VICTOR ISSUES

[merybar]

Our victors have been suddenly stopped working in the sense of the PWM or digital part of them. They still have power but occasionally one stops working. We have lost 3 over the last few week. Can anybody help? Thanks!!!!
Matt

[Miner]

Check and make sure that all of the screws in the Victors are all the same and the original ones that came with the victors. Smaller screws will short out your victors.

The power from the Maxi block should go into the V+ and V- ends. The motors should be connected to the M+ and M-. Make sure they are connected correctly.

Good luck,
Jacob

[DaveF]

Jacob,

Your post had me doubting myself, so I went and checked. The +12 V connection goes to the fuse block. The gnd terminal of the Victor goes to your common ground on the Rockwell Block. The +M and -M terminals connect to the motor, not the the Maxi Block.

Not sure what would happen if you connected a Victor backwards, but it certainly would not pass inspection if it lasted that long.

[Alan Anderson]

What does the LED show when the Victor "stops working"? If it's blinking yellow, it means it's not recognizing a pwm signal. One trivial cause of that problem is the pwm cable not being plugged in fully.

[Mr. Lim]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

What does the LED show when the Victor "stops working"? If it's blinking yellow, it means it's not recognizing a pwm signal. One trivial cause of that problem is the pwm cable not being plugged in fully.

Quoted for truth!

No matter how hard we try, at least a few times every year, a few of our PWM cables don't get plugged into the Victors properly.

Pull out the PWM cables from any Victors that do nothing but blink orange. Check to see if the pins are bent. Some people don't even notice, but often all the pins are bent in the same direction slightly. That means you missed!

Straighten them out and try again! PWMs should take very little force to insert. If you feel resistance halfway while inserting them, you've missed!

Try again...

then try again...

and then again =)

[Richard McClellan]

Originally Posted by DaveF

Jacob,

Your post had me doubting myself, so I went and checked. The +12 V connection goes to the fuse block. The gnd terminal of the Victor goes to your common ground on the Rockwell Block. The +M and -M terminals connect to the motor, not the the Maxi Block.

Not sure what would happen if you connected a Victor backwards, but it certainly would not pass inspection if it lasted that long.

DO NOT connect the M+ and M- terminals to the terminal block, or any power source. The "M" means they connect to motors.

Originally Posted by Miner

Check and make sure that all of the screws in the Victors are all the same and the original ones that came with the victors. Smaller screws will short out your victors.

The power from the Maxi block should go into the M+ and M- ends. The motors should be connected to the V+ and V-. Make sure they are connected correctly.

Good luck,
Jacob

Wiring a Victor backwards is probably the easiest way to burn out a Victor. Do not attempt this.

[Miner]

DO NOT connect the M+ and M- terminals to the terminal block, or any power source. The "M" means they connect to motors.

I have corrected my post on this thread. I am extremely sorry for the mistake. Thank you for noticing.

Jacob

[Tom Line]

Originally Posted by SlimBoJones

Quoted for truth!

No matter how hard we try, at least a few times every year, a few of our PWM cables don't get plugged into the Victors properly.

Pull out the PWM cables from any Victors that do nothing but blink orange. Check to see if the pins are bent. Some people don't even notice, but often all the pins are bent in the same direction slightly. That means you missed!

Straighten them out and try again! PWMs should take very little force to insert. If you feel resistance halfway while inserting them, you've missed!

Try again...

then try again...

and then again =)

An easy solution to this problem is to put a dot of hot glue on the pwm once you get it in and reading correctly. It peels off instantly if you need to take it out, but in the mean time you don't have to deal with vibration shaking your PWM's loose.

[Team 135]

one thing that we have started doing with out PWM wires that go to everything is to shave down some of the plastic on the end that plugs into the Victors. This allows for less friction and more exposure of the terminals.

[TubaMorg]

We use a fine Dremel bit and very carefully remove the "anti-pwm plug nub" that runs along the inside of the Victor socket. Vacuum it out then hot glue the cable into place.

[bman]

You guys are lucky that your victors are just not working, two of ours blew up!

[longrange]

Always cover the victors when cutting/filing the robot. We always seam to destroy some with metal chips at regonals when modifying the robot.

[RyanN]

I think we had the same issue with one of our Victors. We had it connected to a FP motor, and it was working fine for 3 weeks, and then, one day while driving, it decided to stop working. The LED would just blink as if it had no signal. I verified the PWM cable was fully seated and that it was getting a signal, and later replaced it with an old 884 Victor from a previous year. I thought it was strange that it just went out. No magic smoke, it was not overheating, no drill shavings, it just lost the signal.