Request MM fault finding help

I am quoting my own post from my build thread as I understand not everybody reads the build threads. Sorry if I'm not allowed to do this...

I'm not sure I am able to fix this one but I am hoping its something silly I have done and not a matter of waiting for another 3 weeks for a replacement board to turn up.

I have wired up all of my boards and electronics ready to do some bench testing with the SMC3 test utility. Instead of waffling trying to explain, here is a bullet list of situation

• PROBLEM - Getting no voltage to either motor output on MM board
• Getting 12.3V to input power side of MM board
• MM power light is illuminated
• Tested both motors by plugging direct into 12V PSU and both are turning at "high speed"
• Uploaded unmodified SMC3 ino code to Arduino
• Using utility software, I can see the manual POT input changes showing on the graph for both motors

Seems odd that i would be getting NO VOLTAGE AT ALL on the output side of the board. If it was a bad chip or something on board, I would expect to see at least a little voltage on one motor connection unless it is completed stuffed.

This might sound silly but I am grasping at straws with finding the cause - if the arduino isnt plugged in (have power applied) and or the wiring is incorrect, could this be the cause of not getting any output power from the MM? I am sure I have double and triple checked the wiring. I have tested with turning the POT's one way completely and then the opposite way completely. Can I be sure the POT's are functional if they are responding correctly in the SMC3 Utility software?

Grasping for advice/reassurance/direction...

@James Robbie - your Arduinos aren't plugged in? The chips in the MM need to be told to do something and if the Arduinos aren't giving them any signal to do something the outputs should be dead as a safety measure.

I'm not familiar with the code you guys run for Arduinos for motion but would bet it's the same. They should wake up in a safe condition too and not command any voltage/movement until told to.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying but I'm pretty sure that to see voltage on the MM outputs they should have to be commanded to do that.

Thanks for the response @Zed, most appreciated.

I have my arduino plugged in yes and loaded up with the SMC3 arduino coding provided in the tutorial.

I completely agree that for there to be voltage on the output side, there would have to be instruction/command to do that. I am following the below instructions from the SMC3 tutorial documented by @RufusDufus. The only difference is that I have unsoldered my motors and have a mutlimeter across the output terminals measuring DC volts.
Initial Setup

1. Disconnect the motor power supply
2. Make sure Simtools is not running – we’re not ready for that yet!
3. Wire up the Arduino (with SMC3 installed) to your H-Bridges and connect to your computer via USB
4. Run the Windows SMC3 Utility software and make sure it communicates with the Arduino (There is no need to set baud rates, they are not configurable)
5. Set the Kp, Ki, Kd, PWMmin, PWMmax, PWMrev to 0 for ALL motors (This will make sure the motors don’t move)
6. Set Clip to 255 (you need to do this first) and Limit to 255 (This will give you plenty of margin if something goes wrong while setting up)
7. Turn on the power to your motors – nothing should move at this stage!
8. Set Kp to about 400
9. Now slowly, increase PWMmax… at some point the motor should start to move. When it does check the “Green” feedback line is moving toward the “Blue” target position.
   • If it is then that motor and feedback is wired correctly - proceed to test other motors.
   • If it is moving away turn off motor power immediately (or quickly reduce PWMmax again). In this case you need to either reverse the wires to the motor being tested –OR– reverse the +5V and GND wires to your feedback pot for the motor being tested (do not do both). Restart the test from the beginning.
10. Do the above for each motor

Maybe there is a way to test/prove that my arduino is configured correctly to then prove/assume that the MM is receiving the correct information?

Gday mate is it a clone or real mm ? if its a clone then its no good here is the link to the real deal bro .. i have 18 dud clone mms ...started buying real ones and ive never had and issue i own six real ones and they come with 12 month warranty
https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=monster+moto

Hi @Evan Rowlands, yes it is a clone. It's one from dx.com which has been referenced a few times through posts I have read so I was hoping I wouldn't get a dud but as you have said, hard to go wrong with a "real" one.

I am lucky enough to be getting mine tested locally in NZ by a very proven user who has the knowledge and tools to either prove the faulty board or faulty user building it all...

great mate glad i could help ive got 2 of the 18 that work but since going to the real sparkfun boards ive noticed that the silver round things on the board are different on the real to the clone ..the fakes have 470 35v
the real boards have 560 EFP 305 the chips are the same but the finish is way better on the soldering