PreArm/Arm: Battery 1 unhealthy

[wyatthensley]

When getting the drone to arm, I kept getting an error.

I had to connect to Mission Planner to get a readout on what the error was and it is showing up as:

1. PreArm: Battery 1 unhealthy (before attempting to arm the drone)
2. Arm: Battery 1 unhealthy (after attempting to move the left joystick to arm the drone)

Looking around on the net, it might have something to do with the battery failsafe settings.

I set it up for:
-Low Battery: 9.6
-Reserve mah: 750 (1/4 of 3000 mah)

I am using the Ovonic battery that came with the Pi-Drone kit. I also bought three more knowing that I want to flow a while when I go, but they are all stating the same error.

Any ideas?

[wyatthensley]

I am discharging all of my batteries atm.
Hoping I can ‘reset’ them.

[jax200]

I’m unclear, what was the charge of the battery?
If the smoke stopper is still connected, then disconnect it. Only need it for initial testing of the sytem.

[wyatthensley]

I really appreciate the reply/support!

I removed the smoke stopper and tried three batteries… same results.

What else could it be???

[wyatthensley]

So I removed the smoke stopper and tested on three batteries.
The batt’s were charged to max with a smart charger (C240 Duo).
Went so far as to fully discharge and then charge.

What should the settings be in Mission Planner for a 3s 50c 3000mah 11.1v?

I have a feeling that the settings might be causing the issue and not the batt’s.

[jax200]

Could you print out the MP Messages tab when you power up?

It might be related to how you setup ‘Battery Monitor’ under MP SETUP/Optional Hardware/Battery Monitor. What does that show?

During flight, you want to stop battery discharging around 3.5v/cell, so in a 3S use 10.5V in MP SETUP/Mandatory Hardware/FailSafe/‘Low Battery’ [see https://oscarliang.com/monitor-measure-battery-voltage-alarm-drone/].

Can bypass this by going to MP CONFIG/ARMING_CHECK and uncheck Batter Level for now.

[wyatthensley]

Apology for the late reply.
I was able to get a battery connected and it off the ground following your advice!
Thanks for the help!!

[jax200]

Glad to hear.

[joshua]

What are the correct ‘Battery Monitor’ settings in MP SETUP/Optional Hardware/Battery Monitor?

I’ve tried a bunch of different settings and none of them seem to provide any battery information. I’m using the PiHawk drone and have built it as close as possible to the directions shown in the 21-Steps & Raspberry Pi drone courses.

[jax200]

This setup is working for me. You are testing with only the LiPo, correct?

For more information, see https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-power-module-configuration-in-mission-planner.html

[joshua]

Thanks Jax.

I had to set the sensor to 3DR Power Module first, then I could change it to “0: Other” and calibrate based on what my external sensors were reading. If I tried to go straight to “0: Other” then every Measured battery voltage that I entered gave an error.

[jax200]

So it is now working or …?

[joshua]

Yes, it’s working now. Thank you for responding so quickly and with such helpful advice.