Hi iv never done a forum post before so excuse any obvious errors!
I am fairly sure i know whats wrong here but i thought id get a second opinion (or maybe even a third or a fourth!)
i am using an arduino uno to run some RGB led strip lights in a boat.
I'm using the PWM pins into some transistors and i am using 3 potentiometers so I can fade the different colours in and out to mix a colour.
this was working fine and has been for a while, until today when i came in and the lights were on (a bit ) but the arduino was not responding and the chip was really hot.
i think its dead but i want to know why because i don't want to keep replacing them (especially as its a proper one not some cheap copy!)
i am running the board on 12v straight off the battery on the boat using the 5.5/2.1mm power plug.
where i suspect i have gone wrong is when i turned the engine on the voltage may have spiked and broken something, or perhaps it just got too hot somehow?
i was thinking of a possible solution, i thought of running a DC DC converter before it to drop the voltage a bit and i was hoping that it would regulate it a bit preventing spikes and i am also going to fit a fuse to it too.
i have been running this with no problems for a week now using it every day and starting the engine every day too so it is quite odd that it would suddenly pack up like this but if anyone might be able to suggest any reason why they think it could have broken and anything i can do to prevent it from happening again your suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
