Hello,
I bought an Adafruit Powerboost 500 and a 2500mAh Lipo battery. However, when I try to power up the PI with this setup, nothing happens. I noticed that the Powerboost gets really hot as well. Could there be a problem here or is it normal?
Thanks!
Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
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- adafruit_support_bill
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
What else do you have attached to the Pi?
- xen956
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
I have just the PI, and a Wifi dongle. I soldiered the USB connector on powerboost so I can directly connect it to the Raspberry's mini USB port.
- adafruit_support_bill
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
the Pi plus the WiFi alone with no display or other peripherals will pull around 500mA. The PowerBoost should handle that with a 3.7v input. But the 2500mAh LiPo you are using is rated for a 0.2C discharge rate. (500mA). To get 500mA at 5v, you need close to 800mA at 3.7v.
- xen956
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
Thank you for your help!
In fact I have been trying to follow this tutorial: https://learn.adafruit.com/touch-pi-por ... spberry-pi
The only difference I have is that I do not have the battery charger board (for now) and I am connecting the USB from the powerboost directly to the mini USB port on the Raspberry, but it should work the same, isn't it?
I have got an Adafruit 2500mAh battery, basically the same as in this tutorial, but I have got the Powerboost 500 Basic, not the C version, but I doubt it changes anything for this particular installation.
In fact I have been trying to follow this tutorial: https://learn.adafruit.com/touch-pi-por ... spberry-pi
The only difference I have is that I do not have the battery charger board (for now) and I am connecting the USB from the powerboost directly to the mini USB port on the Raspberry, but it should work the same, isn't it?
I have got an Adafruit 2500mAh battery, basically the same as in this tutorial, but I have got the Powerboost 500 Basic, not the C version, but I doubt it changes anything for this particular installation.
- adafruit_support_bill
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
I was wrong about the discharge rate. That particular cell is rated for 0.5C (1250mA), so it should be capable of powering your project.
https://www.adafruit.com/datasheets/785 ... _sheet.pdf
Does your Pi power up OK using a regular power supply?
https://www.adafruit.com/datasheets/785 ... _sheet.pdf
Does your Pi power up OK using a regular power supply?
- michaelmeissner
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
Are you running the same Raspberry Pi (A+) as in the tutorial? Similarly are you running the same PiTFT (3.5")?
Different Pi's use different amounts of energy. For example, the B+ pi uses a lot less energy than the B, and the A pi uses a lot less energy than B (I didn't see a comparison in power between A+ and B). It may be that the components in the tutorial combined power is well under 500mA that the PowerBoost is designed for, but if you are using a normal B and maybe a different PiTFT, that the combined power is over the PowerBoost design limit.
It may also be your particular battery isn't up to delivering the charge.
Different Pi's use different amounts of energy. For example, the B+ pi uses a lot less energy than the B, and the A pi uses a lot less energy than B (I didn't see a comparison in power between A+ and B). It may be that the components in the tutorial combined power is well under 500mA that the PowerBoost is designed for, but if you are using a normal B and maybe a different PiTFT, that the combined power is over the PowerBoost design limit.
It may also be your particular battery isn't up to delivering the charge.
- xen956
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
Yes the PI powers up ok using a normal power supply.
I use the same screen, the Adafruit 3.5" TFT screen, and the PI is a B+ version, so I definitely don't see what is wrong here, maybe a faulty component? Is it normal that the powerboost gets really hot?
I use the same screen, the Adafruit 3.5" TFT screen, and the PI is a B+ version, so I definitely don't see what is wrong here, maybe a faulty component? Is it normal that the powerboost gets really hot?
- adafruit_support_bill
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
The Powerboost will get pretty warm in normal operation and very hot if overloaded. It sounds like your powerboost may be overloaded. If you have a multimeter, measure the current that your Pi + Display + Dongle use when powered by the regular power supply.
https://learn.adafruit.com/multimeters/current
https://learn.adafruit.com/multimeters/current
- michaelmeissner
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
According to http://raspi.tv/2014/raspberry-pi-a-how ... es-it-need, comparing Pi's:
- Idling: an A+ uses 100mA, a B+ uses 200mA, an original A uses 140mA, and an original B uses 360mA.
- Loading X/LXDE: an A+ uses 130mA, a B+ uses 230mA, an original A uses 190mA, and an original B uses 400mA.
- Watching 1080p video: an A+ uses 140mA, a B+ uses 240mA, an original A uses 200mA, and an original B uses 420mA.
- Shooting 1080p video: an A+ uses 230mA, a B+ uses 330mA, an original A uses 320mA, and an original B uses 480mA.
- xen956
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
After changing the usb cable the PI came to life. Well, sort of. The green led blinks, but no sign of the red led, and when plugging an HDMI cable to my TV screen, nothing on it. So there was definitely a problem with my cable since now the PI flashes at least something but it still doesn't work.
I must add that I am not running any screen or any other device from it so the current should be well below the 500mA the powerboost can produce.
I must add that I am not running any screen or any other device from it so the current should be well below the 500mA the powerboost can produce.
- adafruit_support_bill
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
What is the voltage at the output of the PowerBoost when in this state?The green led blinks, but no sign of the red led, and when plugging an HDMI cable to my TV screen, nothing on it.
- xen956
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
I measured 3.66V, so I guess there is something wrong with it?
- adafruit_support_bill
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Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
Please contact [email protected] with a link to this thread for a replacement PowerBoost.
- xen956
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- Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:10 am
Re: Powerboost 500 and Lipo not powering up PI
Thank you Bill, I have contacted them, hopefully this issue will be solved! :)
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.