Help! No status led.

[johnathanriddle]

I recently assembled my ctb16pc controller and there is no blinking status led after plugging it in. The led will light for a split second then go off.... I have gone through the troubleshooting guide and have done the jumper cable from the bottom left of the 18 pin header to the 2nd down on the right. The led will light then, the only thing is the troubleshooting guide doesnt say where to go from there, just where to look if it doesn't light.

I already contacted support and they said I could send it in, I was just wondering if it was a stupid mistake I made somewhere, that could be an easy fix opposing to have to bother them with fixing it.

Thanks for your help!

[bisquit476]

Post good pic's, we'll take a look, and see if we can see anything unusual.

[Actionp]

A jumper is only used to test the LED light. Do You have the 2 plugs wired correctly, with one wired to 1-8 and the 2nd wired to 9-16.

Make sure the voltage selection jumper(s) are correctly installed on the four pin header that is to the lower
right of the transformer.

When Board is powered, see if something gets to hot. If so, check thsis below.
transformer and/or Voltage Regulator(s) Q16/Q17 get very warm or hot
There is a short somewhere. Check for solder bridges on both sides of the board. Make sure that voltage
regulators Q16 and Q17 are not swapped.
If Q16 , the 5 vdc regulator gets hot, power the board off and try removing all the ICs that are in sockets. See if the
voltage regulator still gets hot. If no, try replacing the ICs one at a time and powering the board. Check the
transformer and voltage regulator for excessive heat each time.
If Q17, the 10 vdc regulator gets hot, look at the solder joints on header J0 and all data jacks for solder bridges.

Green Board CTB16PCV1 – on the 18 pin header, use a short jumper to connect the bottom pin on the left
to the 2nd pin down on the right – LED should light

[Actionp]

But, last resort, They will fix for free.

[johnathanriddle]

Thanks, I'll post pictures soon, I just haven't got a chance yet. None of the points listed above get hot. However I realized the processor itself (u2). Gets really hot within a few seconds of it being plugged in.

I might just go ahead and send it into them, if i cant figure it out in a few days. I've checked for bridges over and over again and still can't find anything.

[Guest guest]

And you've gone over parts placement and install? Maybe a second set of eyes to check your work? Might not be a solder bridge, but rather, wrong value resistor installed, etc.

Not sure about the CTB16PCs, but on the CTB16D kits, there is a warning re R17, a 470K resistor...wrong value installed apparently tends to let the magic smoke out of the microprocessor.

[johnathanriddle]

Thanks, but so far it is doing the same thing. Im sure im just making some stupid mistake somewhere but have no idea what, since it passes all the test i know to do.

I finally got a chance to take some pics, however since I'm doing this from my phone I can't post them in the forum itself, but I uploaded them to flickr. Here is the links.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnathanriddle/5618213810/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnathanriddle/5618213360/in/photostream

Thanks

[Max-Paul]

Ok, so the processor chip is getting real hot in just a few seconds.

First sounds like the processor chip is fried. But lets see why. Are you 100% sure that you have the chip in the right direction? Its been awhile and I do not have my controllers where I can get to them, but double check this before saying ah ha! Is not the processors key or index suppose to point to the other direction (left / right) compared to the other two chips?

In short, is the processor indexed properly? Reversing the processor chip can cause it to get hot real fast. Also double check all resistors and make sure you have the two voltage regulators in the proper position.

[cmoore60]

Here is the link to the troubleshooting guide from the support page on the main LOR site.

http://www.lightorama.com/PDF/Kit_Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf

This guide will help you check things out in more detail and in an organized manner.

After going thru the guide and no success, I would contact LOR support.

Chuck

[johnathanriddle]

Thanks,

Here is a better picture of the back of the board, I clean it up a bit, however there are a few pieces of dust you can probably see.

At first I thought It was possibly the processor itself, but If i put it in one of my working boards, everything is fine. This has just got me. lol. Ill give it to the end of the week and if I cant figure something out, Ill just go ahead and send it in. lol.

Thanks for all your help.


Attached files

[johnathanriddle]

I also posted the pic on my flickr account it seems to have a bit better quality. http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnathanriddle/5620705578/in/photostream

[Max-Paul]

Some chips do not like to get hot. Ok, so this last post tells me that you have a working chip and because you have other working boards (was thinking this might be your first board) you are surely putting the chip in right.

Have you compared boards? Sure you have your diodes in properly? Have the right resistor in the right place (see ohm value). Did not get a reply about the voltage regulators.

[Guest guest]

Is there someone other than yourself who can check your work? Even after building a few boards, its easy to swap something..I flipped an opto on like the third board I built..took me replacing the triac before I realize what I had done.

Or, a side by side comparison with a working board..even better...

You've probably already done this, but a quick reheating of your solder connections..not uncommon to have one that looks fine..and isn't..and if you have a bridge that is not obvious to the naked eye, that just might clear it.

My money, though, is on something in the wrong place, or installed incorrectly.

[johnathanriddle]

I've compared to a working board and the pictue in the manual many times. So far I can't spot a thing, I'll see if I can have a guy from work look at it tomorrow and if he agrees I'll just have to break down and send it in.

I also went through and reheated the joints just to be sure. The voltage regulators are also correctly installed.

This has just got me. Lol. I know it's got to be some stupid mistake somewhere, the problem is finding it.

Thanks again for all your help.

[Guest guest]

Johnathan..any luck solving this one?

[Frank Picozzi]

Sorry if this sounds over simple but: Do you know that the LED has to installed a certain way and if it's not it will not work. There is a flat edge on the base of the LED and it has to line up correctly with the little diagram on the board.

[dietrichdr]

Have you sent this board in yet?
Looking at your flickr picture and comparing with
the assembly manual picture the only thing I see
is C0 and C1 appear to be reversed. C0 is smaller than C1.
Please check the numbers on those caps.

Newbie Dave

[johnathanriddle]

Sorry. I've been gone awhile. I had a friend look at it and the problem was with the voltage regulators sending to much power through, which is why everything was getting hot. It works now. Stupid mistake. Lol. Thanks for everyone's help

[Guest guest]

johnathanriddle wrote:

Sorry. I've been gone awhile. I had a friend look at it and the problem was with the voltage regulators sending to much power through, which is why everything was getting hot. It works now. Stupid mistake. Lol. Thanks for everyone's help

Huh?

How did your friend resolve the issue of "sending too much power through"..?

[dietrichdr]

Since the voltage regulators were installed correctly as you said in #16 then it had to be the capacitors reversed, since they modulate the power flow.