Arduino Robot won't move

Question

I am building a robot for a school project. I use an Arduino Uno, 2 dc motor's and an Ultra Sonic range measurement module. I want the robot to be autonomous, he has to be able to move around on his own using the Ultra Sonic sensor. Important to mention is that I don't use a MotorShield to control my dc motors. This is my latest version of coding:

---

#include <Servo.h> //include Servo library
#include <AFMotor.h> //include DC motor Library
#define trigPin 12// define the pins of your sensor
#define echoPin 13
AF_DCMotor motor2(7); // set up motors.
AF_DCMotor motor1(6);


void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600); // begin serial communitication  
  Serial.println("Motor test!");
   pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);// set the trig pin to output (Send sound waves)
  pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);// set the echo pin to input (recieve sound waves)
  motor1.setSpeed(105); //set the speed of the motors, between 0-255
    motor2.setSpeed (105);  
}

void loop() {

   long duration, distance; // start the scan
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);  
  delayMicroseconds(2); // delays are required for a succesful sensor operation.
  digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);

  delayMicroseconds(10); //this delay is required as well!
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
  distance = (duration/2) / 29.1;// convert the distance to centimeters.
  if (distance < 25)/*if there's an obstacle 25 centimers, ahead, do the following: */ {   
   Serial.println ("Close Obstacle detected!" );
Serial.println ("Obstacle Details:");
Serial.print ("Distance From Robot is " );
Serial.print ( distance);
Serial.print ( " CM!");// print out the distance in centimeters.

Serial.println (" The obstacle is declared a threat due to close distance. ");
Serial.println (" Turning !");
    motor1.run(FORWARD);  // Turn as long as there's an obstacle ahead.
      motor2.run (BACKWARD);

}
  else {
   Serial.println ("No obstacle detected. going forward");
   delay (15);
   motor1.run(FORWARD); //if there's no obstacle ahead, Go Forward! 
    motor2.run(FORWARD);  
  }  






}

Now I added an ARDUINO MOTOR SHIELD REV3 to control my dc motors. Now the wheels are actually spinning, but after a few turns they stop. I think it is software related, but I am not 100% sure. Also I think I am connecting my motors correct to my motorshield, but don't adress them properly in my code. And I don't have any clue how to solve this problem. Can anybody help me with this?

Answer 1

I think your problem is that you connected the positive wire to the 5v pin when it said 5v and not 9v. Also, I am assuming the 6 double AA is in series creating 9v. The thing is, double AA has a lot of amps. I tested it with my multimeter and it has 7 Amps, way to much. What I would do it connect a 9v battery to the voltage in pin-Vin. That pin can take a 9v but not 7 Amps produced by your 6 AA in series. You have 2 dc motors you said.Each is running I am assuming for each of them I notice draw about 1 Amp. 9v will supply enough and be safe. Try connecting a 9v to the Vin pin. I don't think your issue is software related.