Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

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Wildorado
 
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Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by Wildorado »

I saw a forum post concerning a motor shield V2 not working. I have a similar problem where my shield is not functioning. My arduino is an UnoR3 that's powered by USB and the shield is powered with a 12V power supply. The VIN jumper is removed as per the recommendations in the guide. I soldered pins on the top and bottom holes so that the shield slides right into the Arduino's pin holes, again per guide instructions. When I run the shield DC motor test code provided in the examples, the motor will not move. With the shield attached, the serial monitor shows no 'tick' or 'tock' that it should show if the code was progressing. When I remove the shield and run the code, it progresses in the serial monitor. I ran the I2C detector code in the forum post linked below. I get no communication from the shield.

I've verified the motor functions with an L298 driver and the same power supply.

The motor I'm using is a Makeblock 25mm motor. I've driven it successfully with the L298 and the same 12V DC power supply.

viewtopic.php?p=908311&hilit=motor+shield#p908311

My order confirmation number was
2700465-0257133719

This is the first time I actually pulled the shield out of its bag, is there any way to fix this shield?

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dastels
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by dastels »

Please post clear closeups of your soldering.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Also please post a link to the electrical specs for your motor. An L298 has a much higher current rating than the TB6612 drivers on the shield.

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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by Wildorado »

Image

This is the motor.

Attached are some pictures of the soldering.
Attachments
shield2.jpg
shield2.jpg (55.73 KiB) Viewed 486 times
shield1.jpg
shield1.jpg (53.47 KiB) Viewed 486 times

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dastels
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by dastels »

You should start by redoing the soldering. Touching with the iron to melt it and let it flow around the pin and into the hole will probably be adequate, maybe adding a bit as required. See https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-gui ... -soldering and https://learn.adafruit.com/collins-lab-soldering for tips.

Dave

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Wildorado
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by Wildorado »

I've done that just to be sure, the soldering is okay and I don't think the pictures are showing it very well. I'm far from a soldering pro but the contact is there.

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dastels
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by dastels »

I'm sorry but I would not have any faith in that soldering.

Dave

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Wildorado
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by Wildorado »

I've retouched the soldering again (twice now to be absolutely sure). I'm certain the soldering is fine and contact is being made with the pin and the board. Still no communication on the I2C test circuit or motor movement from the example code provided.

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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Simple contact is not sufficient. the solder needs to 'wet' both the pin and the solder pad for a reliable electrical connection. The symptoms you describe are consistent with a marginal connection on the i2c bus. That is the most common cause of hanging in the Wire library.

Image

Also note that the stall current for your motor is well above the limit for the drivers on the shield. So you should be careful not to overload the motors.

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Wildorado
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by Wildorado »

The solder is shaped like that on all pins, especially after retouching it. Either way, the board is still not communicating with the arduino, motor or not.

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dastels
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by dastels »

Care to share another set of photos?

Dave

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Wildorado
 
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Re: Adafruit Motor Shield V2.3 not communicating via I2C

Post by Wildorado »

Actually, at this point I'm sure the soldering is good and the board is not communicating. I'm not going through this rigamarole any further.

Other customers have had similar problems with this board and instead of replacing mine, I'm just getting bounced from email to a bunch of back and forth with you and the other guy. It's a 20 dollar part and the amount of time I've spent trying to fix it myself isn't worth minimum wage anymore. If this is how adafruit treats customers, I'll buy my components elsewhere.

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