Power on sequence problem

[ant]

Hi There,

I have just built my OpenSpribkler and it is all working ok. I have noticed thought that sometimes when cycling the power switch it will not turn back on. I have found that the only way to get it to turn on after this is to completely remove all the plugs and reinstall them with the power plug last.

I have checked the voltage from my power supply and it has 24 volt AC on the terminal plug when it will not power on, so i don’t believe it is a problem with the supply. Has anyone seen this before?

thanks
Ant

[Ray]

What type of 24V AC adapter do you have? Can you check the label and see its current rating? The recommended current rating is at least 400mA.

[ant]

Hi Ray,

It is 24V AC and 1000mA power supply.

thanks
Anthony

[Ray]

The power supply sounds ok. It’s not obvious to me what’s causing the problem. Two things I would suggestion: 1) take high resolution pictures of your board (under good daylight) of both the front and back of your PCB so I can check if there is any soldering issue; 2) when the problem happens, measure the voltage between VIN-GND and also VCC-GND and see if they are still approximately 5V and 3.3V.

[ant]

Thanks Ray,

I just checked it before I sat down and read your post and it had locked-up and the display was frozen with the date time of 20 hours ago. I was also unable to access it by the IP address also. I have cycled the power and it is now back up and running.

I will certainly take those pics and measure the voltage next time it does it again.

thanks
Anthony

[ant]

Hi Ray,

I am still having this problem of the controller locking up. It happens every second day or so, I know this because when it freezes the date and time on the display also freezes. Sometimes when I cycle the the power on the transformer it comes back on but 50% of the time the display does nothing when I cycle the power. I have it connected to my router by Ethernet and I can see that when it is turned on and the display remains blank that there is power going to the PCB ok as the RJ45 socket LED’s light up (but there is no connection possible through IP). I have also been able to measure the 5.02 Volt and 3.28 Volt on VIN and VCC to GND. I don’t believe that this is a power issue or an LCD issue.

I have taken some pictures for you and at the same time removed and re-seated the two IC’s. Again when I powered it up it would not work first go. After about 5 times of turning on and off it powered on correctly.

What are the next steps to get this to work?

thanks
Anthony

[Ray]

I’ve responded to your email. Has the problem been solved?

[ant]

Hi Ray,

I had left this project to the side as I still had no joy with the power issues mentioned above over the last 6 months. It is pretty dry here in Australia at the moment and as I am away from home a lot I decided to have a closer look at it last weekend.  I pulled the covers off the unit and was checking it for any obvious problems. I saw that there was a new firmware so attempted the update.

I made a very amateur error and left a screw on the table I was working on and shorted the board out. After a bit of research on this site I found a circuit diagram (couldn’t locate the diagram for hardware version I have) and found that I killed the Ethernet IC and the 3.3 Volt regulator. I managed to replace both components and then complete the firmware update.

I am pleased to say that the power supply and freezing issues I reported previously have gone. I have tested the unit most of the day and I am very impressed with the new features and the app. A job well done to you on this. This is now a very powerful piece of kit. I intend to connect more sprinklers as well as some garden lights.

I also have replaced the network switch with a newer model and it is working too.

Thanks again for your assistance and you work on this great product!

Ant

[Ray]

@Ant: thanks for the update. Glad to hear that it finally worked.

[Author]

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