AWS DeepRacer Battery Troubleshooting
My car battery is fully charged but it does not work[edit]
Recently shipped AWS DeepRacer vehicles have a new car battery design which may cause the battery to lock the red (discharge) connector if the voltage of the battery drops below 5.2V. The following steps will unlock the battery so you can use it in your car.
(Optional) How to check if my battery is locked?[edit]
You can easily verify if the battery is locked by first using a voltmeter to measure the voltage on the white (charging) connector. You should observe a voltage here. Now connect the voltmeter to the red (discharge) connector.
- If you do not observe a voltage here: the red connector is locked and you need to unlock it before you can use it in your vehicle.
- If you do observe a voltage here: it is possible that it is too low. The DeepRacer will stop running at a voltage around 6V.
WARNING: Make sure you measure voltage not current! This will short the battery. You can do serious harm to the battery.
How can I unlock my battery?[edit]
Charge your battery till you see a single solid green light. Unplug your battery from the charger. Now you can unlock your battery by shorting the two black wires of the two plugs. Do not short red wire to red wire, or black wire to red wire. There will not be any feedback, after shorting you can immediately disconnect the wires. You should now observe a voltage reading from the discharge port.
WARNING: Make sure you do not short red wire to red wire or black wire to red wire. You can do serious harm to the battery.
