April board fried

Hardware
1

Hi,

I had 3 april boards fried the same way. The black square chip aligned to pin5 is the one that get fried every time. I think it’s the AC/DC converter, not sure.
Could you please help me on what could cause this so that I could avoid this in the future. I don’t have a specific scenario but it happened twice after I hook it with the battery.

Thanks.

2

Hi Perla,

What kind of battery are you using? That chip is the DC/DC converter, and can take voltages from 3.3V to 17V. Are you properly hooking the battery into VIN and GND? Also, make sure that the jumper (plastic covered headers aligned with VIN and GND) is properly set to BAT, not USB. On that note, is the USB plugged in while you’re trying to power off of battery? It shouldn’t be.

Here is the documentation: https://electricimp.com/docs/hardware/resources/reference-designs/april/

Best,
Reshef

3

When you get a new April board, the jumper is set to USB. Get a hold of a USB cord and USB power supply (example, the one you use for an iPad to charge it). You’ll have to make sure the end of the USB fits the Imp (there are a few different styles of connectors). Plug in that USB power supply and make sure that works OK. Don’t use any other power until you’ve tested it with the USB as your power supply. If that works, let us know and don’t hook any other power supplies (or batteries) to it until you discuss it with us here first.

The Imps themselves will also be in question because the damaged April board may have also damaged the Imp. You can ask @Hugo if it is possible to send them the Imp(s) and have them tested. I’m guessing they will do that for you if you pay for postage, but that is their call.

And, remember the USB is only going to supply power (+5VDC), the Imp doesn’t use USB for anything else.

4

Thanks for your replies.
The connection was done correctly and the jumper was on BAT. I’m using a set of 4 energizer lithium batteries

5

If or when you get a new one, use a USB power supply first. Make sure it works with that. You should also use a new Imp, as there is no way to know if the “old” one is good or not. If a new Imp and new April board work good with the USB power supply, let us know before you hook up any batteries. Lithium batteries are 3.6V? So maybe you’re powering it with 14.4V (4 in series)? That seems like a lot.