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I was playing with Vin and a transistor when the arduino got disconnected from my pc and after a few seconds it started to smoke. It wasn't much smoke but enough to panic and disconnect everything. I waited a few minutes and then i plugged it into my pc. The power led and the 13 pin led were on but my pc couldn't recognize my device. In arduino ide i couldn't find the port and the tx and rx leds didn't blink at all. I tried to restart my px, reset arduino, i powered it with a 12v source and i got 12v out on Vin but 0 on 5V and 3V. The 13 pin doesn't want to turn off and my pc doesn't recognize it. It is not a ch arduino and it worked perfectly until i did this. I've benn searching on internet for 2 hours now about this but i still couldn't find something relevant. In device manager it sais "unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed)" and inside proprieties at device status this is written:

"Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)

A request for the USB device descriptor failed."

I also tried to update drivers automatically and manual but didn't work. I have no idea where that smoke came from.

Is it dead? can i do anything to make it work?

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  • RIP Arduino....
    – Marko Buršič
    Commented Apr 12, 2017 at 19:08
  • You could always try and check that it's not just one of the voltage regulators that broke (since you have no 3.3 or 5v)
    – Joren Vaes
    Commented Apr 12, 2017 at 19:11
  • When i connect it via the usb i get 5v and 3v out.
    – cristi bucataru
    Commented Apr 12, 2017 at 19:13
  • sounds like you smoked the vin regulator, it might be replaceable, if that's worth it to you. that might not be all that's wrong either, but it could be worth a shot
    – dandavis
    Commented Apr 12, 2017 at 19:28
  • You could try re-programming it with an ICSP programmer dongle. I had 2 arduinos that suddenly died. Re-programming via ICSP instead of USB port got them back to their miserable lifes :)
    – cyberponk
    Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 1:33

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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i powered it with a 12v source and i got 12v out on Vin but 0 on 5V and 3V.

The fuse or the Vin input diode or the 5V voltage regulator or all of them could be damaged.

i plugged it into my pc. The power led and the 13 pin led were on but my pc couldn't recognize my device. In arduino ide i couldn't find the port and the tx and rx leds didn't blink at all.

  1. The MCU could be damaged.
  2. The USB chip is dead (Because there is no rx blinking during programming).

If you connect the arduino through USB and there was not 3.3v at the 3.3v supply rail, the 3.3v voltage regulator is dead.

You had better buy a new one or if you want to fix it to gain experience go for it.

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I have some troubleshooting steps here: Have I bricked my Arduino Uno? Problems with uploading to board

Whilst specifically written for the Uno, a lot of it applies to the Mega. Depending on what you did, the entire board may not have failed.

Many of the components are SMD (surface mounted devices) and may be difficult to replace, unless you have specialized equipment.

If you "zapped" every chip by applying a negative voltage (say) then it might not be worth it.

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