RoboRIO2 unrecoverable intermittent

[nelson.green]

Recently been having some issues with the RIO2 not being reached (no RSL, orange blinking status light).  It seems to return to working (three times so far).  Today I tried to carefully remove any possible metal swarf, it normally has most ports taped over to keep this minimal.  There wasn't an obvious issue.

We are getting ready for an offseason and not with with a backup.  So if this latest effort resolves the issue for longer, we should be okay, but may want the look further if it returns.  I wanted to make a topic to track this issue further.

[stevezuga · Accepted solution]

Hi nelson.green,

I'm stevezuga from NI Tech Support. I'm glad to assist you.

A continuously flashing Status LED in the roboRIO 2.0 normally indicates the device cannot boot properly, likely because the SD card is not being read.

I recommend you the following steps:

1. Use the process described here to reimage the roboRIO SD card: roboRIO 2.0 microSD Card Imaging

2. Once the SD card is imaged, reinsert it to the roboRIO and connect it to your computer by USB to set the team number using the roboRIO Imaging Tool.

3. If after successfully imaging the SD card and inserting it into the roboRIO, the roboRIO 2.0 exhibits the same behavior, try a different microSD card.

4. Open the device by removing the cover from the bottom (4 screws) and clean it using compressed air, especially the SD card slot.

5. If your roboRIO displays an unrecoverable error (STATUS LED blinking continuously) after following the previous steps, please let us know.

Sincerely,

[nelson.green]

Thanks Steve,

I completed steps 1-4.  There was some swarf inside the case, removed mostly with air and going over carefully.  The microSD card slot was clean, it had been taped over since the last imaging at the start of the year.  It has recovered 2-3 times after stopping working so far, and was working after these steps.  It was I think possibly working before re-imaging the card and certainly after imaging but before cleaning the insides.  I will let you know if we have faults going forward, but hopefully whatever issue there was was fixed.  

[nelson.green]

Update:  So far haven't seen the error return.  We finished 12 matches at an offseason without issue.  Thanks.