of the barrel can be an issue, the barrel doesn't make it down the port far enough to make a solid connection. I learned about this problem from someone on Youtube, I included the video.  You can see a visual point I am trying to make here and it starts at 2:50 in this video . I bought an extension cable not a splitter.  I feel that since it only came with 1 receptacle, only one thing should be plugged in at a time. I would need to test the DJI plug in the 12V port in my vehicle and Goal Zero Yetis to see if this might be a problem for me. If it does not work I know I'd have to plug it into the extension cable and the extension cable into 12V port. The extension cable doesn't have a ring around the post and starts to narrow at the tip. I included pictures also.
Post ring.png
Extension Cable.png
2017-6-15
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terry735001
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United States
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i to am runing into the same thing

but i found out the hard way  on a long RV trip  so i lost alot of flying time

got home email DJI and yep would you know it the line of games and paper work and as i am about to give up and late them win i look up to see if others are having this same thing

so testing in a 2014 chevy volt  works when every it wants too
testing in my RV  where i have a meter to show amps puled form the system and volts on my battery system for the RV and
it does not matter what the temp is out side 8000 feet or sea level 12v to 14 volts  its did not work
when motor not running and solar push any thing over 14.5 volts it would some times work  

90% of the time this thing does not work  
now for me its about safety and keeping my battery's in good health  and my charger just seems like its not getting the power it need to work and i keep seeing the batter start and stop the charge over and over again and i know thats not good for the battery's them self so my tip is to never use this charge
2017-6-17
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Andretti
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Iceland
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Tried to charge my Mavic battery while driving yesterday. The battery had 40% charge when I started driving. Drove for 1 hour and 40 minutes on a highway. All the way the battery indicated charging with the green leds flashing as it normaly does when charging. Checked charge at end of driving, put battery in the Mavic, turned on and checked battery with the controller. It showed only 38% = less than when I started.

I'm very disapointed whith the DJI car charger. If there is some problem the battery should not indicate charging when it does not charge.
2017-6-29
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Drone Hammer
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Well It Works in my wife’s Kia but not my F150. Apparently some vehicles are wired through the computer on the cigarette plugs and do not put out the voltage needed. Wire one to the battery and only use it when cranked and It Works fine.
2017-7-11
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