Serious Problem of Unknown Origin

[MrForbes]

Charge the battery, then try it again. Really. I'm serious.

[Team865]

Thank you, we will try out your suggestion and report back later (likely tomorrow). If there are any other suggestions, we are welcome to them.

[Team865]

Mr. Anderson,

We've uploaded and are testing the default code where simply pwm01 is mapped to p1_y, etc, and no timer code is in use. The Victors are connected to PWM outputs 1 and 2.

[Team865]

We connected a fully charged battery pack to the backup inputs on the RC, and we no longer got the "IFI>IFI 2006 User Processor Initialized" message. However, the motors are still not spinning at their normal speed.

[MrForbes]

Did you try connecting a fully charged big gray 12v battery to power the robot? A discharged battery will cause the symptoms you are describing, and it is very easy to try this first, and save yourself a lot of frustration.

I only offer this advice repeatedly because I have spent many hours of my life trying to fix similar problems that were caused by discharged batteries.....

[Al Skierkiewicz]

If the RC is switching to the backup battery to stay alive, all PWM outputs are disabled. Replace or recharge the main battery.

[Team865]

Thanks everybody for the suggestion, we are going to try them tomorrow when our teacher is here to provide us with a fully charged gray battery/battery charger.

Mr. Anderson - We meant that reverting back to the default code did not resolve the problem. By "behaved like before" we mean that the motors still spun at a very low rate.

[Team865]

Yes, we have tried resetting.

[matt91]

Ok well in that case what I would do is run the programing, and test your voltage everywhere in between the IFI board and the power source and the motors. Maybe the trouble is in the motors... have you driven the robot yet? Maybe there burned out?

[TubaMorg]

In addition to what everyone else has been saying (charge your battery or swap it out for a freshly charged battery), your OI should report battery voltage > 12.4 volts for a nice happy robot. Once you get there, make sure your Victors are calibrated. Neutral is orange, max in one direction should produce a green led (at the Victor), max in the other direction should produce a red led (at the Victor).

[Team865]

Thank you for your suggestions so far.

Currently we are charging one of our 'big greys' and will see what happens when we try again with it.

[Team865]

We've just tested our robot with a new battery, and the problem is resolved! The motors are now spinning at their normal speed. Thank you everybody for your prompt replies and "gracious professionalism".

[MrForbes]

I'm glad to be of help!

Do you understand why the robot behaved as it did when the battery was discharged? It might take some thinking to figure this out, but if you develop an understanding of how batteries work, specifically how the available voltage changes with charge state and current load, it should make sense.

[matt91]

Hey, just fought I'd throw this out... Did you try to reset the IFI board on the robot? I know that we were having some crazy voltage trouble as well....we tried this and it pretty much worked!

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Team865

Mr. Anderson,

We've uploaded and are testing the default code where simply pwm01 is mapped to p1_y, etc, and no timer code is in use. The Victors are connected to PWM outputs 1 and 2.

I must be misreading your original message, because it looks like it says you started having the issue when you added timer code and it went back to normal when you put in the default code. I'm probably getting confused by the phrase "behaved like before".

We connected a fully charged battery pack to the backup inputs on the RC, and we no longer got the "IFI>IFI 2006 User Processor Initialized" message. However, the motors are still not spinning at their normal speed.

Use the OI display to view your main battery voltage. If it ever gets below about eight volts, the RC shuts down all its outputs. The backup battery keeps it communicating and prevents it from resetting, but it can't stop it from turning off the motors.