Picon zero stopped working after one day

Support
1

Hello,

I’ve started a project using a picon zero and a Raspberry Pi B+,
I’m using a 6v battery (actually four 1,5volt batteries in series)
everything was working fine both using servos and some small motors,
however today while I was running the motorTest.py I smelled that something was kind of burning and then stopped everything and removed the batteries, waited a while and booted the pi again,
now the picon zero seems that is not working. the led is fine but it doesn’t turn the motors on,
since everything was working fine and the voltage and currents are in the working range what could have happened?
thank you

2

The same thing happen to my board.

3

Hi. Can you see which part of the board was burnt? How were you applying the 6V
Thanks

1 Like
4

hello,

I can’t say for sure anyway here’s a photo of the picon zero under the magnifying glass

piconzero-dead.png1280×634 1.11 MB

maybe it is the mega328P? it seems that a small area is darker than the rest. dunno
as for the batteries, I was just using a 4 AA Battery holder pretty much like this one http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/mpd-memory-protection-devices/BH24AAW/BH24AAW-ND/37049
if there’s something I can try to test it further just tell me
thank you

5

Can’t really see anything on the ATMega - though it’s a great photo! I wasn’t sure what you meant by “the LED is fine” in your original post. Do you mean that you can still communicate with the Picon Zero and drive LEDs? For instance does “python version.py” give sensible value?

6

sorry for the “led is fine”, I was looking at the raspberry led and (dunno why) thought the light was from the picon :)
anyway the picon zero is working with servos and here’s the output from version.py:
python version.py
Board Type: Picon Zero
Firmware version: 8

so far it seems like that only the motor driver part is not working

7

Thanks. I can understand better now. In that case, it must be either the reverse protection diode or the motor driver itself that has given up. Neither of these things should happen though. A photo of how it was wired up may help. If that doesn’t help, can I ask you to send the board to me and I’ll replace with a new one. I want to understand exactly what has happened, so getting the board back is important.

**UPDATE: I am only allowed three posts per topic! So this is in reply to the message below. Yes, please send the board back to me at 4tronix (address on 4tronix website) with a note with your address so I can return. Maybe best to email me directly on sales@4tronix.co.uk

8

Here’s a photo of how it was wired up:

piconzero-motor.jpg1573×2657 1 MB

(actually however when it stopped working I was using a smaller motor like this one https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/002/339/original/learn_arduino_dc_motor.jpg ). I was using an external power supply for the board (5v 1A) and as you can see I was using batteries for the motor.
I’m also ok in sending the board back to you if this can help. this board is just perfect for my projects so if I can be of any help in making it even better then count me in!

9

Yes, please send the board back to me at 4tronix (address on 4tronix
website) with a note with your address so I can return. Maybe best to
email me directly on sales@4tronix.co.uk