Hello! Any help with or response to the following problem would be much appreciated.
The problem occurred while programming a robotic claw, which was powered by 3 VEX continuous rotation servos (3-wire "motor modules"). A 12-volt battery module consisting of 8 AA batteries provided power for the servos. The claw had begun to move erratically, and I had just disconnected the battery when my monitor went black and my computer restarted. Since then I have been unable to upload programs to the Arduino. I have tried both USB ports and ensured that, during each try, the correct USB port was selected. Relevant information is listed below:
Arduino, circuit, and hardware information:
–Arduino model: Uno R3 (main microcontroller: ATMega328P-PU)
–hardware connected: 3 VEX 3-wire motor modules
–circuit before shutdown: all servo power wires connected to battery's positive terminal via breadboard; Arduino's VIN pin connected to battery and servos; all servo ground wires connected to battery's negative terminal and Arduino's ground pin via breadboard; servos on pins 3, 5, and 6 (the first three PWM–capable pins)
Computer information:
–Model: 2011 MacBook Pro
–Operating system: Mac OS X 10.7.5
Error messages:
–While holding shift key when attempting to upload:
"Problem uploading to board."
avrdude: usbdev_open(): did not find any USB device "usb"
–While uploading without shift key depressed:
avrdude: stk500_recv(): programmer is not responding
Circumstances of the problem:
–claw began to move erratically; I pulled the battery pack's positive wire out of the breadboard
–highly possible that the battery pack's positive wire accidentally contacted the exposed metal on one of the ATMega's pins while the battery pack's negative wire was still connected to ground; when my computer restarted, the positive wire was very close to the ATMega
–Computer was connected to power source when restart occurred
–after restart, accidentally rewired VIN to GND while the Arduino was connected to the computer
Observations while attempting to upload:
–had been able to upload before without problems
–The RX light on the Arduino blinked, but the TX light remained dark
–During upload attempts, blue progress bar at bottom left-hand corner of Arduino IDE filled rapidly until it was about 7/8 full, at which point it stopped
–Pressing reset button now has no apparent effect; the Arduino's "L" light does not blink when reset button is released after being held for up to 20 seconds
–Attempted to reset Arduino while wired to breadboard, then while it was disconnected from breadboard (but connected to battery)
Program running at time of shutdown:
–available at following link
Research findings:
–I am unsure, but I may have tripped the Arduino's USB current protection fuse.
–It is also possible that I have destroyed the Arduino's blocking diode by shorting VIN to GND, according to this site:
However, the Arduino was not connected to a DC power jack when I accidentally created the short.
I had been attempting to make the claw respond to serial input, and was using this program as a reference for translating letters into serial-readable numbers.
It is possible that I am remembering the details of the problem incorrectly; if anything seems unlikely about the details I have reported, it may be that I have described it incorrectly.
Again, any response is much appreciated.
