Hi I have the mini rover and rover shield. the rover moves forward and back, but will not turn. I see the LED’s light up appropriately by the power posts for the motors. I have checked the polarity of the motors ( they seem to both go forward and reverse according to the code) LOW LOW for forward HIGH HIGH for reverse. The motors did not have any polarity markings. Any ideas on what could be going on?
Thanks
@Francois1954 Welcome to the RobotShop Community. Looks like you purchased this product:
Documentation is under “Useful Links” on that product page.
If it moves forward and back but doesn’t turn, that likely means one of two things:
a) Your code is not set up correctly. Try the code in the manual: there’s both a full speed code and a WASD (movement via USB) sample code in the guide.
b) The wires to the motors are not set up and one needs to be reversed.
The most common user error of assembling the gearbox in the wrong configuration doesn’t seem to be the case here fortunately.
Hi, thanks for the quick reply. I used the basic code to see if the motors turn, which they do. Modified to make them go backwards, they did. Ran the WASD code and discovered the unit will not move unless both M1 M2 are either HIGH or LOW. Any other combo and nothing happens.
I have tried reversing the cables one at a time, and I think they just reversed… while try that again. And yes the track can move independently of each other if I turn them by hand.
Well reversing the wires gave interesting results: with M1 M2 HIGH / LOW or LOW/HIGH the tracks now turn, but unfortunately in the same direction. Reversing the HIGH/LOW just changes direction. But with the wires changed HIGH/HIGH LOW/LOW results in nothing no movement at all…currently baffled.
Sounds like you’re doing everything correctly, though using the WASD code should not require any modification for you to test the controls via USB (using the W,A,S and D keyboard keys via the Arduino Serial terminal or other serial program set to the appropriate baud rate and COM port).
Can you confirm what happens when you press A or D when the WASD code is uploaded? The tracks should spin in the opposite direction. The shields are mass produced with incredibly few issues. Nothing on the board looks burnt?
Last, to confirm, what power source are you using? If you’re using AA batteries, note that the shield tries to charge LiPo and won’t get along with AA, so be sure not to use the USB cable to the shield if AA batteries are connected.
In short nothing, Neither a nor s cause the tracks to turn in either direction. I am using the LiPo that came with the kit. Measures 4.164 vdc. I noticed that when the tracks are turning in either direction, the LEDS at the motor blocks dim, but when asked to turn as in a or s, the LEDS are bright, indicating to me the motors are not drawing power. There is + 3.8 vdc on one side and - 3.8 on the other. Tells me the code and the board are working. The tracks turn in both directions when asked to and the track turn independently when turned manually…call me stumped! lol
Well I pulled a Sherlock Holmes, when you have have eliminated the impossible whatever remains must be the issue! I decided that the UNO and shield were working so it must be the development platform! Low and behold when I dropped the motors I saw I had crossed the wires coming up through the chassis! I had a positive from one motor and the negative from the other hooked up to the same power block… got it wired right and hey presto works as advertised…
