[ON HOLD] VESC stopped working..

So I got my board finished, and went out for a test. Immediately, the throttle was jittery and the Nunchuck constantly disconnected and just did't behave well. I found that by holding it next to the receiver, the problems went away for the most part. This is probably my fault for mounting it under the VESC, so its signal is blocked. Anyway, just today I was testing the range to see if I could reproduce the results, and all of a sudden I got the blinking pink light. While moving, I applied the brake and the motor slowed, then I must have reversed it to go back across the room, since the motor cogged a bit (braking is nice and smooth).
I immediately plugged in a USB cable and got the faults list from the Terminal tab:
I've tried re-uploading firmware hw_410_411_412 (VESC HW2.14), and the only thing that changed was that I had to pull the power for the nunchuck to be recognized (and / or) the fault to start again.
The motor seems to receive absolutely zero power under any of the circumstances I've tested it with, but I can still see the current and stuff changing in BLDC tool.

Any suggestions for what to try?
I'm a bit worried a broke it again, but I'm not sure how I could have.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the DRV error is *usually* hardware failure.

You could try resoldering the DRV8302 chip in case it wasn't fully connected... but most likely you need to buy another 8302 chip ($6'ish) and replace it.

I had one fail on me and this was the error and fix.

HTH - GL!

I'm hesitant to try anything like that, because I can't imagine that something got shook loose on a smooth floor after a while of riding on rough road. Also, What could cause an electrical failure that would brick the chip? Obviously, I would want to avoid that.

I also tried with 2 different motors, an NTM 28mm (~1000kv) and a Blue Wonder (1300kv). Both very tiny. Still, the motor does not receive power and the fault is triggered.

Montiey said:

I'm hesitant to try anything like that, because I can't imagine that something got shook loose on a smooth floor after a while of riding on rough road. Also, What could cause an electrical failure that would brick the chip? Obviously, I would want to avoid that.

I also tried with 2 different motors, an NTM 28mm (~1000kv) and a Blue Wonder (1300kv). Both very tiny. Still, the motor does not receive power and the fault is triggered.

Click to expand...

Maybe one of the guys who build VESC's can chime in, but as i understand it - some of those chips just simply fail...

I killed mine bench testing - hard acceleration then brake a few times too many or too quickly did it for me. I'm talented like that.

(edit - just to clarify this is on older 4.7/4.8 boards - not sure if Vedder has beefed things up since then w/ the newer 4.10 boards)

It's dead jim. Get another chip and replace (not terribly hard), or have one of the guys here do it. Luckily there's a huge community to help = including sending it to Vedder (if he has time obviously).

Do you have a hot-air rework setup? With a small reducer tip to focus the air just on the component you want to replace (or some kapton tape to protect the other parts of the board)?

It's small fiddly work but not super difficult.

GL!

I've got a FX 888-D and 1 other crap iron; so no hot air capabilities. I'd be willing to reheat the pins, but I think they're too small for ironwork.
Do you think you killed yours by luck or by the hard accelerations? I haven't spotted anyone else warning others to be gentle on the throttle.

I'll send it back to Ollin for a swap, unless anyone has an idea what might be wrong.
Mainly, I'm wondering if this is bad luck or if I did something incorrectly. Anyone have suggestions?

[EDIT]
I just found this:
https://e2e.ti.com/support/applications/motor_drivers/f/38/t/277522
seems very similar, but still doesn't explain much.

Send it in Montiey! Do me a favor and save your xml file for your motor configuration and send it to me in an email. It may help to find the cause of the failure.

You can reach me @ jclark@ollinboardcompany.com

Other than the Motor config, I believe the other settings were wiped with the firmware re-flash. I'll send all the files I have.

Montiey said:

Other than the Motor config, I believe the other settings were wiped with the firmware re-flash. I'll send all the files I have.

Click to expand...

No worries, just get it to us and we will take care of the rest.

Ollin Board Company
PO Box 3391
Truth or Consequences, NM
87901 USA