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Testing the power distribution board

Posted by Jon Taylor on April 7, 2013 at 2:55am

Hello all,

I have finished soldering a Revision D power distribution board from the jdrones kit and would now like to test it to make sure I have soldered everything correctly (I am brand new to soldering and electronics).

Here is what I have so far

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My electronics experience is lacking but I have tried to test for shorts by using what I believe is the Diode test on a multimeter.

On my model of multimeter it displays the number 1 left aligned when the loop is open (no circuit), and it displays 000 or 001 if I touch the tips together.

Now what I expected is if I touch the tips on the positive and the negative areas of the power distribution board it should still display 1 to indicate that there is no circuit, however I am getting a reading of 1580.

Does this mean that I have accidentally crossed some solder from + to -? A visual inspection with a magnifying glass seems to indicate that I haven't, however the multimeter can't lie. Perhaps something in one of the ESCs is making a short?

Any help with how I test this, or an explanation of how best to test this would be highly appreciated. I have spent a long time trying to research how to do this and I consider pestering everyone about it a last resort! I just don't want to plug everything in and watch it all blow up in smoke :)

Many thanks for your time reading this

Jon

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Tags: pdb, board, distribution, multimeter, power
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Replies

  • R. D. Starwalt April 8, 2013 at 9:02am

    Certainly you were reading the ESC resistance - removing them from the PDB was the trick.

    Usually there are capacitors connected between the (+) lead and (-) lead of an ESC. The charging of these caps, and any other components unknown to us, is probably what you were reading.

    I would, while the ESCs are off the board use the resistance setting of the meter (low ohms) and ensure that (+) (red) only is connected to the red wires. Same for (-) (black). Because most of us operate with no fused protection, this check is always a good idea to ensure a short does not exist before applying the high current source called the battery.

    Well done... so far.

    Build On!

    -=Doug

  • T3
    Richard Boyhan April 8, 2013 at 7:56am
    The simple test is use a volt ohm meter set to beep when a circuit is made. I believe the resistor checking option has the beep feature. With just the wires connected, not your ESCs. Check that all negative connections beep and all positive connections beep. Then double check your circuits, when a negative connection is selected, touch each positive connection. If you hear a beep you have short. Do the same with a positive connection and all negative connections. Good luck and fly safe.
  • Jon Taylor April 8, 2013 at 1:35am

    As an update I started to desolder parts to see if I could work out what was going on.

    After desoldering two of the ESCs the reading changed to indicate that there was an open loop. I guess the ESCs themselves are completing the circuit but with a high resistance? Perhaps there is nothing wrong with my PDB at all. 

    I was under the impression that until a battery and motors are connected there shouldn't be a circuit.

    I'm almost complete with the frame now but my uncertainty with this is holding me back as I don't want to blow anything up.

    Cheers

    Jon

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