I am having a strange electrical issue and was wondering if any of you could help out. I had a chip loaded up with code and tested it worked. Then I put the resin cast in place for the piece, the chip and electronics are inside…
As my code ran, after about 3 minutes, the cycle would freeze and eventually restart, and freeze at the same point. Unfortunately, it’s all buried in the resin and I can’t test to see what is going on. My solution was to add another chip.
I grabbed the power and ground from the led strip and connected them to the new chip. Then I cut the data line (leds) and analog in line (potentiometer) for the malfunctioning chip. Then I put these lines in place with the new chip and tested it. Nothing. Both of the chips are on but they don’t turn on the LEDs. When I plug in an alternative power supply to the chip it all works.
Can I not grab the power from one chip to power another chip? This is perplexing to me.
I am using two because the whole art piece is now a resin cast. luckily I had access to some wires so I could add another chip and tap into the leds / pot.
Ok so you said the code runs for 3 minutes then stops. 1 can you post the code so the geniuses here can work their magic if thats where the problem is at. 2 was it doing that before you cast it in resin? Or did you not run it for 3 minutes before deciding to cast it in resin (thats what i would have done lol)
No need to post the code. It works fine on my prototype board and it worked fine before the resin cast. I have no idea what happened but I won’t be doing this again. Next time it will be protected from the resin. I would start from scratch but have put in a bunch of hours already.
the code also works fine on my second board when I attach another power supply. Interestingly enough, if I disconnect the extra power supply and quickly plug in the one from the above circuit the leds will stay lit in their last position.
I mean you have both boards wired in parallel from what i can see on that drawing. And only 1 of them is sending data to the LEDs so i dont really see what could be causing the problem. Would you mind posting a picture of the actual board sandwhich you made?
If they stay lit in their last position it may be that they are receiving power and ground but no data (had that happen before) i mean with it being cast in resin best i can tell you is to try again with the board you know works and run it for a while to make sure everything runs fine
Also if youre using WS2812 LEDs those usually run at 5V so getting 3.3V might be a possible issue. I say possible because ive never had a problem running mine at 3.7V and even 3V from a Lithium button cell
Marc, Thank you. I did check the voltage and it is present. I did not check if the epoxy was conductive, that was stupid. It is Alumilite from some craft store. It appears to be nonconductive from what I can see.
The first controller is still connected to the power supply. It is still powering the leds and pot. I tapped into the power from the leds to run the new arduino.
I will try taking out the pot.
Cristain, the data line is on the input. It all works when I add a new power supply directly to the new chip. The green wire looks cut because that was the data line coming from the first arduino to the leds. I cut it in two spots to make sure there was not a conflicting signal.