Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

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joankhy
 
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Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by joankhy »

When the solar panel is placed under the sun, all the 3 LEDs (Red, Orange and Green) lighted up together immediately. However, when the charging USB for the phone is plugged in, the charging is very slow. In addition, the orange LED is always lighted up even when the solar panel is not under the sun, with the battery not charged up at all.

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by Franklin97355 »

Could you post clear pictures of your board and the connections to it?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

When the solar panel is placed under the sun, all the 3 LEDs (Red, Orange and Green) lighted up together immediately.
All three leds ON means either a temperature fault or a timer fault. If it happens immediately on power up, it is probably the former. Have you attached a thermistor for your LiPo cell?
In addition, the orange LED is always lighted up even when the solar panel is not under the sun, with the battery not charged up at all.
The orange led alone means low-battery output. This usually means that the cell has been over-discharged. What cell are you using? Clear photos of the cell, board and connections would be helpful.

joankhy
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by joankhy »

The thermistor was not attached to the circuit.
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Solar and mintyboost circuit
Solar and mintyboost circuit
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Battery
Battery
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Franklin97355
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by Franklin97355 »

Could we see the other side of the boards? Thanks.

joankhy
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by joankhy »

In addition, may we ask why are the LEDs blinking?
Thank you
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Franklin97355
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by Franklin97355 »

Did you remove the resistor from the prog pads before installing yours?

joankhy
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by joankhy »

No, we didn't

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Franklin97355
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by Franklin97355 »

So you have effectively 666 ohms on the programming resistor which is trying to charge at 1.5 amps. Not how the board was designed. Remove the resistor and try it.

joankhy
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by joankhy »

Yes we had removed and soldered in a 1kohm resister but all the LEDs still lighted up together. And charging is still not successful

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Your Mintyboost appears to be connected backwards. The red wire should align with the '+' on the charger board.

Disconnect both the Mintyboost and the battery and report what the LEDs do.

With the battery still disconnected from the charger, measure the voltage on the battery.

joankhy
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by joankhy »

The LEDs did not light up except for the orange LED. However, after a while, the LED fades out. After measuring the voltage of the battery, the result is still 3.7V

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

OK. What does it do if you connect just the battery?

joankhy
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by joankhy »

The orange LED will be lighted up.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Solar powered mintyboost kit problem

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Please contact [email protected] with a link to this thread to arrange for a replacement charger.

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