Legality of running a capacitor inline with roboRIO power

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by ImOn3618

We have a rigorous standard for competition batteries, and start each machine with a fresh, fully charged battery, so I doubt that's the issue.

However, we have a very high traction drive train (brecoflex treads with about a 1.5 CoF, 750ish N force of kinetic friction while driving). The gear ratio on the drive belts is 14.2:1 using RAWboxes. While the drive train definitely contributes to our issue, there's not much we can do about it with 6hours of unbag time.

Gear ratio only barely matters. What's your theoretical top speed, assuming 5400 RPM input?

I agree with Mike that your issue could be a bad connection somewhere between the battery plug and the PDP, on either the positive or negative leg. Double check every single connection starting from the battery plug. Check for corrosion or a bad crimp. If a ring terminal looks looks dull or corroded, either replace it or hit it with a wire brush till it's shiny. Check the contacts in your main battery connector for corrosion as well. You might also try replacing your 120 Amp Main Breaker with a new one. Main breakers can occasionally have weird issues.