Thread: AutoTop DIY
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Old 06-11-2016, 07:07 AM   #101
oldskool73
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Join Date: May 2015
Location: Sydney, Australia
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Hey guys, I need some help with this, I've built this twice now and I just can't get it to work. The code and electronics in theory are working fine, I've breadboarded it all up with a couple of led's to simulate the top motor and can turn them on and off with the buttons, but when I get it in the car... nothing.

If I put a multimeter between the regular harness and switch, when I press the button I see 12v @ ~70ma when the top's moving, which drops to ~10ma when the top stops. But when I do it between the arduino and the harness I see 12v @ ~30ma. I'm guessing this is the reason it doesn't work, not pushing enough power through to activate the motor, but I don't know why?

I've built it twice now, thinking I must have screwed up the first one, but the second has exactly the same result :/

The only difference I can see in my build is I'm using a nano, which has no +/- and only 2 GND. So the VR goes to the VIN and one GND, leaving one free GND which I connect to from the harness, and which both switches (via the 10k resistors) and both transistors (via the collector pins) are wired to. Is this wrong?

I'm just a simple software guy, so all these wires and pins confuse me. Any help appreciated!

Thanks!

Last edited by oldskool73; 06-11-2016 at 07:10 AM.
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