Program State red blinking

[Generalx5]

My program was running fine untill I shorted something out and after the Program state started blinking red. As if its in an infinit Loop, I can't Press the program bottom after, the LED would turn orange for a split second and go back to blinking red....Anyone know how to solve this problem? Or is there something wrong with my Mini RC...

[Generalx5]

I also tried the hold down program botton before the power on bottom and releasing the power before the program thingy, the result I get is Power on blinking with a solid green Program state. I cant press program or turn off at this point...Don't know whats wrong...

[Pavan Dave]

I could not find anything that would help you on IFI's website, but if you still can not figure out what is wrong, I suggest you call IFI [Tech Support (903.453.0801)] and ask them to help you. They may even be able to replace it for you if it is still under warranty.

Pavan.

[Generalx5]

I cant aford to rma my stuff, I have a science fair presentation comming up and I will be needing the MINI RC in my project....gosh, Im so owned. I wish the IFI support could call me back tomorrow and suggest a fast solution that we are all not aware of.

[bear24rw]

What did you short out? And, try resending your code even though the controller says that its not in program mode..

[Mike Hendricks]

According to the Mini RC Manual .. Section 12 lists all the LED information

Continuous blinking – Program is in an infinite loop.
Five blinks before turning solid – Invalid register accessed in user
program.

http://www.ifirobotics.com/docs/lega...2004-Mar-1.pdf

Something worth pointing out from Section 14 ..

Also, if the PROG button is pressed at the same time as you turn on the unit, diagnostic mode will be entered and the LEDs will cycle through a distinctive pattern. This mode is not useful for users and the user program will not execute. Simply power cycle the unit to return to normal operation.

You should be able to program the RC though .. maybe IFI can shed some light on this.

[Generalx5]

I've tried that, I cant upload any code even at the diagnostic. I've contacted them via voicemail and email. Hopefully They can let me know how to fix it without sending it back...

[Generalx5]

Originally Posted by bear24rw

What did you short out? And, try resending your code even though the controller says that its not in program mode..

Im not sure...I think I did because I saw a small spark...but right after that...the program crashed and indicated infinit loop. recovery was not possible. Even the FORCE PROGRAM does not work, I just get a blinking Battery power LED and a solid Program state LED..Sigh.

[Astronouth7303]

Originally Posted by Generalx5

Im not sure...I think I did because I saw a small spark...but right after that...the program crashed and indicated infinit loop. recovery was not possible. Even the FORCE PROGRAM does not work, I just get a blinking Battery power LED and a solid Program state LED..Sigh.

A spark across what pins?

By the sound of it, you may have killed the user processor. (Although they tend to safeguard the processors pretty well, I think.) If the master processor is still operating but the user processor is dead, it might create the symptoms you are seeing.

Has IFI said anything yet?

[sciguy125]

1351's usual procedure for unknown blinking light problems:
1. Cycle power. Eliminates some hardware problems.
2. If that doesn't fix it, load default code. Eliminates problems with your code.
3. If that still doesn't fix it, reload master code. Effectively puts software back to factory state.
4. Call IFI. Never got this far before.

Your spark leads me to believe that it's a nasty hardware issue though.

[tseres]

i'm having a similar problem....see my post in the 'control systems' forum...

[Adam Shapiro]

Originally Posted by Astronouth7303

A spark across what pins?

By the sound of it, you may have killed the user processor. (Although they tend to safeguard the processors pretty well, I think.) If the master processor is still operating but the user processor is dead, it might create the symptoms you are seeing.

Has IFI said anything yet?

I'd be inclined to agree with that. Short protection can only do so much for microcontrollers, their IO pins are only really meant to source low current draws (typically less than 100-200mA). What voltages are you using it with? If you have greater voltages on board than the RC's logic voltage and they got shorted onto an input it could very easily blow it out. I had this problem about a month ago in one of the designs I was working with where a 12V line got shorted onto the 5V bus taking out two micros and an LCD, even though the short was only for about 1-2 seconds. I hope you get it fixed but from the sound of things it may not be doable unfortunately.