Problems with our OI/RC

[robobrain0101]

Team 1054 has a major problem! our wiring, programming is all right, but when we move our controls, both the xbox 360 and the joystick, nothing happens, the dashboard controller thing reads the data right, but the robot does nothing. If anyone knows whats happening to make our robot do this please when need help we ship on wensday and there is a big storm coming on monday. We need to fix this ASAP.

[Alan Anderson]

The lights on the Victor speed controllers will tell you a lot about what's going on. Are they yellow, red, green, or off? Are they shining steady, or are they blinking?

A yellow double-blink pattern on a Victor means it is not receiving a pwm signal. Make absolutely sure you have the pwm cables plugged in properly.

[robobrain0101]

that might be it cause now that i remember they just flash. but we plugged and unplugged them several times and nothing happened still. and the spikes are fine, its just the cim motors that are atached to our banebot transmissions, and the minibike motor on our arm.

[Jake M]

Well, it sounds like you're in disabled mode. If you're positive you're not and you're positive all your electronics are plugged in correctly (double check with the Power Distribution Diagram and make sure there's no possibility for shorting) and you're not plugging in any PWM cables backwards, and they're plugged in all the way (sometimes, it's hard to tell on Victors and Spikes) then read on.

First thing I would do, if all of the above have been checked, is tether, rather than radio.

Next, I would pick something basic like a drive Victor to run some tests on and see where the problem is. Firstly, look at the signal light to help figure out what the victor is actually doing. If it's blinking orange, the Victor is not receiving any PWM signal, which probably indicates a bad connection somewhere between the Victor's PWM port and the RC. (Hopefully, the problem isn't within the RC itself.)

If the light is remaining solid orange at all times, even when you change the PWM ouput value, either the robot is still disabled, or there's a problem with the Victor/RC. Check the transistors right underneath the fan on the Victor and make sure they're not burned up. If the Victor's good, get a multimeter and measure the voltage across the signal and ground pins of the acutal PWM. Make sure the meter is set to ACV, though.

If the light goes green on a forward signal and red on a reverse signal, as it should, then the problem is either the wiring from the Victor to the motor, or the motor itself is burned out. But check how much voltage and current is being sent to the motor anyway.

If the light isn't on at all, either the Victor is broken, or it has no power, meaning it either wasn't wired correctly, or something is tripping the breakers and cutting power to the Victors.

Other than that, I don't know if I can help you.