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Unread 16-03-2016, 09:51
ILAMtitan ILAMtitan is offline
Texas Instruments
AKA: Bart Basile
FRC #3005 (RoboChargers)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Rookie Year: 2013
Location: Dallas
Posts: 70
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Re: Check your Anderson battery connectors

Quote:
Originally Posted by EricH View Post
Had a good one at L.A. last weekend. Team comes to the field for their match, tries turning it on in queue... NOTHING. Reset the breaker. Same result. Match almost ready to start. They plug in a battery from their partners, and the lights go on--at which point, the field staff proceeded to help them get the new battery secured and get the robot onto the field.

I never did hear what the root cause was...
This is a problem I first saw at TRR last August. It turns out that the issue was a broken connection at the battery terminal that was covered and being hidden by heat shrink. The #6 wires provided on the cables can work harden as they move back and forth and become brittle over time, leading to snapping the connection. Here's an example of a failing connection.

http://i.imgur.com/JRINTHW.jpg?1

I recommend inspecting these on a pretty regular basis.