LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

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_meadows
 
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LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by _meadows »

Hi,
I am hoping someone can point me in the correct direction. I assembled the LCD Shield Kit w/ 16x2 Character Display - Blue & White and when I upload the sample Hello World code to my arduino the shield only displays a top row of 16 boxes (see image).
I tested the all the buttons on the shield and they will Serial.print back to the terminal when pushed. Additionally I doubled up the solder on the contacts to ensure contact but no luck.
Any suggestions is it something obvious I missed?

thanks in advance for your assistance

Scott
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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

If the buttons are working, you are communicating with the port expander chip. But something is missing between the port expander and the LCD.

The top-side solder joints look OK. On the back-side, one edge of the photo is too out-of focus to see clearly. The 4 pins circled below are for the data lines to the LCD. If you can post a clearer photo of that general area, that would help.

http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-guid ... n-problems
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_meadows
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by _meadows »

here is a new image does this help?
thanks for your reply
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_meadows
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by _meadows »

Just to verify that those solder points are conducting juice I used a multimeter to check end of the pin to the end of the trace on the board and there is conductivity. Any other avenues I should consider checking? thanks again

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The data pins look fine. But the RS pin (4th from the top) looks suspect. The solder may not have wetted the solder pad. See this guide for tips on fixing that: http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-guid ... n-problems

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_meadows
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by _meadows »

hi again, I removed the solder on the rs pin and any other dicey looking solder points, then resoldered. But when I load the code I still only see a single top row of boxes on the LCD. To ensure that the ic is connected from origin point to its destination point of the trace I used a multimeter to check for conductivity by touching the ends of the pins.

I am pretty bummed thus far any other suggestions?

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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I don't see any other assembly issues. Hard to say whether it is a problem with the display or the port expander chip.
If you contact [email protected] with a link to this thread we can send you a replacement shield.

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_meadows
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by _meadows »

thanks Bill for your speedy responses & assistance w/ the issue

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THX_city
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by THX_city »

Was this issue solved? I am getting the exact same issue.

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by Franklin97355 »

Was this issue solved? I am getting the exact same issue.
@THX_city if you notice from the first post in this thread the OP posted symptoms, tests they had run with the results and large (800-600) pictures of the board and their soldering. That is where you should start when you post to your own thread. Hope that helps.

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THX_city
 
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Re: LCD shield kit only displays 16 boxes

Post by THX_city »

Thanks Franklin, I got it to work. It was shoddy soldering. I used a multimeter to test continuity and noticed I didn't have enough solder on some joints. Adding a bit more fixed the issue.

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