Hello guys,
Thank you so much for your input! I admit, I am no expert in this.
I am not home, so this is the best I can come up with in a pinch.
I hope this explains it better than I could. (I kept the relay and fountain out)
The led is the laser pointer.
pwillard:
Actually, NO. the standard arduino board has a voltage switching circuit that will disable the 5V from USB when it sees the voltage form the DC JACk. There is no "adding" here.
Interesting... I have no idea why it works when I add the USB power then. (I have tested it, and it works 100% of the time with the USB cable connected and the batteries)
ReverseEMF:
And, if you are connecting those batteries to the +5V pin, well, then, you are risking the destruction of your Arduino.
Well... that's exactly what I was doing! I see what was wrong with my assumption on this part... I will fix this as soon as I can.