Electron Charging?

Troubleshooting
41

What I actually did, is in my code I interpret 85% as 100% :blush:

Thanks for all the info @BDub the actual real reason for 100% is to get more juice out of the batt :slight_smile:

1 Like
42

Would there be any point in setting it lower when using electron and battery in a setting that is usually powered, to extend battery lifetime (not runtime).
ie. when the psu/board cant supply enough current to run the electron without a battery attached.

Even setting it to 50% soc would be plenty to handle the electron spikes.

43

if runtime on battery is not a concern for you, battery lifetime can be maximized by never charging over 80% or discharging below 20%. Generally speaking, onboard protection circuitry will do the majority of the lifetime enhancing behavior for you.

I have some related questions, though:

  • How do you change the charge current? I see docs on this, but they aren’t explained. The included battery can be charged at up to 2A.
  • Why do the set and get methods for charge voltage use different data types?
44

@wtfuzz have you ever found a solution to this issue?

I am facing the same problem - my electron is only charging with ~50-100mA. That means it takes more than a day to fully charge the 2000mAh battery…! :confounded:

45

Does anyone else have an idea why my Electron is charging only about 3% per hour?

I am using the original 2000mAh Li-Po battery and the original USB cable. It does not matter whether I connect it directly to the PC or via an iPhone charger to a wall socket.

I do use the line:

SYSTEM_MODE(SEMI_AUTOMATIC);

In the setup loop I do have the following PMIC settings:

PMIC pmic;
pmic.setChargeCurrent(0,0,1,0,0,0);  //Set charging current to 1024mA (512 + 512 offset)
pmic.setInputVoltageLimit(4840);     //Set the lowest input voltage to 4.84 volts. This keeps the 5v solar panel from operating below 4.84 volts.

After setting these values, I read out all the relevant status and get the following:

getChargeCurrent = 100000
getChargeVoltage = 10011010
getMinimumSystemVoltage = 3500
readChargeTermRegister = 11001110
readInputSourceRegister = 1100011
readPowerONRegister = 11011
getSystemStatus = 1101100
isPowerGood = 1
isHot = 0

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

46

I have a 2000 Miliamp usb charger connected to the electron, the LIPO is connected as well. The electron is breathing cyan and it is constanty flashing the red LED but at lower speed, as I know when the red LED flashing when the LiPo is not connected. What is the meaning of this Red LED on and off meaning even though the LIPO is connected and the 2000 miliamp USB as well?

47

Sorry for my bad English, it’s not my native language.

48

Jiggle the white JST connector your plugging into the Electron, sometimes it needs a better connection. If it’s loose you may see this red led flashing at different rates.

1 Like
49

Thanks!

50

Did that work for you?

51

Yes it did. Thanks!

52

Meanwhile I figured out, why my Electron wasn’t charging properly. If you set the min. input voltage to 4840 mV it might be that the 5V source of the PC (USB port) is not sufficient.

If I change the min. input voltage to 4680 mV, the Electron charges properly.

pmic.setInputVoltageLimit(4680);
2 Likes
53

Good point. Remember that the 5V USB voltage runs through a Schottky diode before it gets to Vin and the PMIC. The Vishay datasheet specifies Vf=0.43V for the diode listed in the Electron BOM. So the PMIC will only see 4.57V. (Assuming ideal conditions & voltages.)

3 Likes