Abnormal high battery consumption

[rickc]

I am getting a low battery warning within 1 or 2 minutes after takeoff. First I thought it was a bad battery but it's happening on a couple of different batteries.

Recent modification includes new high intensity lights but they were working okay for the last week or so. Everything else is stable.

I'm in the field and wonder how to diagnose this kind of problem any ideas appreciated

 

[jimloss]

I am getting a low battery warning within 1 or 2 minutes after takeoff. First I thought it was a bad battery but it's happening on a couple of different batteries.

Recent modification includes new high intensity lights but they were working okay for the last week or so. Everything else is stable.

I'm in the field and wonder how to diagnose this kind of problem any ideas appreciated

Is it a false warning, or are the batteries actually low?

To correct false warnings:
I've rerouted the sensor wires at the battery terminal under the GPS so that they aren't entangled with the power wires
Re-soldered the sensor wires
Lightly sanded the top copper battery connector on the Solo - 200, 400, then 600 wet/dry paper

It wasn't until I did all three of these that I eliminated the false warnings. Re-soldering helped the most, sanding the battery terminal (topside and underside) resolved low battery warnings during flights with lots of vibration (high speed in wind).

 

[Saijin_Naib]

To correct false warnings:
I've rerouted the sensor wires at the battery terminal under the GPS so that they aren't entangled with the power wires
Re-soldered the sensor wires
Lightly sanded the top copper battery connector on the Solo - 200, 400, then 600 wet/dry paper

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but do you have pictures of the signal wires and where you routed them? That sounds like a very reasonable mod, but I'm not overly familiar with the internal layout of the Solo mainboard yet, so seeing a picture of what you did would be immensely helpful for me. Thanks!

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

I'm not sure how any of that could possibly change anything. The battery information is i2c data. The autopilot requests it from the battery, and the battery responds with the data. That data cannot be altered by cleaning the terminals or adding solder. It's there, or it isn't.

 

[jimloss]

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but do you have pictures of the signal wires and where you routed them? That sounds like a very reasonable mod, but I'm not overly familiar with the internal layout of the Solo mainboard yet, so seeing a picture of what you did would be immensely helpful for me. Thanks!

Might be able to snap a picture later, but just pull the battery tray, unplug the sensor wires running from the battery terminal to the main board (plug on main board), route the sensor above the power wires along the inside edge of Solo's frame and straight down to the main board.

 

[rickc]

So, in response to first kind reply, batteries are actually low ... Not false warning.

Unlikely that 3 diff batteries are defective ...

 

[Pedals2Paddles]

So, if the batteries are actually low.... You said you attached some high power lights to the solo. This kind of seems obvious. You added weight, which increases throttle required for flight which draws down the battery faster. And you added the electrical load of the lights.

 

[rcflyingaddict]

I am getting a low battery warning within 1 or 2 minutes after takeoff. First I thought it was a bad battery but it's happening on a couple of different batteries.

Recent modification includes new high intensity lights but they were working okay for the last week or so. Everything else is stable.

I'm in the field and wonder how to diagnose this kind of problem any ideas appreciated

Not that I'm looking for 120 second flight times but curious about your light setup. are you using the accessory port? post some pics if yay have.

 

[rickc]

They were purchased from one of the me.bers of this forum.

I am supposed to be flying some high risk areas, where a sudden loss of battery power would be catastrophic.

 

[Maddog]

They were purchased from one of the me.bers of this forum.

I am supposed to be flying some high risk areas, where a sudden loss of battery power would be catastrophic.

What happens if you leave the lights off?

 

[rickc]

Lucky I have a back up solo in the field (BTW "in the field" means I spend a lot of money and do things for free). Back now and will investigate further.