New problem - Motors don't move after fixing end stops

Greetings all,

Thanks again to those who helped me work out the end stop issue. Putting one
end-stop per axis in the proper place allowed the end stops to return correct values
with M119.

Thing is, once I got this problem solved a new problem developed. The motors
stopped moving all-together. I tried inverting the end stops thinking it may have
appeared that the stops were triggered (haulting the motors), I checked the supply
(changed it actually to a better one) and triple-checked the soldering on the RAMPs
board. The problem seems to have started after re-soldering the end-stop block,
so I looked for any soldering archs carefully. Still no luck. I see through one of the
holes on the ramps board a yellow light on arduino triggering every time I try to move a motor
(I recall seeing a green when the motors were driving ok)

No magic smoke. Nothing that would lead me to believe the board is fried.
But if it were fried, is it possible the fuse (The flat orange thing near the power
rail, I believe) is blown?

I've tried everything I can think of. If any of you kind reprappers have a thought
on my issue, I'd appreciate the help.

Charlie

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2013 04:18PM by charliehuston.

When I first turn my reprap on, it sometimes thinks it is beyond the software-enabled max endstop (or just doesn't know where it is, I'm not sure), which freezes it. Homing the axes solves this.

Does homing work?

I've issued a G28/G90 command (I believe this homes in sprinter) but to no avail.

Is it possible all three pololu drivers under test have burnt out without me knowing it?
Or the fuse? I've tried to be careful not to overload the motors while testing them, and
the motors seemed to be moving ok (albeit, a bit uncalibrated) before they stopped moving.

I should also mention the motors don't appear to be on (moving the loaded motors doesn't
keep the axes in place, as if the current were on in the motors. The axes move freely).

Charlie

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2013 10:51PM by charliehuston.

I have to admit, this does not sound good. I took a shot in the dark with a simple thing that might have been overlooked given a recent firmware change regarding endstops, and it now appears I'm out of my depth. My next troubleshooting steps might be:

1) Posting in a electronics forum in the hopes of getting someone better than karmavore to help
2) Checking voltages on your stepper drivers (somewhere on the wiki it tells you which pins have that)
3) Checking voltages that you can get out of your bed/extruder heaters (do those still work?)
4) Backing up to a version of sprinter that did work for you (or perhaps step forward to Marlin) on the theory that you botched something in the firmware code
5) Picking up another RAMPs board and/or pololus

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestions, I figured as much, but its better to be sure
and check all possibilities. Im doing a bit more forensics before I spend
on a new board, and noticed something strange. Now when I turn the supply on,
the arduino loses sync with the ramps board. When I turn it off, sprinter can
connect again. The board still reads end-stop states accurately and my
multimeter is giving me voltage in to the pololu, but no voltage on 1A/B or 2A/B
out to the motors.

It would be nice if this was just a burnt FET or something, the board's like
90 bucks. Still holding out hope.

C

Have you got your end stops wired normally open or normally closed?
Have you connected them on the Ramps board to jacks 1,3, 5?

I've wired the end stops on pin 1 and 3, and patched the into 1,3,5. They
echo correct values when pressed.

Charlie

Hey Charlie,

If you disconnect the ends stops from the board can you get the motors to move anything? BTW, make sure to remove all power (including usb power) from the sanguinololu before plugging/unplugging any connections, otherwise you could damage the board or chip.

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