Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello,

I have been helping my daughter try to build the interactive servo art that moves when it sees you. We built it according to the instructions and it isn't working properly. So, we rebuilt it several times. We made sure that the wires were all pushed in. When we rebuilt it, we used new parts. The motor moves once when the circuit is charged and then it doesn't work any longer. Do you have any tips to get this circuit to work? I looked through the forum and noticed that others have had similar issues. Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Hi - we have a new video about debugging circuits that you may find helpful: https://youtu.be/9GLaU-BCEQM. Even though your circuit does not have an Arduino, many of the same things still apply.

Otherwise, it's hard for us to help you debug without seeing pictures if your circuit. If you can post clear, well-lit, top-down photos of your breadboard so we can see all the connections, we can help you debug. From experience (both with Science Buddies projects and teaching an in-person electronics class at Cornell) I can tell you that 9 times out of 10, it is as simple as a single misplaced wire, but watch the troubleshooting video for a list of other things that can go wrong.