I was running the WiFi car example program and was the motor connected to motor port D wouldn’t run.
I knew both my motors were good, so I wondered if the BrickPi wasn’t getting enough power. (I was using a Ravpower 15,000mah battery pack on the 9v setting) I switched from the 9v setting to the 12v setting and ran the WiFi car program again. Motor D still didn’t run and within 2-3 seconds I heard a loud POP.
I tested the battery pack with a voltmeter, it actually outputs 9.6 or 12.6 volts.
I have also noticed a crack in the one of the SN754410NE chips.
Did I just destroy my BrickPi?
Hey Br103, it sounds like the SN chip was destroyed. Could the custom battery have been put in backwards? It could also have been a high voltage; how high of a voltage does your custom power supply go up to?
Do any of the other motors or Raspberry Pi work at this point or are they dead as well?
If you see physical damage on the SN chip, it’s safe to assume that it’s gone. The good news is that it can be repaired: we should have the digikey and mouser part number up on our repo on github.
Hey, the custom battery is not in backwards, I had to hack some wires so I was really careful about getting positive and negative correct.
The custom battery has a 9v and a 12v output. I was using the battery on the 12v setting (the 12v setting on the battery pack actually outputs 12.6v, I found this out later.)
I will use my NXT to test the motors; Raspberry Pi works fine. As far as I can tell, sensors work fine as well.
I will look up the part numbers on github. Can I just solder the new chip on or do I need to install special firmware, and do I need any special equipment?
It sounds like the SN chips are burned or somehow damaged. This could have been because of shorting around the motors or extreme use of the motors.
The best bet is to replace them both (or whichever side is not working). You can probably do it with just a soldering iron, if you snip out the dead chip.