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R2D2 Problems Options
Mickyc94
#1 Posted : 04 February 2020 22:02:39

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Hi. First of all before I go ordering replacement parts I thought I would come to the forum for some advice.

My first build was R2-D2 and I have completed it to the best of my ability. However, i have ran into a couple of problems and not sure what to do.

My first issue is and this only happens sometimes is that when I power on R2D2 he does not always does his self test and only the red light will come on for a few seconds and boot up, he will not move his head like he is suppose to on start up and in the app the head shake wont work but everything else does, like I said this only happens sometimes and takes a few tries to get him to boot properly where his head does move on bootup and the head shake does work. Not sure what the problem could be with that.

My second issue is that only one blue light is showing on his right leg and none on his other leg but both motors are working so again not sure where this problem could lie. I have swapped both cables around in the so LF-M is in RF-M slot and vice versa and still only right leg light shows up so not sure what the issue is here. Dont know if its motor cable issue or faulty led on motor I have no idea.

I was going to be ordering the MCU and the Dome control board again aswell as left leg motor and cables but thought I would come here for some advice.

Other than those problems everything else seems to work completely fine. Batteries fitted are Samsung 30q BUTTON TOP and have been fully charged in supplied charger before fitting. I followed instructions down to the letter upon building it to try and avoid any problems but builds dont seem to work as straight forward as id of hoped.

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated. Thankyou
tschwand
#2 Posted : 04 February 2020 22:18:17

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Problem I had was that the batteries were not making good contact in the battery box. After I pulled the batteries and bent the contacts out a bit everything worked. Give that a try. Maybe it will help.
Mickyc94
#3 Posted : 04 February 2020 22:24:13

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Yeah I also tried that as few of the contacts were not making contact on the bottoms of the batteries but now they are and its still happening. Im confused as hell and all the batteries seem to be in good working order not sure where to begin other than ordering replacments but dont want to do that just yet without some advice.
Markwarren
#4 Posted : 04 February 2020 23:53:18

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It could be a combination of things going on. My first thought is that after you switched the leg cables around it may be an issue with the motor. Check the cables there for contact or even a bent pin. When you start R2 up, the first thing he does is his self check. The first of this part are the leg motors, if they or one is not sending the signal that they are working, he will not continue with the rest of the check, ie dome/ head movement. You said it sometimes works, and other times it doesn’t, try checking the motor cables thoroughly. Also if you have taken the batteries out of the battery box to check them, you will have to start the startup procedure again.
Hope that is a start for you, good luck.

Mark
Mickyc94
#5 Posted : 05 February 2020 00:19:03

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I have checked the pins on the motor and on the MCU they all look fine to me but the light on the motor doesnt show up on the left leg. Do you think it would just be a good idea to replace the motor and the cable to see what happens rather than the MCU. Strange that the motor actually works though but no LED shows up on it regardless of swapping the cables around.
Markwarren
#6 Posted : 05 February 2020 08:25:56

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Mickyc94 wrote:
I have checked the pins on the motor and on the MCU they all look fine to me but the light on the motor doesnt show up on the left leg. Do you think it would just be a good idea to replace the motor and the cable to see what happens rather than the MCU. Strange that the motor actually works though but no LED shows up on it regardless of swapping the cables around.

Yes it might be worth replacing the motor first. Although the motor might work, it maybe electronics in it that is nor working right. The fact that you have swapped the legs over on the MCU and the same leg is not working, doesn’t point to the MCU board.

Cheers
Mark
Mickyc94
#7 Posted : 14 February 2020 03:28:19

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Markwarren wrote:
Mickyc94 wrote:
I have checked the pins on the motor and on the MCU they all look fine to me but the light on the motor doesnt show up on the left leg. Do you think it would just be a good idea to replace the motor and the cable to see what happens rather than the MCU. Strange that the motor actually works though but no LED shows up on it regardless of swapping the cables around.

Yes it might be worth replacing the motor first. Although the motor might work, it maybe electronics in it that is nor working right. The fact that you have swapped the legs over on the MCU and the same leg is not working, doesn’t point to the MCU board.

Cheers
Mark


Just thought I would check in. I replaced the left wheel motor and the problem has been resolved and R2D2 is fully operational.

Thread can be closed.
Markwarren
#8 Posted : 14 February 2020 09:07:42

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Really pleased you sorted it out. Another R2 in the world.Cool BigGrin

Mark
ir3an
#9 Posted : 06 March 2020 08:37:37

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I am having similar problems. When I perform the step to activate the power pack with the plug in charger, once the charger is unplugged, the system is dead. Sounds like a problem in the battery box. The batteries are charged to maximum and there are no contact problems. I pulled the power plug off the MCU board and checked the power cable. The voltage is ~0V.

My next step was to plug in a 12V PS directly into the Power plug on the MCU. I get exactly the same startup problem as the author of this thread. The power status light is red and does not change. The status display does show some patterns for the first second or two but then stops. The leg(s) make a quick motion forward moving a very short distance. No head rotation. After about 10 seconds or so, I get some R2 sounds probably indicating self test is complete.

There was a comment about the head motion would not be tested if the leg motor test(s) did not pass. I very carefully assembled both legs and ran the cabling exactly as shown in the diagrams. I am at a loss to find the blue lights that are mentioned in the thread. Did I miss something in the assembly process. Do the motor covers need to be removed to see the light(s). I never noticed while running the electrical tests during the assembly.

Any suggestions above and beyond those mentioned in this thread would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Markwarren
#10 Posted : 06 March 2020 08:54:47

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If you are sure that the batteries all make good contact and you are not getting a voltage through, it would point to a faulty battery box. Plugging a 12v ps directly into the mcu power cable will probably not have any effect. Contact c/s for a replacement battery box.

Regards
Mark
ir3an
#11 Posted : 06 March 2020 17:51:53

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Battery box replacement is on order. Is there a document that describes the meaning of all the lights, displays, startup sequences, etc. It is very difficult trying to pin a problem on a certain component. As and example, in an earlier post I mentioned the blue lights on the legs. Well, I finally found them but have no idea what the meaning is. Does it indicate that both leg motors are working properly. Also as part of the startup sequence, the head does not rotate. How does one isolate the problem. Just ordering parts, which will take weeks to receive, does not seem to be the most efficient.
Markwarren
#12 Posted : 06 March 2020 20:26:26

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It is alway difficult for us to pinpoint any issues for members as we don’t have it in front of us, and we can only go by what you tell us what is happening in detail.

With regards to the startup, R2 will jerk forward a little. The board will then go through a sequence of tests before operation. The first are the legs, when all okay it will start to rotate his head. Once all this sequence is finished he is then fully operational.

Your problem seems to be with the battery box assuming all the batteries are making good contact. The fact that no voltage is showing when you tested it, points to that part being faulty.
When you do receive the new battery box, remember to follow the startup procedure again.

Here is the link to R2’s troubleshooting page should you need it.

https://forum.model-space.co.uk/...aspx?g=posts&t=30247

Regards
Mark
ir3an
#13 Posted : 07 March 2020 05:29:08

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Bingo, I had the Head Motor plug in backwards. I am surprised that there is no damage as a result. Now to solve the problem of the head moving too fast and banging against the stops. There is a lot of chatter about this on the forum.

Thanks for all of the assistance. I am running off the bench PS and will have to wait for the new battery compartment.
ir3an
#14 Posted : 03 April 2020 16:22:38

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As it turns out, after inserting the connector properly the head banged the stops. The new motor arrived and has been installed. The dome now goes through the startup process properly. Thanks for the input in this thread.
Markwarren
#15 Posted : 03 April 2020 18:37:53

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Well done, glad you’ve got it all sorted.BigGrin ThumpUp

Mark
R2D2Nut
#16 Posted : 03 April 2020 20:43:33

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Plugging it in backwards will damage the hall effect sensor on the motor.
If I could figure out the correct replacement for it, I could make a killing! BigGrin
Fred

ir3an wrote:
Bingo, I had the Head Motor plug in backwards. I am surprised that there is no damage as a result. Now to solve the problem of the head moving too fast and banging against the stops. There is a lot of chatter about this on the forum.

Thanks for all of the assistance. I am running off the bench PS and will have to wait for the new battery compartment.

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