I was just reading up on this because I want to power my servos separately. The higher you get from the 5 volts the board requires at minimum the harder the regulator gets trying to bring it down.

Quote from the Getting Started Guide: "The EZ-B requires a minimum of 5 volts DC. The ideal voltage is 7.2 volts. The maximum voltage is 14 volts. *Note: The higher the voltage, the hotter the regulators will get!"

I hope this helps...with the power and temp question anyway.

Thanks Glikclik for this input. But the small voltage regulator, (L4931) not just the 2 larger ones on the ez-b, was red hot from day one using the 7.5Volt battery pack shipped with the item with no load attached.

Wow. Gonna have to work with DJ on that. I havent received mine yet but should this week. Possibly regulator gone bad? Have you tested for its regulated +5?

----IGNORE---- Grrr I wish there was a double post delete button.

Yes Gliclick, I tested both input and output and read a +5 Volts input, but a 0 Volt output. I don't know if that is normal since the data sheet shows that it's a "very Low Drop regulator which means that when the device is used as a local regulator, it is possible to put a part of the board in standby, decreasing the total power consumption." L4931 datasheet

Yeah the L4931-33 which is a 3.3V voltage regulator is usually un-used on the EZ-B since the only place it goes is to the Arduino compatible power header, it seems that somehow it may be shorted out. I'd suggest removing it if you don't have a need for 3.3V. Otherwise with the EZ-B power off use a multimeter, on the Ohms setting, to try and poke around and see if the output of the regulator is shorted to GND somewhere.

I forgot to suggest this but have you guys tried removing the LINVOR module from your Bluetooth devices and then re-discovered it? This may help but be aware it may showup on another COM port if you do. You can also try a different USB port on your PC/Laptop with your Bluetooth dongle (if you are using a dongle).

Another thing to check is the voltage level of your batteries, the EZ-B can operate at a pretty low voltage but it doesn't hurt to have a good voltage. The 7.4V - 8.0V range is ideal.

As for having too many servos on board, I can dispel this by saying I have had 17 standard servos operational on an EZ-B before at the same time. But be aware that was pushing the limits of the 5A fuse, I popped a few at that current.

On my EZ-B V3 board there is a cut in the track labelled Gnd on the header nearest the L4931 voltage regulator and missing C1 capacitor. This was obviously a mistake in the board design check you have that cut? We really could use a cct diagram to help fault find though

If the L4931 is hot then it is shorted somewhere to ground as Skater_j10 suggests. The only time my board behaves in a weird way is if the power supply is low and it needs a recharge. The motors still work but the EZ-B just loses contact.

Hope this helps

Thank you guys for latest feedback. I removed the L4931 regulator, but the same problem persist: the EZ-B won't connect at all.

I start to wonder if I should not order another EZ-B stress