CIM Motor Capacitors

[theprgramerdude]

Originally Posted by ProgramLuke

We are indeed having issues with communications. We are using all 4 CIMS on our drivetrain but if we don't have a battery that idles around 13V We lose comms if we try to accelerate quickly. What happens is that the Dlink drops out and we have to wait for it to restart to get communications. Are other teams having issues like this and do you have any solutions?

Yes, the solution is to not accelerate so quickly. Motor noise isn't causing the problems you are experiencing, it's safe to say. What's happening is that while trying to accelerate quickly, your send out far too much current to your motors, which results in a massive voltage drop on the system. This voltage drop will cause things like the radio, and possibly Crio, to shut down. You probably either need to instead tell your drivers to be easier on the throttle, implement a software safeguard against reckless behavior, or some combination of the two.

Additionally, partially charged and old batteries just like to exacerbate the problem described above. While a new one may be capable of putting out enough current to keep the voltage sufficiently high, a bad one will surrender.