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Solved Voltage regulator keeps blowing on the Arduino Mega

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by mclemens7, Nov 28, 2017.

  1. mclemens7

    mclemens7 Member

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    I replaced my ramps board with a ramps 1.4 (because the old one blew or something broke on it) and Ive tried 3 arduinos and the voltage regulator keeps blowing. Is this because of wiring or the arduino?
     
    #1 mclemens7, Nov 28, 2017
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I'd tend to suspect the RAMPS board. I had a couple that I went through that were bad and were drawing too much current.
    In fact, they one failure sent me through 4 different RAMPS boards to find one that worked correctly. Good thing they are cheap and Prime sellers had to refund the cost (and shipping was free).
     
    #2 mark tomlinson, Nov 28, 2017
  3. mclemens7

    mclemens7 Member

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    So your saying it’s the Ramps and if so what’s the best ramps board company
     
    #3 mclemens7, Nov 28, 2017
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Whichever one works :) I have tried a bunch of them, it is pot-luck.
    It is probably the RAMPS, I have not had any bad Arduino Mega boards...even the cheapest clone ones have worked fine for me.

    Last time I just ordered three from different sellers and hoped I got a good one (I did). Two had to go back ... they were "UnGood"
     
    #4 mark tomlinson, Nov 28, 2017
  5. mclemens7

    mclemens7 Member

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    Which company’s were that
    ? And how did u know they were bad.
     
    #5 mclemens7, Nov 28, 2017
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    They caused the regulator to overheat or the cpu to overheat...

    I found that out by accident while trying to troubleshoot one not connecting :)
     
    #6 mark tomlinson, Nov 28, 2017
  7. mclemens7

    mclemens7 Member

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    Is There a test I can do to make sure it’s a good ramps without blowing any Arduino?
     
    #7 mclemens7, Nov 28, 2017
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Well, not sure. What I did was plug it in while keeping a finger on the arduino CPU :)
    And touch testing the regulator as well. It is a pain, but it worked. I could tell right away when I had a bad one on.

    Just be prepared to quickly kill power if needed.
     
    #8 mark tomlinson, Nov 28, 2017
  9. mclemens7

    mclemens7 Member

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    So i got a new Arduino he
    orange light turns on with the usb but not with the power outlet. If I turn it on do you think it’s safe to say it will work?
     
    #9 mclemens7, Nov 29, 2017
  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Can you connect a computer to it with the USB attached?
     
    #10 mark tomlinson, Nov 29, 2017
  11. mclemens7

    mclemens7 Member

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    I connected with a computer and it lit up but I havnt powered it on through the outlet yet
     
    #11 mclemens7, Nov 29, 2017
  12. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    well, that just powers the RAMPS through the Arduino... no way to say if the 12v from the power supply is going to cause issues.
    If it is working like that with arduino/ramps connectedd via USB then it is probably good. When I used bad RAMPS board it would not work even powered via USB through the Arduino and the arduino would overload in some cases.
     
    #12 mark tomlinson, Nov 29, 2017
  13. mclemens7

    mclemens7 Member

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    The only reason I’m asking this right now is because before the ramps board that I current have drew too much power and exploded the voltage regulator. Then I got a new Arduino and I’m more cautious
     
    #13 mclemens7, Nov 29, 2017
  14. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    So either the RAMPS board is also bad and caused the problem (in which case you need to replace it) or the Arduino was just ready to die (and you have replaced it).
     
    #14 mark tomlinson, Nov 29, 2017
  15. mclemens7

    mclemens7 Member

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    So I powered it on and all he lights turn on on the boards. But the fans and stuff don’t. Is that because the Arduino doesn’t have code loaded on it?
    I
     
    #15 mclemens7, Nov 29, 2017
  16. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    If you replaced the Arduino board and did not flash any firmware to it, it won't do anything except light up a few on board LEDs.
     
    #16 WheresWaldo, Nov 30, 2017
    Geof and mark tomlinson like this.

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