Gyro Smoking

[Sauce]

We opened up the Basic Main code and ran it on the cRIO and less than 30 seconds later, the gyro burst into smoke.

It is extremely hot to the touch and the chip fell off of the circuit board. Our electrical guys have no idea why this happened and we can't give them a logical answer besides it was plugged in wrong which they say it wasn't. Any ideas?

We have used this same gyro in past years and it has worked without problem

[Mark McLeod]

Could you take a photo of it so we can see the wiring?

Also, I like software that can set the world afire...

[Sauce]

here you go.

Sorry about the bad quality, the only member with a camera is currently getting food so we had to use a phone camera.

[EricVanWyk]

Well that's not what it is supposed to do!

I haven't heard of any of the other 2009 Gyro's having thermal events, so I'd love to hear more details. Perhaps you some how got the power reversed?

Fortunately, you should have another one in the 2010 KoP.

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by Sauce

here you go.

Sorry about the bad quality, the only member with a camera is currently getting food so we had to use a phone camera.

The other end of that wire is just as important as the end pictured for determining if it was wired correctly

[Sauce]

that's what the electronics guys gave me. We took it off the bot and I think we threw it away. The 2010 gyro seems to be working, but we always have hands on the E-Stop button just in case.

EDIT: Check that, we still have the gyro, I'll see if I can't get a picture for you

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Just a thought...The mounting holes for the board are part of the ground plane so if you have an electrical problem on the frame, you may have run a lot of current through the board. Double check your other robot wiring before you hook up the second device. The Crio chassis is also tied to the negative terminal of the battery and needs to be isolated from the frame.

[EricVanWyk]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Just a thought...The mounting holes for the board are part of the ground plane so if you have an electrical problem on the frame, you may have run a lot of current through the board. Double check your other robot wiring before you hook up the second device. The Crio chassis is also tied to the negative terminal of the battery and needs to be isolated from the frame.

Good call, Al. Shorting the Gyro's ground to the frame could easily create this problem.

There is a small gap between the mounting holes and the ground plane, but it could easily be bridged by e.g. using a metal standoff/nut that is too big or too tight. Or, it could be bridged by mounting it too close to the frame, and having one of the soldered leads hitting the frame.

[stevethetinker]

The book says to mount it with plastic hardware. The short could certainly do it. I saw one post where they had hooked their gyro to a PWM output. That could do it too.

[PhilBot]

I just tried our KOP Gyro (fresh out of the bag).

Ours also got hot as soon as I plugged it in.

As an experienced electronics guy, my nose is sensitive to "hot" smells, so I caught it pretty soon.

I checked the wiring at both ends, and went back to the online docs.

No clear reason for the heat. (Wiring looks clean & polarity was correct.)

I tried it again (double verifying plug polarity) and it still gets hot (almost too hot to touch)

Doesn't seem right. So I went looking, and found this thread.
Ours wasn't mounted at first, so it's not a chassis short.

Anyone else have ideas?

[dragon72950]

Originally Posted by PhilBot

I just tried our KOP Gyro (fresh out of the bag).

Ours also got hot as soon as I plugged it in.

As an experienced electronics guy, my nose is sensitive to "hot" smells, so I caught it pretty soon.

I checked the wiring at both ends, and went back to the online docs.

No clear reason for the heat. (Wiring looks clean & polarity was correct.)

I tried it again (double verifying plug polarity) and it still gets hot (almost too hot to touch)

Doesn't seem right. So I went looking, and found this thread.
Ours wasn't mounted at first, so it's not a chassis short.

Anyone else have ideas?

i would check to see if there are any vents on it that are blocked and if there aren't any vents i would take off the casing(if possible) and cut a couple of slts for vents(if possible if not a cooling fan could do also)

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by dragon72950

i would check to see if there are any vents on it that are blocked and if there aren't any vents i would take off the casing(if possible) and cut a couple of slts for vents(if possible if not a cooling fan could do also)

I don't mean to be rude but this makes absolutely no sense.

Check out the picture earlier in this thread to see what component is being discussed.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Phil,
The only thing to check for is imperfectly etched boards. There may be a few traces that are close together that didn't get fully etched. Also possible that you have a solder bridge. Does anybody remember whether these devices are static sensitive?

[PhilBot]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Phil,
The only thing to check for is imperfectly etched boards. There may be a few traces that are close together that didn't get fully etched. Also possible that you have a solder bridge. Does anybody remember whether these devices are static sensitive?

If you're like me, you have trouble even seeing the traces on these boards....
I'll get out my Dino-Scope today to check on the boards...

Problem like this really kill the schedule

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Hey,
I don't have trouble seeing, there just isn't enough light.