Compressor will not start!

[Joe Ross]

You are not initializing the objects in the same order they are declared.

Just to verify, if you remove the DB-37 cable from the Digital Sidecar, are all 3 power LEDs on the Digital Sidecar brightly lit?

Originally Posted by DangitDrBob

We just tried it and it didn't change anything. Yes, the motors and Digital I/O both work. We can drive it around still, but the compressor will not start. We have also check with last year's code which worked, but it didn't work on this robot.

What does this mean? Can you describe in more detail what you did and what did and didn't work?

[Matt C]

Originally Posted by DangitDrBob

We have tested the Spike relay and its fuse and both are working properly. !

After you do get the software side ironed out, you may want to replace your fuse with a 20A breaker when the fuse blows after the first couple times your compresser kicks on.

R64
E. If powering the compressor, the fuse on a Spike H-Bridge Relay may be replaced with a 20A Snap-Action circuit breaker.

[Jasmine Zhou]

For relay testing, try running it as Ac.Set(Relay::kForward); instead of Relay::kOn. That should run the compressor and turn the light on the spike green. Forward and reverse aren't the same as on; someone who knows more can explain that. If that works, then the spike and its connections are good.
Also make sure your pressure switch is working and wired properly: if it's not sending signal to the digital sidecar, the compressor won't (shouldn't) run.

[Andy A.]

Originally Posted by Jasmine Zhou

Forward and reverse aren't the same as on; someone who knows more can explain that.

The simple answer is that 'on' means both output terminals of the spike are at +12 volts, as opposed to 'forward' or 'reverse' where one is + and the other -.

The utility being that 'on' allows you to power two loads connected to a shared ground. It's not a common thing in FRC, to the point I wasn't really aware of the functionality till it showed up as a 'bug' in this years code. The obvious use would be running two solenoids with one spike. In that case, 'forward' or 'reverse' would power one load but not the other, and 'on' would power both.

[matthewdenny]

We had an issue getting our compressor to work also. Turns out the pressure switch was broken. You can test this by simply shorting the 2 terminals on the switch to close the circuit and seeing it that fixes the issue. If it does, try replacing the pressure switch.

[DangitDrBob]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We called the support and they helped us fix things.