I have the Big Pushbutton Power Switch with Reverse Voltage Protect.
I’ve set it up for auto shutoff of a robotic device with an Arduino.
The power comes from a 12v battery to the input header blocks and then from the output header blocks to a 12v connector block, and from there to various components of the device, including the Arduino, a power converter to 24v, relays, and motor controllers.
The ground and off pins are connected to the Arduino ground and a digital out pin, and the A and B pins connected to a switch.
The button on off and code on the Arduino to shut off when idle are working fine.
However, when one of the motor controllers is activated, the power gets shut off. The other motor controller does not have the same issue. I thought it might be the controller, so I replaced it, same problem. If I take the Power Switch out of the circuit all is well.
The only obvious thing different about that controller is that it has 24v power, whereas the one that doesn’t show the problem is 12v. However, the 24v relays do not show the same issue.
Any idea what could cause the button to switch off the electricity when the controller is activated?
Hi, which motor controller are you using? Could you please share the name or link?
The motor controller is Cytron Technologies, model MDD10A, 10Amp 5V-30V DC Motor Driver (2 Channels)
Hi, hometoauto.
Could you post pictures of your setup with the 24V motor controller and with the 12V motor controller that show all connections? Is the step-up regulator to 24V only used in the setup with the 24V motor controller? Are you powering the same motor in both cases? Could you post a datasheet or other documentation for your motor(s)?
-Claire
I think it will be better if you kindly provide the details according to Ms. Claire’s suggestion. Also if you share the photos of your connections, you’ll more likely get the proper solution.
Hello and thank you for your replies. We’ve done some more investigation and I’ve been waiting to complete that before taking more of your time.
It appears a stop signal must have been getting sent from the Arduino, as evidenced by the problem going away when we disconnected that wire.
Based on that we don’t believe the Power Switch was at fault.
The problem was related to connectors from the Arduino to the motor controller. Specifically, when a linear actuator was pressed against those wires at the connection to the motor controller, this problem occurred.
Once the motor controller was moved away from the actuator, the problem went away.
Exactly how the pressure on those wires could cause the Arduino to send a signal on a different wire to the Power Switch is unknown. I would be curious to know how this could happen if anyone has any ideas.
But in any case the problem is now solved and I am no longer in need of assistance.
Thanks again.
With those kinds of issues, it can be tricky to figure out what is going on, especially without looking at the whole setup. Maybe one or more wires had an intermittent connection (loose ground connections, in particular, can cause very strange behavior) or maybe electrical noise from the actuator was messing with your logic lines.
Glad you found the issue; good luck with the rest of your project!