What Is This Part Called?

1buddyc · Jun 24, 2017

Hello everyone, I just noted what looks like something wrong with one of the 4 small "prongs" that stick up in the battery-mount area of my Imspire1 V2. It looks to me like one of them is either broken off or pushed down.. Anyone know what function these Prongs serve? All I can see where they might connect to something is on a pad on the battery itself, next to the actual battery connections. Anyone know what the 4 Prongs function is? Is this something that I actually need? I guess DJI wouldn't have included it if it if they weren't necessary
Anyway, if someone knows what this part is called or what Part System it is part of, please post here and let me know so I can order one and replace it.

AeroMirage · Jun 24, 2017

Yes, those are necessary. They are where the aircraft connects to the intelligent part of the battery to provide information as to voltage, remaining power, etc.
The short one is pushed down. I suggest some wd-40 or better yet, electrical contact cleaner to restore it's springiness.

1buddyc · Jun 24, 2017

AeroMirage said:
Yes, those are necessary. They are where the aircraft connects to the intelligent part of the battery to provide information as to voltage, remaining power, etc.
The short one is pushed down. I suggest some wd-40 or better yet, electrical contact cleaner to restore it's springiness.

OK, thanks for the tip. I did have some Electrical Contact Cleaner and lubed that post a little and then pulled the contact up and pushed it down with some small pliars. It will go up and down, if I massage it, but it still stays down after installing the Battery and I remove the Battery. There's some sort of binding in the pin housing that I cant correct that makes it stay down until I pull it up..
I probably should replace that part, does anyone have a Part Number?

AeroMirage · Jun 24, 2017

I believe that is called the power distribution board.
Probably the only place you will find one is from a salvager.
Try this guy: DJI Inspire 1/V2.0/Pro WM610 Drone Part 2 Center Frame Assembly Landing Gear | eBay
I got some parts from him and he's s solid guy.

1buddyc · Jun 24, 2017

AeroMirage said:
View attachment 14486
I believe that is called the power distribution board.
Probably the only place you will find one is from a salvager.
Try this guy: DJI Inspire 1/V2.0/Pro WM610 Drone Part 2 Center Frame Assembly Landing Gear | eBay
I got some parts from him and he's s solid guy.

Thanks, not sure what I need is the PDB though..

AeroMirage · Jun 24, 2017

That spring loaded pin is part of that PDB assembly.
Trust me, if you can find one, it will be the whole PDB.
I can about guarantee you will not find just the pin assembly, or be able to change just that part of it.
Also, getting to that PDB is a very in depth process. You may want to consider sending it in somewhere for repair unless you have done a lot of this type of did-assembly / re-assembly.

The Editor · Jun 25, 2017

AeroMirage said:
Yes, those are necessary. They are where the aircraft connects to the intelligent part of the battery to provide information as to voltage, remaining power, etc.
The short one is pushed down. I suggest some wd-40 or better yet, electrical contact cleaner to restore it's springiness.

These are the data connection pins to enable the battery to communicate via telemetry the state of each cell, level of charge (per cell) etc as well as pack temperature.
They should all be sprung loaded and the same length unlike the main battery terminals which should have the negative terminal slightly longer to allow connection of this one first to prevent arcing

1buddyc · Jun 26, 2017

Thanks for the insights everyone. Think I'm just going to leave it like it is, maybe work a little more on correcting the binding in that one pin.

Scoobywrx05 · Jun 27, 2017

Look at it closely. Good chance it may be slightly bent. It's easy to bump them when installing the battery if you're not right over top of it. If you have already taken some contact cleaner to it put a little dielectric grease on them.

Scoobywrx05 · Jun 27, 2017

This is what the back of the board looks like in case you are wondering.

1buddyc · Jun 27, 2017

Scoobywrx05 said:
This is what the back of the board looks like in case you are wondering.

Thanks for the pic, I was hoping that the module I was looking for would be an accessible part OF the board and not just a part of it. Looks like i'm sticking with what I've got.

Steve@AerialImagesPro · Jun 28, 2017

This is one of those things that bothers me. It sure is a nice convenience to be able to just pull the battery out and slide a new on in, but in order to achieve that convenience, you have to have those spring loaded connectors that can easily fail. I wish they had an option to plug in, or wire up and connector that would require plugging in when you attach a battery.

I know that too can be a weak point (the stress involved in connecting and reconnection over time), but with a good connector I think it's less risky than those pins..

Not only do you have to make sure the pins move freely, but you have to make sure the contact patch between the pin and the board is clean... A connector sort of cleans itself every time you plug and unplug.