Power Shield Won't Power On

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Pshake
 
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Power Shield Won't Power On

Post by Pshake »

Hi I posted this a while back and no one got to me.

I ordered a power shield, plugged in the battery and the LED never came on. It will charge, it will also tell me it is fully charged. It does not power on. I did not solder on the switch because I didn't need it

The low LED flashes very briefly when I plug in a battery. I don't know how to post pictures here but I will send them to an email.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Power Shield Won't Power On

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Hi, sorry we missed your previous post.

To post photos, use the 'Choose File' button under the text area you use to compose a message. The forum puts a limit on file sizes, but 800x600 usually works.

Once you've selected a file, click the 'Add The File' button. You'll get an updated composition page with 'Place Inline' buttons that you can use to put the image in a specific place. If you aren't sure how things will look, hit the 'Preview' button.

Pshake
 
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Re: Power Shield Won't Power On

Post by Pshake »

Power zshield broken.jpg
Power zshield broken.jpg (93.67 KiB) Viewed 209 times
Hi attached is a photo of the power shield as it sits right now. Let me know if you need any more info

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Power Shield Won't Power On

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Could you post a photo of the underside of the shield too please? Let's make sure the solder joints look good.

Pshake
 
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Re: Power Shield Won't Power On

Post by Pshake »

Didn't notice image wouldn't post. Heres the bottom. It doesnt light up when battery plugged in, does when charging.
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bottom of powershield broken.jpg
bottom of powershield broken.jpg (353.06 KiB) Viewed 193 times

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Power Shield Won't Power On

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Thanks..

The surface apperance of the solder looks good (nice and shiny) but I'm seeing a bit of gold plating on the pads in various spots. That can be a sign of insufficient pad wetting.

Could you post a couple of shots from a side-angle showing the shape of the joints between the PCB and the pins please? We're specifically looking for nice, smooth fillets between the PCB and the pins (good) versus joints that are pear-shaped (need reheated). A joint that curves in just above the PCB might not be making good electrical contact.

Pshake
 
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Re: Power Shield Won't Power On

Post by Pshake »

Shouldnt the unit power on regardless of the pins being soldered? The LED doesn't turn on to indicate there is power going to it.
LED turns on for charge.

I'll get you detailed pictures of the solders but its not the connection to the arduino through the pins that is the issue.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Power Shield Won't Power On

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Boost converters are complicated beasts, and sometimes need a load to operate.

In this case, the boost chip has a low-power mode that shuts off the converter when the load isn't drawing much current. The booster waits until the output voltage falls below a certain threshold, runs long enough to raise the voltage above a threshold level, then shuts off again.

There's a filter capacitor on the output, and if you don't have a load, the booster will charge that to 5v almost instantly. Then it will shut down until enough charge leaks through the capacitor's parasitic resistance to trigger another charging cycle.

Try measuring the voltage at these two points:
boost.jpg
boost.jpg (77.09 KiB) Viewed 167 times

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