Power splitter doesn't give power to raspberrypi
Hello. I love your project to control my home mac. I bought your power splitter to give more power to pi, but raspberrypi doesn't boot completely. In raspberrypi there light only green but not red. I found that that light means there is not enought power to pi. I use 5v3a power adapter to power splitter. Is splitter defective?
Michael Lynch @michael2022-02-11 19:38:24.461ZWe test all of the power connectors manually before shipping them out, so defects are rare, but they still can happen.
Does the Pi boot up if you connect the Pi directly to the target machine with a USB-C to USB-A cable?
- CIn reply tocos18⬆:Gene Montgomery @Cthulhu7747
You really need a 5.25V power supply when using a power splitter:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D8ZZSFT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- NIn reply tocos18⬆:Neil Tender @ntender
Hi, I'm experiencing the same problem. When I use the power splitter, Raspberry Pi 4 boots up part way but then freezes - HDMI output shuts off and monitor no longer gets signal. When I bypass the power splitter, Pi boots up okay. I'm using the 3A power adapter that is recommended on the GitHub page:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0728HB18G
I'll go ahead and purchase and try the 5.25V adapter suggested by Gene Montgomery. I'll report back. If it works, then maybe the problem is voltage drop through the splitter?
What type of power adapter was used when splitter was tested?
Diego @diego- NNeil Tender @ntender
yes, that is the one!
- Diego @diego
Those instructions mention a "5 V / 3 Amp USB power adaptor".
- NNeil Tender @ntender
I'm following these instructions, which have a link to a specific power adapter available at Amazon (which is the one I'm using):
https://mtlynch.io/tinypilot/#how-to-build-your-own-tinypilot
This power adapter puts out 5V for USB, and it is rated at 3A for this voltage range. So I think it's correct for both sets of instructions (the ones you referenced and the ones I followed, which are similar).
But yet it's not working when I go through the TinyPilot Power Connector. Am I doing anything wrong here? Is there a problem with the TinyPilot Power Connector?
Thanks!- Diego @diego
- When you use the power splitter... How do the LEDs look on the Raspberry Pi?
- NNeil Tender @ntender
I tried powering up the Pi a few times with the power splitter. The results are not the same every time. The red and green LEDs flicker for awhile. Then after a couple of minutes, the LEDs settle -- sometimes I see solid red, sometimes solid green, and sometimes both red and green at the same time. In all cases, the bootup does not complete successfully.
If I power up without the power splitter, then the results are different. The red and green LEDs flicker for awhile, but then it always ends up settling on the solid red LED illuminated by itself. And the Pi always boots successfully.
Please let me know if this helps and if I can provide you with any more useful info.- Diego @diego
The problem would have to be one of:
- Defective USB-C to USB-A cable
- Defective microUSB to USB-A cable
- Defective Power Splitter
- Defective Pi
- Defective PSU
It’s probably not (1), (4), or (5) since the setup works for you if you skip the Power Splitter.
It could still be (2), so it would be nice if you can try with another microUSB to USB-A cable.
- NNeil Tender @ntender
Hi, thanks for the great tips! I figured out the problem - it is the microUSB to USB-A cable. I tried a different (shorter) cable along with the power splitter and it worked!
I broke out my voltmeter and took some measurements. With the long cable, the voltage in the Pi was only 4.70 which is too low. This explains why it wasn't working. With the short cable, it was 4.93 which is in the acceptable range.
So sounds like I need to get a new long cable that has lower loss - a higher quality one with thicker gauge wire.
Thanks again for your help. It would never have occurred to me that the problem was the cable.- Diego @diego
Hi Neil! I'm glad you were able to sort it out! Have a great day!