As already said the connection you are using is 'very unstable' and 'very unrealiable' it could work 10 minutes or 10 seconds. And pinpointing the problem is not easy.
check vcc and gnd connections
secure somehow these connections
But long cables and 'flimsy' connections are a recipe for...
To check the pump, simply short, briefly, the two connection in the relay ( the pump should start immediately, better not using water not to mess... )
If the pump does not work check the connection ( I see the stepdown converter is 'lit' so it should be working )
If the pump works ok, remove the short, then check the 3 connection on the 'strip' of the relay as you connect gnd and vcc the pwr led should turn on ( and I see is off ) so check with the multimeter if between the two wire there is +5V we could have a defunct relay ( or at least a defunct pwr led ).
Reconnect the gnd and vcc wires then try connecting the 'IN' pin to +5V, if the relay turns on
the ralay is still functioning, so check that the 'IN' pin is connected to pin 6 of arduino.
Thank you so much. I appreciate you a lot for helping me this much. I understood what you meant and I will buy 24 awg solid core wire today and I'll replace it with jumper wires. I do feel that they're pretty loose too and won't fit properly so yes you're definitely right. I'll fix this today and I'll let you know how it well real soon. Thank you again.
If I had to do it I'd use a perforated board to make a 'switch box', with a male connector for every board/connector you have to reach ( arduino left and right connector, motor driver, the sensors, the relay.. ) and then create the cables with double fimale ends... ( several hours of work assured, and you also need connectors and flat cable ). If I understand correctly, it is not the right way for you.
Easier solution ( if done correctly ). The problem of the 'single wire connectors' ( as you noted ) is that they are loose, not secured in any way, but if you could join togheter ( as in a proper multipole connector ), they would be much 'sturdier'.
So Why not to glue the single connector you have ( I mean male with male and female with female )?
Glue only the external plastic ( don't let glue enter the metallic contact inside ), the less glue the better ( I would also don't glue in place but mount the connectors on a temporary and sacrificable opposite sex connector, just in case.. )
Or you could also use hot glue ( maybe even better? )
Hello. I'm back. This was so time consuming i couldn't find the 24 awg wire anywhere then I found one it wasn't that good but still I used it and nothing worked absolutely nothing. After a breakdown i removed it all and decided to connect everything from scratch again. And taped different connections too it seamed pretty clean now and when I uploaded the code again the driver and buck weren't working neither the pump. I then removed the power from my laptop used my batteries again it didn't work and only when I removed the gnd pin from Arduino (gnd to breadboard) the motor worked and the pump other components like relay bluetooth didn't work then I connected it again and at a point everything worked and suddenly my mlx was smoking I removed it quickly my bluetooth module was super hot too. Also my flame sensors one of them is still the one which is connected to the breadboard for the vcc and gnd connection, it still has both the LEDs working apart from that I connected my bluetooth module again and it was blinking. I also opened the controller and it didn't connect with the module but it would not move. I'm very much disappointed in myself at the moment. I don't even know what to do with it. You can check the recent video below on how it's rn. I also connected the mlx again but yeah idk if it's working or not and the slide switch too idk if it's functional
Edit. Right when I turn on the battery the pump starts working and the buck converter too and then in just a few seconds the relay module makes a clank sound and the pump stops working
Edit 2. Right when I use the slide switch it starts to go backwards on its own and won't stop and both the LEDs of the sensors will stay on. I've attached the video in the drive link. Please do check them out
I apologise but I am not good in english so I don't know how to express my problems in a better way but yes thank you for letting me know and I'll reply in point form from next time.
The connection I had, water pump +ve to relay module , NC
I changed it to, water pump +ve to relay module, NO
Now the relay module is working and the L298 driver too, also my water pump is working too now.
I also turned the nob of flame sensors to fit them accordingly until the DO led stops lighting
Now when I bring the lighter closer to the sensors they light up correctly.
The problem I'm facing now is that,
I connected the bluetooth module, it pairs well with my phone and the controller but it does not allow the robot to move. The backwards sideways forward, none of them work not even the splash.
I'm not sure if the servo is working.
Few mins ago I turned the robot on and I got the lighter closer to it and the robot rushed backwards continuously. It didn't do it again.
The MLX, as I mentioned earlier. It was smoking. I'm not sure about it anymore now. But I kept it connected still. Not sure if it's functional anymore or not.
For now I'll slide the switch and bring the lighter close to it again and see how it reacts. I'll upload the video on drive.
Edit.
I did check it again.
I uploaded it on drive naming 'checking sensors and slide switch'
I first used the lighter and the sensors worked finely + tried connecting the controller and again it connected but didn't move.
Secondly, I used the slide switch and I was expecting it to rush backwards again but it didn't.
I checked with the lighter again but only the sensors reacted and nothing else happened.
As a base rule, all gnd should be connected together, to have a 'common reference' ( connect also battery- to gnd ).
Also +5V from the arduino board should be connected to all sensors, relay and servo.
Regarding the motor driver:
leave it connected to motor and battery only ( disconnect inputs )
connect in1 to +5V and in2 to gnd, motor A should spin in one direction
connect in1 to gnd and in2 to +5V, motor A should spin in the opposite direction
( use '5V and gnd available on driver board )
If above test is ok it means driver is ok and motors are connected correctly
check in1-4 are connected correctly to arduino board
you can also check ( with multimeter ) that arduino output 2-5 activates/deactivates when you move the motor manually ( should be two high and two low )
P.S.
If the sensor smoked... it is a low power device so it didn't survive your treatment
Hello !
I actually met one of the professors in my uni and they tested different components in my project and said my driver isn't working and also the voltage I'm providing for my 12V bo motors is not enough so he told me to order lipo battery 11 V and we'll use that and test it again. Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it. I wish the best for you and I'll surely let you know the results once I receive the battery
I was thinking to make this project for science exhibition, and I wanted to know if it is too complex or hard to do because it is my first time using arduino and coding
It is the same for me too.
I was following steps in the video and it didn't work for me. Something went wrong and you can see how much problem I had to face without having any mentor.
But I met this really cool professor and he's willing to help me and assured me that it'll work.
Instead of using two lithium ion 3.7 volts I'll be shifting to lipo battery, once they are delivered we'll work on the project again and if it worked well I'll share the details with you too !
Yeah. I actually ended up burning my mlx. The regulator isn't working and my teacher said they'll fix it and the person I copied the project from said we can make it without mlx too. I'll attach the youtube video below but ig without mlx the accuracy will not be good enough but it'll work.
Sorry for the late reply.
I want to do the same circuit but with out the mxl ,i wanted to know if the code will work for this circuit but without the mxl
