What's wrong with my quadcopter batteries?

The Flying Boo

Junior Member
Hi all,

I have received a Syma x5c quadcopter (used from a brother), he had purchased 4 extra batteries along with this quadcopter. The batteries are "3.7V 600mAh." Along with the batteries is a 4-in-1 charger that can be plugged in via USB or wall plug adapter.

After flying the other day, my quadcopter began to slow down. I landed in front of me and checked the battery, which was fine. I tried to take off again and the motor didn't work. The motor had been burnt out. I purchased 4 new motors that were made for this particular model of quad and replaced the burnt motor. This may be where the problem lies but I highly doubt it.

The day the quad had burnt out, I plugged the batteries into the wall (4 of them) and left for dinner (and some activities with the family). They charged for maybe 5-6 hours, when I returned home later. I unplugged them since all the indicators were off, and they were complete.

Yesterday, I repaired the quad and it flew just fine! The only problem was the battery indicator light on my controller started flashing immediately- with a freshly charged battery. The quad flew very well for maybe 30 seconds, and then without hesitation began flying around 5-10 feet off the ground. It was very slow to ascend (although the turning was perfectly OK) and was very lethargic to my throttle control.

My question is, is it possible they were overcharged? They were on the charger for longer than they needed to be, but according to other resources, I was told they should stop charging immediately when they reach their limit. Is it possible I messed something up on the inside when repairing the motor? I didn't move anything around, I spliced the motor onto the old motor wires. All 4 batteries that were charged on the charger do the same thing.

Thank you all for your help, in advanced. I much appreciate it.


EDIT:

I have tested each battery with a volt meter and each one reads about 4.1-4.2 volts, after a charge. The one thing I noticed, when I tested each individual motor, was that although the average was around 3.7 volts, the voltage fluctuated to around 1.8 and just kept changing, like it was getting less power than what it needed to run at full power.

When I ran it, I could hear each motor changing pitch as it spun. Indicating to me, atleast, that it was not receiving enough power and changed pitch due to that.

I don't know much but it could be the motherboard of the quad, or the batteries are severely damaged and just don't like me :p

OR It could be the new motor that I just added to it. The new motor was meant for this model but it's possible I have a faulty motor.
 
Last edited:

The Flying Boo

Junior Member
Also, the drone kept going further closer to the ground. In spurts it would be able to fly up higher, but then would suddenly "cut out" and hit the ground, where it would continue flying and staying close to the ground. Even at full throttle it would stay 3 feet from the ground.
 

The Flying Boo

Junior Member
That's the exact thread I read up on. Just thought I'd post somewhere else to be sure other sources are true as well. My dad is on his way home with a volt meter I will use to check the batteries.

Thanks for your response.
 

FlyingMonkey

Bought Another Trailer
Staff member
Admin
The full charge on single cell batteries should be 4.2v

What could happen is if you over discharge them, they will quickly start losing life. They will charge to full capacity, but they will run out of charge faster.

If you're flying until the battery can't support the aircraft anymore, you're doing damage to the chemistry in the battery.
 

NoseyMole

Junior Member
My tiny WLToys V646 has started doing the same - not used it since last winter - got it out as the weather sucks at the moment and despite being charged, it flys for 20-30s max then lands - battery voltage tests around 4.1V after it lands...

The thing is - its not just the voltage that needs checking - its the capacity - if the cell is damaged - it will be greatly reduced - causing the voltage to drop under load and trigger the quads low voltage 'alarm'

I've now modded the charge lead so I can use my proper charger to charge the battery and not use the usb lead.
With that done - it allowed me to cycle the cell a few times and then see what charge it too. From memory, it was very low - in the 20ma range. (max 100ma) :-/
I'm still looking at an easy way to make the battery removable so I can run 2 or 3 in a row.
once I've figured that out - I'll be replacing the battery.
 
Last edited: