Logic Board (Jetson Nano Orin) restarts sometimes

1

My setup is a Jetson Nano Orin (12V 5A), ODRIVE 3.6 56V, 2 Hub motors, 24V Battery and Voltage Converter to 12V 5A, UART Communication

ODRIVE is connected to the battery directly, Jetson by the voltage converter.

Communication is done by UART. Wires are connected directly to the boards. Obviously, I have got a GROUND LOOP here if I understood it correctly. I already ordered the parts of this isolator: (Not arrived yet) OTS Opto-Isolator for UART Ground Loop - #6 by Alexander_Jones

Technically, I could also use CAN but after reading some threads here it seems to be more complicated than just connecting wires between ODRIVE and Jetson.

However, everything works great so far, except that the Jetson board restarts sometimes. It is especially under heavier load or when the battery is not completely full anymore. I assume that there is a VOLTAGE DROP sometimes which causes the Jetson to restart.

So I was wondering if this is due to the GROUND LOOP or do I need a 36V Battery? Or something else?

2

Hi there,

Yes, this definitely sounds like a ground loop issue. You could consider adding a digital isolator to break the UART ground loop. Amazon.com

3

Hi @solomondg ,

Thanks for your reply. Oh, that’s great. I need a Baud Rate of 115200 but I guess your suggested isolator can handle it.

Regarding wiring:

ODRIVE → ADUM1201:

5V → VDD1
TX → VIB
RX → VOA
GND → GND1

Jetson → ADUM1201:
5V → VDD2
TX → VIA
RX → VOB
GND → GND2

Is it correct?

Is 5V ok, or better 3.3V?

4

ODrive won’t really care the voltage. 3V3 is maybe better since that’s the logic level of both devices.

Wiring looks fine

1 Like
5

@solomondg So I just implemented the ADUM1201 isolator and it works great. No more restarts. Hence, the ground loop was definitely the cause. Thanks a lot :slight_smile:

6

Wonderful!