RoboRio 2 kept losing comms and now it is dead and will not power on

[Team7250]

We were working with programming and kept losing communication with the Rio.  We tried a new radio, a new cable to the radio, and new power connections to the radio, and none of that worked.  Then the Rio went dead and would not come on again.  We tested the power cables from the PDH and they had the power coming out of the cables to the rio.

Any ideas on the next steps?  I went to order one and they are out of stock.  We are going to a competition tomorrow. 

[mshafer]

Hi Team7250,

I'm Matthew with NI. Thank you for posting on the forums.

For competition tomorrow: as soon as pits open (open, not loading), go immediately to the pit admin / spare parts and tell them you need a CSA to help you diagnose a failing roboRIO. They'll help you check a few things, and can loan you a spare from the field kit if that's what they think will help.

For things to try outside of competition:
Are you getting no lights from the rio? (a red light indicates a short, continuously flashing status indicates software error)

If no lights, and you've validated the the power from the PDP:

- double check polarity

- this would be odd, but we should double check there's not a short preventing it from even reaching that point: open the device using the four screws on the back AND the two screws at the port port and clean the unit off using compressed air (holding it upside down and shaking vigorously is useful as well). (Maybe also use a flashlight to inspect the board closely for any remaining metal shards and remove them as well.)
- double check the SD card is firmly seated, straight, and there's no other debris in its slot.