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I was adjusting the current on my Pololu stepper drivers when I accidentally fried two of my stepper drivers when I accidentally shorted the contacts with my multimeter probes. When I changed the fried drivers the board wasn't working properly. My Arduino Mega works fine alone when connected to my PC and executes the codes properly. However, as soon as I plug the RAMPS shield into my Arduino, the board disconnects from my computer. I cannot figure out the problem.

agarza
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kuday tosun
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  • Hi and welcome to SE.3DP. Which version number of the RAMPS board do you have? Exactly which contacts did you short? A photo or diagram *might* help to describe the issue better. Please [edit] your question and add a photo/diagram, the contacts that were shorted and the version of the RAMPS board. – Greenonline Nov 15 '22 at 12:40

1 Answers1

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It is quite likely that something else (other than the stepper drivers) on the RAMPS board (and maybe even the Mega) has been damaged as well... The Mega board may still execute code correctly but maybe a random component has been damaged that you won't notice until it gets used.

It most probably would be possible to test both boards to locate the exact issue and faulty component, given enough time and patience.

The best thing to do, initially, is to look closely for any component that looks shot/burnt, or smells bad. It may sound odd but smelling a board can sometimes (but not always) locate the general area where a component has failed.

Another (more logical) approach would be to look at the schematic of the RAMPS to follow the circuits connected to the contacts that you shorted. Then check the components along that path. This method often is the most fruitful.

Assuming that you have a RAMPS 1.4 (you don't specify which version you have), there is the schematic:

RAMPS 1.4 schematic

However, even if you are lucky enough to locate the damaged component, do you have the skills to replace a SMD component?

Sadly, to be honest, it is probably cheaper, easier and quicker to just first buy a new RAMPS and substitute that in. The test to see if everything works OK. If the issue is still not resolved, then buy a new Mega and repeat the test.

Greenonline
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