SIGNAL LIGHT WONT WORK

[peter1626]

Hi, i am another programmer from 1626.

Have you confirmed your wiring matches both the Robot Power Distribution (with correct polarity) and Robot Data Connectivity diagrams, paying particular attention to the power and signal wires to the digital sidecar?

Yes

Is the digital module on the cRIO in slot 4 (with 1 being the slot nearest the lights)?

Yes

Are the lights green on your cRIO?

Yes

Does anything else on the digital sidecar work (PWMs, sensors, whatever)?

Yes the entire system works except for the signal light. On the digital sidecar we have 4 victors, 1 spike, 1 sensor, and 2 servos. All work correctly.

If so try switching the two modules and if it still doesn’t work try another 40 pin cable and if it still doesn't work try re-imaging the c-Rio.

We have tried 4 modules, 2 40 pin cables, 2 digital sidecars, and 2 cRIOs. We also have reimaged the cRIO numerous times.

Are the three power supply LEDs lit on the sidecar?

Yes

If not is there a breaker in the PD that is feeding battery to the sidecar?

Yes the sidecar is in the 30 amp spot with a breaker

Have you rechecked the wiring at both the PD and the sidecar?

Yes we have rewired the entire system 4 times

If the battery LED is on and the other lights are not, try removing the Robot signal light from the sidecar. If they come on with the RSL removed, you may have shorted the wiring for the RSL. If they do not come on, it is possible that the card is defective.

The 3 power/ battery lights are on the digital sidecar. The Signal light still doesn’t blink and when we remove the signal light the small green led does not blink.

Please HELP! We don’t know what else to do!
Thanks for your help!

[samir13k]

attempt to download the original code to the cRio once again. it should not make a difference as it should not be changable in the code, but in FIRST, sometimes you just have to try anything.

[peter1626]

attempt to download the original code to the cRio once again.

Just tried this, it did not work!

What is the current image name that should be on the cRIO?

[apalrd]

Try picking up your robot, flipping it over, and banging on it, then pick it up and shake it. This will remove all metal shavings, which can short parts of the DSC. We have had to do this twice already on our robot, we know it happens when the +5 light on the DSC goes off and nothing works, but the DSC still has power lights on.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by vhcook

Is the digital module on the cRIO in slot 4 (with 1 being the slot nearest the lights)?

Originally Posted by peter1626

Yes

Can you take a picture and post it? The only thing I can think of that matches your symptoms is having the module in Slot 6 instead of Slot 4.

[Pausert]

Check to make sure have the Digital Sidecar power wired + to + and - to -. The digital sidecar will function (partially) even if its supply power is backwards, but the signal light will not function in this circumstance.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Peter,
You have tried everything I would have gone through. That really leaves only the side car as being defective. If the PWM signals that pass through are functioning normally and are disabled when the robot is disabled then it can only be the side car.
A software expert can answer this better than I but the default code is written such that the RSL functions when the robot is disabled and flashes one of a series of codes that indicate certain conditions on the robot. When enabled, the RSL light should come on solid.

"There are four states of this status LED, listed here in order of priority. If multiple occur, the highest one listed is what is displayed.

1. Fast Blink (200ms on / 200ms off) - System error: No driver's station communication, bad cRIO Image, bad team ID, extensive communication errors.
2. Steady on - Everything ok
3. Fast-Slow Blink (200ms on / 900ms off) - System disabled either by system watchdog, user watchdog, or Driver's Station set to disabled and low battery (<12 Volts)
4. Slow Blink (900ms on / 900ms off) - System disabled"

[samir13k]

Originally Posted by peter1626

Just tried this, it did not work!

What is the current image name that should be on the cRIO?

image v19 would most likely be on your cRio. If you installed the latest update (out since fridayish?) you should currently be at v20 which you will need to do. download and install both the Labview and DS updates. I dont believe that this will fix this problem if you are already running v19, but its a mandatory update non-the-less

[kick3nitx360]

Here are the pictures you asked for.

[kick3nitx360]

yes samir, we are using v19 when we image the cRIO.

[peter1626]

I was just wondering if it could possible be my cRIO image. Is there any way I can program the light to blink with labview just to eliminate the chance that it is a hardware problem

[peter1626]

We have tried different modules in the cRIO, 4 DSC, 2 cables from the cRIO and 2 lights. We have re-wired AGAIN this time with the wire you recommended however this still did not work! > I am currently in the process of updating and will let you know if that works!

[Jon Stratis]

Peter, lets go back to the beginning here, because I'm suspecting more and more the fuse Al mentioned, and a short somewhere in your wiring. If, for example, you wired up the signal light incorrectly, such that it permitted such a short, and successively tried all 4 side cars with this same wiring, it's possible you blew the fuse in all 4 side cars. Even if you had fixed it (the second signal light you tried), because they were already blown it wouldn't help.

Where is your team located? It could be handy to have another team nearby assist with some debugging. For example, if their signal light works, you could try replacing their side car with yours - if the light now doesn't work, then the problem is in the side car. If the light does work, then we know the side car is not the issue and can start tracing it back from there.

[kick3nitx360]

We only tried the first DSC with the signal light we didnt try the other ones. However, we are located in Metchen New Jersey and would be very happy to have another team come out and help us with this urgent issue. We would also be willing to go to anyone near by. We are all at our whits end and really need the help.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Peter,
Try another DSC without inserting the RSL connector. You should be able to see the LED on the board flashing when disabled and steady when enabled. It is entirely possible to have a shorted RSL that will hold the LED on the board in an off state. Turn off the robot before you remove the connector, count to ten and then turn the power on. It this is solid state fuse, it will not reset until the power has been turned off. If that works, use a VOM to test the connector and RSL wiring. It should not be less than 500 ohms in both directions.