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Topic: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I've got something wierd going on with my winder.  Tonight it just stopped working correctly.  It had been working fine.

If I have the selector set to automatic and turn the power on, it seems to initialize and I can set left and right limits and such.  When I turn it to Manual, the laser light and the LED light on the board both dim and the motor does not turn.  After I switch it back to automatic, nothing works.

If I have start with the selector on manual, the laser light and the LED go off after a few seconds.  and the motor won't turn.  If I turn it to automatic, nothing happens.

Do I have a short somewhere or something.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

Sounds like it.  Does the LED on the power supply dim as well?  Have the metal tabs of the MOSFET and regulator bent over and touched something?

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I'll check those things and get back to you.  I'm not really sure what those parts are but I think there is a diagram I can reference.  I have to replace the power supply.  I have a 12v 1.5a one on there if I remember the specs.  It doesn't have an LED on it.

The motor did turn very slowly a few times but has stopped doing that.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

They are the tall black boxy things with metal tabs next to the arduino.  If one of the tabs touches another part of the pcb it could cause a short.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I made sure the tabs were touching but that really didn't help much.  It is turning very slowly not in manual mode.  I can't get it to adjust the speed with the dial.  I played around with the wires to see if something was loose and seemed to get some reaction of the the servo wires.  When I get a chance I'll kook closer at those to see if something came loose.  Any other ideas would be appreciated.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I'm still having a lot of trouble getting my winder to work.  I've unplugged most of the wires on the board and even reflashed the firmware.  In troubleshooting mode, things seem to be working. 

I'll get a burst out of the motor from time to time but it usually just turn really, really slow.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I rewired the knob.  I'm now getting consistent results but still not correct results.  If I put it in auto mode and put the servo all the way to the max and switch it to Manual, the motor turns and the arm swings to the left in small increments.  I don't have the gear cone on there so the magnet isn't going by the hall sensor.   So in about 30 seconds, the arm is all the way to the min.  I can't find a short anywhere.  That's not to say there isn't one but I can't find it.  Do I need to rewire the whole thing?

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I didn't have the sensor plugged in.  Now that I plugged it in, the motor constantly turns very slowly,  I can't get it to calibrate and work with the sensor.  In Manual mode, turning the knob does not change the speed.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

PM me your address, and I'll send you a new board.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I got thenew board and installed it but it didn't fix the problem.  The motor turns very slowly all the time.  I get the servo to work in auto mode to set limits but when I turn the switch to manual mode, turning the knob doesn't change the speed of the motor.

I also tried setting the sensor but I can't get that to work at all.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I've rewired the knob once.  Do I need to redo the rest of the wiring?

When I turn the power switch on in Auto mode, I can move the arm around without problems.  When I switch to manual, that's when it starts messing up.  The motor turns slowly, doesn't respond to the knob.  I can't seem to calibrate the sensors.  Switching back to Auto doesn't change anything.  The motor keeps spinning but it doesn't respond to the sensors.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I've been having trouble with the brand of arduino clone that is in your kit, and ordered some different ones that I know are more reliable.  I'll send you one when they come in.  That sort of inconsistent behavior is most likely some problem with the microprocessor.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I've been having trouble with the brand of arduino clone that is in your kit, and ordered some different ones that I know are more reliable.  I'll send you one when they come in.  That sort of inconsistent behavior is most likely some problem with the microprocessor.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I got the new parts and hooked them up.  The behavior has not changed.  It seems to mess up when I switch it to Manual mode. If I power off and start it again in auto mode, it works.   I could take a video of it if that would help.

I am assuming I have a short some place.  I've rewired the knob but that's it.  Should I just start rewiring all the switches and such? 

The laser seems to dim some times but not every time.  I don't know if that is indicative of something.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

Did I send both a PCB and arduino the first time? If the electronics are completely replaced, then it would seem to be something with the buttons or knob.  Try swapping the switches so the power switch changes modes and see if there is a difference.  You can also plug the motor in to the last two open headers at the bottom left of the board.  That is an always on 12v connection so the motor should spin at full speed when plugged in there if it is working right.   

Try unplugging the sensor.  There might be a short there which is interfering with everything else.  The sensor is simple enough that I have only had 1 bad one out of hundreds, but yours might be #2.

If I sent you a second ribbon cable, try switching that out as well.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

Yes, you sent both boards, both times.  I'll do the steps you suggested and let you know.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

Perhaps the power supply isn't supplying consistent power?

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

Well, it looks like it's the motor.  I hooked it up to the FAN pins which were putting out 12.95v and it barely turned at all.  I hooked my meter up to the MOTOR pins and got different reading depending on where the knob was set.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

One more thing to try is backing off the screws that hold the motor just a bit.  It is possible for them to get tightened enough that they bend the face of the motor inward just enough to interfere with the gears.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

Now that you mention that, I have noticed it.  I had the screws loose but I took them all the way out to make sure.  It didn't help.   I had the motor unplugged when I turned it on and when I put it on the FAN pins, the laser shut off.  It looked like a big power drain and the motor just barely turned.

21 (edited by os3dp 2015-05-24 20:41:11)

Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

bbriggsgeek,
try taking the gear sprocket off the motor in case it is messing with the motor?  Though it does sound like the motor has issues internally.

-os3dp

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

The motor is just spinning freely.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I remembered I have an old 12v motor so I hooked it up to the MOTOR connections and it spun.  I was able to change the speed with the knob.  It's not the right kind for the winder but it worked for a test.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

Did everything else work properly with the other motor connected?  It sounds like there was a short in the motor which affected everything else.  I would like to get an idea if anything else was damaged before shipping a new one.

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Re: Power Fluctuations with Winder

I did some more teting today and everything else seems to be working when I hook up the other motor.