Quadcopter dips when battery voltage hits 10.8 volts

Posted by Bob Jones on September 18, 2013 at 5:06pm

I am a completely new to this sport?  Am a tech guy so not completely lost in someways.. (but still completely lost in others :) )

I have a 3dr quad I bought ready to fly...  Is my first APM quad.

I am still firmly in the fly, crash, rebuild... repeat cycle :)

I just added a voltage checker / alarm in an attempt to mitigate the risk of falling out of the sky when the battery (3s 3300mah) runs down.

It looks like the alarm is set to go off at 10.5 volts...however at 10.8 or so the quad violently dips towards one motor...

I have calibrated the ESC's with the all in one method.

I have searched the forums but I suspect I don't know how to phrase the question...

I just set the battery failsafe to 10.8 volts.

Is this expected behavior?  The default was 9.6 volts so it seems like having issues at 10.8 isn't optimal.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

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Replies

  • Jeff P September 18, 2013 at 5:33pm
    9.6V on a 3S lipo is 3.2V per cell
    I would never run any of my batteries down this low .
    I have never used failsafes on any of the helis and planes I fly
    Use a timer
    If you must set a failsafe 3.6V per cell would be better if you want your batteries to last for multiple cycles. You can also monitor the voltage and amps in mission planner and also display battery useage in percentage. You never want to put any more then 80 percent of the MAH back into the battery. Personally I wouldn't go past 70 percent. Good luck Jeff
  • Mike Boland September 18, 2013 at 5:24pm

    Dipping towards one motor (is it the same motor every time?) sounds like the voltage cutoff on the ESC's might operational and set high.

    Usually the voltage cutoff on ESC's is disabled for multicopters.

    The 3DR ESC's I would expect have the voltage cutoff disabled but it is worth a check.

    How hot are the ESC's getting?

    How hot are the motors?

    Could it be a loose connection that is co-incidental to the voltage?

    Just some thoughts

  • Rob Bartlett September 18, 2013 at 5:21pm

    Could one of your ESC's be hitting the low-voltage cutoff?

This reply was deleted.