Solar/USB MintyBoost

Ideas and questions about MintyBoost kits

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13harwooda
 
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Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by 13harwooda »

I recently purchased a minty boost as well as the solar/DC/USB lithium ion battery charger. I made the minty boost and put the big charging capacitor in the charging circuit, however I can't get them to work charging through the USB jack. I bought a lithium ion battery from adafruit as well (3.7V and 2500mAh) and have it hooked into the BATT JST connector, and I have my minty boost hooked up to the load. I am charging the battery through the mini USB port with my laptop. The charging light comes on when I plug it into my computer but the power light has never turned on. I checked the voltages and the battery is semi-charged (2.5V) and delivers this voltage to the LOAD JST connector only when the minty boost isnt plugged in. Could this mean there is a short in the minty boost? Why would the power light not be working? Could this just be a defective kit?
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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Have you tested the Minty Boost independent of the Solar Charger? Connect a battery and check the output as described in the assembly instructions. If it is not working, please post clear, detailed photos of the front and back of the Minty Boost.

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13harwooda
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by 13harwooda »

Thank you for the reply! I connected the batteries to the minty boost and it works correctly. Should I still post more detailed pictures?

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13harwooda
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by 13harwooda »

So as it is right now, the minty boost works when tested with the battery clip that comes with it with two AA batteries in it. When I plug the lithium ion battery pack into the charger circuit, the voltage comes out to be around 3.7V as it should be across the jst connector on the board. When I plug the minty boost into the charging circuit, the battery voltage is still 3.7V however the voltage across the minty boost JST insert is negligible (around a half a volt)

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13harwooda
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by 13harwooda »

Another update, I plugged the lithium ion battery into the minty boost and this works as well so I dont think its the battery. The battery voltage is 3.87V though so could this possibly mean its damaged since its over 3.7V? Im trying to figure out what else it could be since it does not seem to be the minty boost or the battery, and the pwr light on the charging circuit doesnt work making me think its some kind of short or blown component on this board. Could I possibly have blown the capacitor? This is the only component we had to install so Im not sure what else it could be

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Sounds like your MintyBoost is working correctly. And a LiPo when fully charged will be close to 4.2v. So 3.87v sounds pretty good. Was the battery charged via the solar charger?

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13harwooda
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by 13harwooda »

No the battery was charged through the mini-USB port which I connected to my computer with a min-USB to USB cable

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

No the battery was charged through the mini-USB port which I connected to my computer with a min-USB to USB cable
But what did you use for a charger? You can't plug USB directly into the battery.

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13harwooda
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by 13harwooda »

I had the battery and minty boost connected to the BATT and LOAD of the USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger which I then connected to my computer via the mini-USB port

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13harwooda
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by 13harwooda »

This setup charged the battery and the CHG light was on, however when I plugged something in to the minty boost USB port it wouldnt charge and the PWR light wouldnt turn on

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar/USB MintyBoost

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

It sounds like the load-sharing circuit of the solar charger is not working properly. We can try replacing the charger. Please contact [email protected] with a link to this thread.

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