Compressor Problem!

[hrench]

[my team has had worlds of trouble with the ViAir compressor--so much so that we even mounted that blue-box fan thingy that came with the KOP on the top of it to blow air down on the head constantly and it STILL LOCKED UP.

I'd say if you've tested and proved that you have 12V to the compressor, the only logical thing is the compressor doesn't work.

We have the old Thomas (415?) compressor on our robot now and it's WONDERFUL. if you can lay hands on one and have the weight, that's the ticket.
Bob team 1108.

[tr6scott]

Is the switch wired to the GROUND and SIGNAL on the PWM?
White and Black, Red not used. . .

[Vkamra20]

The light is orange(not blinking though). The wires on the switch are indeed black and white. Turning on "Tele Op" we hear the click sound. The compressor does work when we manually power it.

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by Vkamra20

The light is orange(not blinking though). The wires on the switch are indeed black and white. Turning on "Tele Op" we hear the click sound. The compressor does work when we manually power it.

Where is this click coming from? Personally, I've never heard the pressure switch give an audible click...

Take out your multi-meter and measure the resistance of the switch as you pressurize the system - you should see the change when you get to 110-120 PSI. You'll see it change back when it gets down to about 90 PSI. That's how you know the pressure switch is working.

Next, plug it into the DSC, and add a print statement in your code so you can see the value of the switch. Go through the same pressurization routine and make sure the value flips as expected. That's how you know the system is recognizing the pressure switch is being triggered.

Now, take a look at the LED's next to the relays on the DSC - does one of them light up when you expect the compressor to turn on? That's how you know the code is starting the compressor correctly.

Almost there, now take a look at the spike. It should have a solid orange LED when the compressor should be off, but when it should be on (aka when the LED on the DSC turns on), the light should switch to green. That's how you know the relay is doing what its supposed to to.

Finally, does the compressor turn on when the light on the relay turns on? That's how you know you have a complete working system.

Walk through these steps one at a time, from top to bottom. Eventually, you'll find the step where stuff stops working, and you'll be able to isolate your problem and fix it. Until you do that, we can't tell if it's code, a bad wire to the spike, a bad wire to the pressure switch, a bad pressure switch, a bad DSC, or a bad compressor.

[kmusa]

Originally Posted by hrench

We have the old Thomas (415?) compressor on our robot now and it's WONDERFUL. if you can lay hands on one and have the weight, that's the ticket.

For what it's worth, I believe it's a 405ADC.

Our experience has been similar - the Thomas compressor is pretty indestructible. (Though the actual performance, especially at elevated pressure, of the Viair is better.)

-Karlis