Hello,
I have an issue that my external power supply is struggling to power a small Arduino project. I can see physically that the LED flickers on the DC power supply and well as the LED on the Arduino itself, and then the motors I'm powering stop working.
My project is set up in the following way:
I have a Motor Shield V2, sitting atop a Leonardo, which I am running x 4 DC 4.5V motors and x 2 Servos.
Notice I am powering the Leonardo board (not UNO board like in pic) from the external barrel jack. I am not powering from the external port on the motor shield V2.
The function of these motors is they are running at regular, but short intervals. Each motor runs at a random interval but no longer than 1 second at a time.
Would love to hear feedback on whether people have simliar experience with using these junkie multi voltage DC supplies? Would someone recommend a decent power supply manufacturer?
How much voltage from external source you have connected with wires marked Red/Black (Motor Power) of the Motor Shield? From your diagram/description, it is not clear to me if you have connected any supply at all?
As I noted in my description, I am using external power source to the Barrel Jack on the Leonardo and NOT the motor shield. Does it matter? Do I need to have a power source for the barrel jack AND the motor shield for some reason?
The power driver of the Shield needs power source which you are required to connect at the terminals indicated in post #2. The GND-pin of the shield must be connected with GND-pin of Leonardo.
When you say "barrel jack", I mean the barrel jack of the Leonrdo Board.
As you have connected 4.5V Motor, connect a 5V source (not the 5V from Leonardo) at the Shield's Motor Power Connector and see the result.
Usually, 12V supply is connected at the Motor Power Connector and PWM signal is used to drive the Motor for speed control. Voltage is gradually increased by increasing the duty cycle of the PWM and is stopped when speed arrives at the maximum. At this point, you can measure the voltage across motor terminals and you will find a voltage close to 4.5V.
