Light Saber Power Issue!

[jsummit]

Hello All,

My son seems to be having trouble with his light saber kicking out mid duel!! Everything on the board looks fine, and I even decommissioned his 16mm A/V switch and replaced it with a tactile switch further up on the hilt. I suspect it may be the battery kicking out from the shock trauma of clashing blades? The battery is wired to a Switchcraft Recharge Port. Any thoughts on what the cause might be?


MTFBWY

[Sevinzol]

It might be hard to be sure without a picture but it sounds like a short. How are the electronics mounted inside the hilt? Are the electronics shielded from shorting out on the inside of the hilt? is heat-shrink tubing covering all the soldering? Have you checked for cold solder joins (breaks in connections)? Have you tried trading batteries with him.. if you start having the problem, then its the battery.

just some ideas off the top of my head.

[Greenie]

If the battery is removable, it could be breaking connection in the holder when bashing it about.

[jsummit]

I'll check for all those issues today. I'll double check for cold joints, although they seem to be good joints. The card is set in a plastic printed chassis well away from the edges of the hilt. It's a little cramped in the chassis though, I plan on changing it out to a PVC tube one like I have. I still suspect the battery as it is either too pinched where it is attached to the recharge port or a cold solder joint at the battery connections on the board.

[jsummit]

One other thing. Every time it kicks out, a boot sound chimes! Any ideas?

[Silver Serpent]

That means the power connection is breaking on impact. If you're using a battery holder like these: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Holders--C36.aspx , that can be the culprit. Swapping to a hard wired battery can fix that issue. Other things to look at are your JST connectors if you're using those. They may not be making solid connections all the time.

[jsummit]

Yep, that sounds about right! I have the battery wired to a recharge port and things are a bit crammed into the 3D printed chassis. I'll clean up the wiring and put everything into a more roomy PVC chassis like mine. Much like Madcow does in his saber hilts.

[jsummit]

I've taken everything out of the old chassis. I checked the battery and recharge port assembly and it looks fine, no breaks or kinks in the wire. I even recharged the battery and it did the standard from red to ready green process. All in working order. It seems to be more likely the wiring on the board as the joint on the batt + looks a bit cold, also the batt - solder is awfully close to the batt +. I also have a JST connector from the board to the battery. I'll probably just wire the battery directly to the board to rule that out.