cbernett:
Wow - none of this was helpful. I don't draw circuit diagrams so someone put this together for me. But the intense attitude in the responses is really kind of incredible - never had this kind of response to questions I've posted and I've been doing this a very long time. I'm not a pro in the electronics world but I am a pro in the design and technology world and would have appreciated a bit more respect.
The board you're seeing is a bi of a mess because I am hectically trying to fix it - so I've desoldered a lot. I have looked very closely as all the elements and cannot find a short - though there is a chance I'm missing something. I'm also saying the same things over and over and you're asking questions I've answered, but I'll repeat in case anyone can nicely give me some help at this stage - I do not have time to do a drawing:
-- the power is going into the RAW pin on the Arduino yes. again, it's been that way on other boards for years, zero heat, zero problems.
-- my understanding is that 5v is not enough to power LED strips
-- the LED strips are about 10" long each
I really believe that this is wired correctly - however, something is causing the ARDUINO to get very hot. Other weird behavior has been:
-- the arduino power light blinks faintly rather than staying on solidly / brightly
-- one LED strip going on but is not responding to the sensor, adding a second one turns all of them off
Again - these boards were working find before I traveled. The new type of connector I'm using breaks off easily so I had to resolder the power (hence the mess).
I ask you respectfully to refrain from responding if you're going to be hostile or disrespectful. If anyone else has any other troubleshooting tips for me - thanks in advance.
Concerning doing this a long time. On the Arduino forum you have posted 3 times using the current login.
If this forum is not meeting your requirements and/or needs, why not post to the previous forums where you sought help?
Okay, The drawing is showing RGB LED strips and the amazon.com link to LED strips is to a 12V white LED with Power 12V and Ground. Which one is correct.
10 inches of LED strip is how many LED?
Need to know how many LED to know how many amps are required.
A scan of a pencil drawing on paper would have been better than the fritz diagram.
a photograph of a pencil drawing on paper would have been better than the fritz diagram.
When you post further links please use the url tags.
Just because something has worked for years does not mean that it will continue to work for years.
stuff wears out.
The fact it worked on other boards before does not imply that it will work on these boards.
Concerning the diagram.
The MOSFETs and LED Strips should have their own power supply separate from the Arduino Power Supply.
The only connection between the MOSFETs and the Arduino should be the PWM pin to the MOSFET.This will keep the current going through the Arduino to a minimum. Tie the grounds together.
Do you have a way to test the LED strips without the Arduino or MOSFETS?
This does depend on what type the LED strips are, RGB or White Only.
Do you have a way to test the UltraSonic Sensor?
When you say that the Arduino is hot, can you tell which part on the Arduino Board is hot?
Have you access to the cans of spray for cooling electrical parts?
Normally, I used these to find the discrete transistor which had gone into thermal runaway.
Knowing which part is becoming hot would provide information that would help solve the mystery.
These Arduino Boards that you are using, are these clones or are they original Arduino Pro mini boards?
I do have to ask. Why all the de-soldering and re-soldering when you did not know that was the issue?
Have you replicated the circuit on a breadboard and not the proto perf board?
a suggestion, get a pack of the multi-color breadboard wires. it makes troubleshooting much easier.
I like the silicon insulated wires. The silicon wires are nice to work with.
