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Electrical & Wiring·Lesson 29 of 34

The Pre-Match and Post-Crash Checklists

Repeatable checklists that catch failures in the pit before they cost you a match, and a fast triage after a hard hit.

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Elite electrical teams do not rely on memory; they run checklists. A consistent routine catches the loose lug or low battery before the robot rolls onto the field.

Pre-match checklist (run every match in the queue):

  1. Battery: freshly charged and load-tested 'Good' (resting ~12.6-13V, low internal resistance on a Battery Beak). Battery securely strapped in. SB-50 fully mated and tied so it cannot pop.
  2. Main breaker: seated and reset (button in).
  3. Connections: tug-test battery lugs and PD input lugs. They must not rotate by hand.
  4. Fuses: all PD fuses seated hard.
  5. Power-on test: roboRIO Power LED solid green, Status LED off after boot, PD LED green, RSL solid (disabled).
  6. Comms: Driver Station shows green comms, code, and joystick; battery voltage reads sane (>12V at rest).
  7. CAN: no red device LEDs; a quick enable shows all motors respond and the RSL blinks.
  8. Bumpers/cover do not pinch any wires.

Post-crash / 'it died on the field' triage:

  1. Read the Power LED. Amber -> it browned out; check battery and current limits, swap to a fresh load-tested battery, review the match log for the brownout timestamp.
  2. Read the DS log (Driver Station Log Viewer): look for brownout events, comms drops, and the 12V fault count. This tells you whether it was power, comms, or code.
  3. Jostle-test CAN if a specific mechanism died: a hard hit commonly loosens a CAN or WAGO connection. Watch for red LED blips.
  4. Check the main breaker did not trip from a stall or short.
  5. Inspect for physical damage: a pinched or severed wire from the collision, a popped SB-50, a connector pulled out of a WAGO.
  6. Confirm before re-queuing: re-run the pre-match checklist; do not send a robot back out on a guess.

Documentation that pays off: keep a CAN ID map, a wiring diagram, and labeled wires so anyone on the team can debug. Mark any dropped or suspect battery as faulty until it is re-tested; never lift a battery by its wires. These habits turn chaotic between-match scrambles into a calm two-minute routine, which is exactly what wins close eliminations.

Key takeaways

  • Run a fixed pre-match checklist every match: battery load-tested, lugs tug-tested, fuses seated, LEDs green, comms and CAN verified.
  • After a death on the field, read the Power LED and the DS log first to classify it as power, comms, or code before touching hardware.
  • Maintain a CAN map, wiring diagram, and labeled wires; retire suspect batteries until re-tested and never lift a battery by its wires.

Go deeper

Lesson quiz

Required

Answer all 3 questions correctly to complete this lesson.

1.As part of a safe post-crash or pre-match power-down, what is the recommended way to quickly remove all power from the robot?

2.During the standard robot inspection resistance check, what are you asked to do with the battery?

3.Which is a key safety item on a pre-match checklist for the battery and bumpers?

Answer every question to submit.