My school has a blue ROV that has not worked ever since I went there. I offered to fix it but I’m not sure where to start. I checked all the connections and the battery along with the seals. a few of the motors are hard to spin when it is turned of and wont spin when turned on. I think it is a mechanical issue however I’m not sure. how should I go about troubleshooting and getting repair parts?
thank you,
Ged
Hi Ged, I’d probably start by stripping the whole ROV, Start with Rusty’s vid’s on assembly and work your way through the basic’s, Get a hold of a brushless motor tester or setup an Arduino with an esc to test functionality. Your battery may also be very old so a replacement or borrowed item may help if you don’t have a Lipo tester.
There is a function in the setting’s menu for setting motor directions which could also be used to test the motors if you are getting power.
Do the Pi and pixhawk lights come on when powered?
Do you have a video feed?
There’s also the option of contacting 1 of the suppliers, we use Ian @ Buccaneer, Very helpful and a wealth of knowledge. (like so many others on here) He’s always ready to answer any of my ridiculous questions.
thank you, Craig
I’m working on the ROV today and I will start by setting it up and seeing if I can get it connected. last I tried I got video and the pixhawk lit up however some of the motors would not spin. they feel almost like they have rusted or have sand in them. maybe I should disassemble them and clean them out? the battery was recently replaced so I don’t think that will be a problem. if I’m still getting issues I may take off all the motors and get a tester then re-assemble all of the electronics. also should I worry about the seals? I don’t think they have been properly maintained so I’m worried they might have small cracks but I’m not sure. I know with dive gear you are supposed to change out O-rings somewhat frequently.
Hi Ged, yes I’d probably start with cleaning out the motors too, they should spin freely, but are not intended to be run for more than a few seconds in air. They do come to bits to be cleaned easily though. If you have a video feed and the pixhawk is lighting up it seems to be getting power anyway, And with the o-rings just change them all, if it’s sat for a while they will be perished, and you’d kick yourself if it leaks once its working, Sounds like your not far off getting it going 