Robot Crashes with voltage spike

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Ninja,
What you describe is a classic example of all four CIM motors in stall causing the battery terminal voltage to fall to the point at which the Crio power supply no longer supplies the 24 volts and the Crio resets. You are using the +24 volt output on the Power Distribution board to feed the Crio right? Likewise you are also using the +12 volt output to feed the wireless adapter on the robot?
If I understand your question, you also experience the same problem with no motors connected? You don't have the Jaguar outputs cross connected do you? Have you checked to see if you have any electrical connections to the chassis? Try checking with a VOM by first removing the battery, then measure between the robot frame and the positive and then the negative lead on the PD. You should measure at least 10000 ohms depending on the humidity and in most cases well in excess of 1 meg ohm. It is possible that somewhere you have two outputs shorted to frame (perhaps through the camera mount) and under just the right conditions, you are shorting the battery.