breaker tripping on robot startup

[Bleric]

Alright, I'm just a programming monkey, so my knowledge about wiring is a little... sketchy, to say the least.

The thing is, every time we power up our robot, it trips the breaker panel. We can push the reset button, and everything works normally. Also, when we unplug every one of our motors, this does not happen - the panel is not tripped. (We only have our four CIMs for the drive train hooked up at the moment.) If we plug in any one of our CIMs, the breaker trips when we turn on the robot. (and works normally when we reset the breaker.) It's almost like the motors are drawing a huge amount of current right when we first power up.

Anyone know what might be causing this?

[sciguy125]

Alright, this might be a stupid question, but do you have speed controllers between the breaker panel and your motors? If not, that would be your fix.

If you do have the speed controllers, I would check to make sure that the code has them in neutral (well...not full) when it starts. If it's not neutral, they'll start pulling current.

Also make sure that you don't have any shorts anywhere. Connect everything (except the battery) and use a meter to check for continuity between power and ground (go through the battery connector).

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Bleric

Alright, I'm just a programming monkey, so my knowledge about wiring is a little... sketchy, to say the least.

The thing is, every time we power up our robot, it trips the breaker panel. We can push the reset button, and everything works normally. Also, when we unplug every one of our motors, this does not happen - the panel is not tripped. (We only have our four CIMs for the drive train hooked up at the moment.) If we plug in any one of our CIMs, the breaker trips when we turn on the robot. (and works normally when we reset the breaker.) It's almost like the motors are drawing a huge amount of current right when we first power up.

Anyone know what might be causing this?

I think you are really meaning that the trip light on the breaker panel shows a tripped breaker when you first turn on. This may be a normal condition just hit the reset and practice. See what happens. This could be happening if you are starting up enabled and ready to go. The power on condition occurs when all the motors including a pump, are turned on at the same time. If you don't trip other times don't worry about it.
If it continues, suspect a short or defective breaker and fix the problem. IFI is always open for questions.