Solenoid Breakout Output Voltage Issue

[eridgraves]

Hi all.

I am having troubles with the output voltage of the pins from the solenoid breakout module on our robot. It is hooked up to 12 v, the power LED is green and we have a 24 v solenoid hooked up to output slot 8. However, when the code (in Java) is run the voltage output starts at 0 and when activated it outputs a maximum of 5 v. I have double-checked all of the wiring, and it seems to be ok.

Being completely new here, is this normal? Have I made any mistakes? Is there a way to change the output voltage from the code? Or could it be that the solenoid breakout is broken?

Thanks,
Eric

[EricVanWyk]

I'd use a multimeter and a camera to diagnose this one.

First, measure the voltage going in to the breakout. The most likely explanation is that it is being fed incorrectly. 5V is a magic number in that there are multiple 5V sources on a robot.

Second, check the output of the breakout without a solenoid attached.

Third, post pictures to ChiefDelphi so we can play too.


There isn't any way to adjust the output voltage here, they are just on off switches.

There isn't anything on the solenoid breakout that could do this to you (without burning up). It is so simple that there isn't anything to break like that. The cRIO module might... but I'd be extremely surprised.

[BitTwiddler]

Well from your description I see one problem. If you are using the 24V solenoids you need to wire the solenoid breakout power to the 24V terminals on the Power Distribution. The 24V terminals are the two unused terminals on the connector that feeds your cRIO.
I don't know where you are seeing the 0-5V output however.

[eridgraves]

Thank you both for helping me. I will post pictures, but cannot until tomorrow around 4 pm.

I have measured the outputs with the multimeter without anything attached, and they were still at a max of 5 v. I think my problem is that I have it attached to 12 v, *sigh*, and I will post back here when I got to school tomorrow.

Thanks,
Eric

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Eric,
The solenoid module acts a closing contact to power supply so it is hard to tell why you are measuring 5 volts. You could be wired to the 5 volt output of the PD. Some 24 volt solenoids will work at 12 volts but they are not reliable. If all you are using is the one 24 volt solenoid then follow the instructions above using the 24 volt Crio output of the PD in parallel with the Crio power.