TROUBLESHOOTING
13
Check for missing or extra parts and cut-outs. The balance was carefully designed,
and an extra bit will throw off the balance.
If necessary, add a small scrap of extra wood to the submarine or squid until it’s
balanced, and glue them in place in a hidden area.
The easiest mistake is mistaking the transistor for the MCP, because they look the
same. Read the labels on the parts to make sure they haven’t been swapped.
Backwards components don’t work. Double-check their orientation. Find one? Use
a solder-sucker or solder braid to remove the solder , wiggle it free, and reinstall.
Are your solar panels connected correctly? They are like batteries, and won’t power
your project if either (or both) are connected backwards.
SolarEngine troubleshooting:
It’s not sitting horizontal:
Ensure the rotation point is installed right in the middle of the balance arm. If you
need further adjustment, loosen the rotation point and slide it a bit to the low side
to help correct the fore/aft balance.
Is everything installed? Missing parts can easily cause a shift in balance.
Any forgotten cut-outs you forgot to remove? They also affect the balance.
The submarine is tipped forwards or backwards:
Your submarine has the propeller mounted on the back, and should push it
forward. Only reversing the motor wires will make it travel the right direction.
The submarine travels backwards when the SolarEngine activates:
The SolarEngine powering the motor depends
directly
on light intensity. Test with sunlight or
under an incandescent or halogen (
not
fluorescent) lamp. If you have a voltmeter,
check that the voltage on the solar cells is
slowly climbing.
A bad solder connection is the most often
reason for a circuit failure. Inspect your
soldering for parts not connecting (too little
solder) or parts connecting when they
shouldn’t be (too much solder).
First, the Basics:
No flow from leg to pad
Solder “bridge” across pads
No flow from leg to pad
Flows from leg to pad
Good solder joint should look like this:
