Helo there,
first to say I am new to Arduino and today I just started trying some things with sensors. I was able to make the ultrasonic sensor work, even to control some other stuff with it. Then I went to IR sensor (YL-70). I plugged it in according to tutorials (see photo), set up simple code (from tutorial) to check if the sensor picks up anything... but when I connected Arduino to PC through USB, the arduino did not start and did not show as connected in IDE. Whats worse, I touched the "chip" next to USB port and it was hot as hell. I disconnected USB right away, unplugged the IR sensor from breadboard and tried to power-up the Arduino with nothing connected.
Luckily it worked and I can use it as before with other stuff connected (ultrasonic sensor, motors, etc.), but I cant make it work with IR sensor connected. I double-checked the cables but I have all VCCs to VCCs to VCCs to 5V, all GNDs to GNDs, all INs and OUTs to digital Inputs.
Am I doing something wrong or is the IR sensor broken and shorted out or something?
Your 'photo tells us little or nothing about how things are connected. Please post a schematic of your project. A 'photo of a hand drawn circuit is good enough
Here it is. I am not really yet used to proper circuit drawing so I hope it's understandable enough. In the 4 IR Avoidance Module are 2 more connections for 2 more sensors but its connected the same as the first two's so I didnt draw them.
You may have wired the IR detectors backwards, and destroyed one or more of them, as well as the interface module. Continuing with those might damage the Arduino.
The photo suggests that you swapped the red (5V) and black (GND) wires going to the breadboard.
If you have a spare IR detector, try that alone, without the interface and breadboard, and see if you can get anything working.
I am 99 % sure I didnt swap them. I was double-checking them due to the "wrong" colors I used (idk why I used black for 5V, but I was really carefull to connect VCCs to 5V and GNDs to ground as I draw it in the picture). But I am afraid that if I really destroyed the detectors, I destroyed all of them because I conected all four of them through interface.
But the question is - if I really connected it as I draw it, it should be OK? Or did I missed something? Also I will try what you suggested when I got some space again, and try to connect the detectors alone maybe one by one for a brief second?
Yes, Arduino alone is working. Or with different sensors its also working. Its just when I plugged in this IR setup, it didnt start up and the chip near USB port started to heat up a lot. Is there any way to check if the each individual sensor is working or FUBAR without risking damage to Arduino? Maybe using multimeter? IDK how to check it using MM tho.
One of the specs of this YL-70 board is: Operating current : <1A.
Don't know what to think of that.
Do you have the heating problems (assuming poly fuse) without the four LED boards connected?
The main board should not draw any significant current.
Leo..
Disconnect YL-70 from the Arduino and remove the IR sensors. Measure continuity (Ohms) of the YL-70 by putting meter positive to board positive and meter GND to board GND. What is the reading? Plug in IR sensors one at a time and record Ohms at each step. A low reading, like 29 Ohms, for example, is a bad sign.
b. Remove the IR sensors from the main board. Disconnect the YL-70 from the Arduino and power it from a non-Arduino supply with a DMM in series between supply voltage and device positive. Measure the current of just the YL-70 (and record your results). Plug in one IR sensor and measure the current draw. See if there's any difference when the sensor is seeing/not seeing a target. Add the others one at a time and measure current at each step.
I checked the Ohms without and with IR sensors and readings were very low - close to 0 actually.
Then I did the current measuring. I used the 220 ohm resistor in between the 9V battery and ampermeter to be sure (as they tought us in school so we wont destroy the MM). And it showed me the current of 40 mA each without the sensor plugged to YL70 board and also with them plugged in. Which, if I am not wrong, is the current caused by the resistor (9V/220Ohm = 0,04 A). Does that mean the sensor board is shorted out?
One more risk I did in the sleepines of the saturday morning - I tried the IR sensor alone without the YL70 board in between and its working! I even tried some simple code and it actually detects stuff so the sensors arent the problem. Now I might be atleast able to use them alone (without the in-built trimmers tho, but thats better than nothing).
