Hi I just bought the particle photon recently from Core Electronics Australia.(Awesome store to buy electronic stuff)
When I plugged my particle the metal part on the top surface gets very hot,I cant keep my finger on it for motre than 2 seconds and it has a bad smell coming (a burning smell)
This is my first photon please help me solve this issue.
(its just only when the USB is plugged in from the computer,nothing else is plugged into it)
Sounds like it’s damaged. You might want to talk to them and have it replaced.
That’s definitely not right. The surface of the metal can of the one on my desk is 21.6°C, within a few degrees of room temperature.
What should one do if they have this same problem? I am having the same problem with my Particle Electron, except it does not seem to be from the metal. It gets really hot on the little black box right above the Mode Button.
What is your input voltage? and to what pin is that voltage applied? Do you have a battery plugged into the LiPo connector? If so, is it the same “stock” battery it shipped with? If not, what type of battery? i.e. chemistry? voltage? capacity? etc.
Are you talking about this component? (circled in red)
If so, the schematics seem to indicate that is the 2.2uH inductor connected to Pin 1 on the TPS62291 (the 3.3V Regulator.) That why I ask all the voltage input questions.
I had the Electron powered via VIN pin with 5V but I experienced no problems (I did not notice any issues with performance or heat). I disconnected the Electron to create a prototype circuit board. I placed the Electron on a breadboard and found the component circled in red above to be very hot. Later when testing my prototype circuit board, I found that my Serial1 port would not work. I confirmed the issue to lie in the Electron with a separate GPS module and a Particle Photon).
Currently I have my Electron solely plugged into the USB (connected to a computer) and the LiPo battery. The battery is connected and currently reads 3.42 V. I don’t have a thermometer for electrical parts, but using a mouth thermometer I’m reading temperatures over 109 F on both the component described above and the ublox module.
Since you’re on a breadboard, can you confirm what the current draw is on your electron? That would help confirm that something is drawing too much current from the 3.3 volt rail. Also inspect your u-blox module to make sure that the shroud isn’t dented downward. Which could possibly cause some kind of short circuit. I would also look for some sort of damage shorting to the serial pins as well, since you’re experiencing UART problems.
I do not have an electron, or a thermometer, to confirm what the standard operating temp is. So I might have to punt to @rickkas7, @peekay123 or another hardware guru @KyleG?
None of the devices should be hot to the touch - you should submit a support request if that occurs.