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Unread 17-03-2012, 21:52
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Re: power distribution board red light stays on

Before I answer the question, I suggest contacting EricVanWyk, who helped design the PDB and is far more knowledgeable about troubleshooting it than anyone else here on CD. That being said:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan Reliford View Post
We're getting a red light on one of the 30 amp outputs of the PDB when there's nothing connected to it.
Just to make sure there's no confusion at all, this means the light turns on when there is no fuse present and there are no wires connected, correct?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan Reliford View Post
Whether this is the cause or not, at higher speeds, everything cuts off and the driver station indicates a communication loss but it's very brief and then we're able to start back up. Several watchdog errors pop up, system and user.
This sounds like a power issue with the DLink; have you made sure that the barrel provides a secure connection and that the converter is hooked up to the dedicated output?

To reiterate Alan's question, how long does it take to reestablish communications? You may also want to observe the DLink lights when you ramp up shooter speed and see if they turn off; if they do, then you know you're having issues somewhere in the power connection.

The new DS allows you to graph the voltage over time; have you tried identifying a voltage threshold at which your communications cut out? Seeing as how the dedicated input is designed to function down to a 4.5V battery, I doubt the PDB itself is your issue, because it takes a massive load to cause a voltage drop that big.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan Reliford View Post
We tried to add a breaker to that port even though it's not being used and noticed that while pushing down on the board itself, the red light for that port goes off.
Could you clarify what happens when you do what? i.e.
- Does adding a fuse, 20A or 30A, rectify the problem?
- Do you push down onto the fuse itself, or somewhere else near the suspect slot?
IMO, there are metal shavings and/or a bad connection in your PDB, which would explain the errant light and intermittent connection.
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