Electrical parts keep breaking!

[ozrien]

Originally Posted by Toby Roy

the problem initially was that the red 18 gauge wire wasn't a wire at all! It was just insulation that the manufacturer put there for "decoration" so the 3 prong connector did not have to be redesigned this year.

The Victor SP Quick-Start guide clearly states that the Red Wire is not used on page 3.

Originally Posted by Toby Roy

... the tamperd one was blinking green really fast,

Most likely when the Victor was re-assembled by the mentor, the B/C Cal button was not inserted correctly. In other words the button is being held down. When a Victor SP is power booted with the button held down, it goes into factory calibration (blinking green until button is let go).

This is explained at the bottom of page 6 of the Victor SP Quick-Start.

Originally Posted by Toby Roy

...untouched one was blinking orange (which was what should have happened) and the tamperd one was blinking green really fast, so I took it back to the guy and he opened it again, did some work, then tested it and it started blinking red!

So the problem was simply that the LED wasn't matching your expectation? What about motor-drive? Regardless this would have been simple to diagnose and would not have required you to disassemble the Victor SP.

Originally Posted by Toby Roy

...He said the part was done for so I held on to it for safe keeping. Was this enough description of the problem or is it too much?

I'm not sure how the mentor would know this. Don't assume that without first contacting the manufacturer.

If a product isn't matching your expectation please contact the appropriate support channel. For example, if the Victor SP was purchased from VEX, please contact VEX's support email.
http://www.vexrobotics.com/contact/
You can also contact support@crosstheroadelectronics.com, but we will need to know where the Victor SP was purchased from if you email us.

I totally understand the motivation to take-apart-and-tinker, but it really isn't necessary, we're here to help you!