Solved Power Issues

Matthew

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So my 64red was working great for a day or two when suddenly it turned off. I first thought that this was due to a low battery so I plugged it in and let it charge for a few hours. When I unplug it, it powers on for a few seconds, shows me the n64 splash screen for Legend of Zelda, and then turns off again.

I checked the voltage from the batteries, it was lower (approx. 5v) after charging it I get 7.4v again and I can see a steady drop from power use.

I double checked my wiring, it appears to be fine. I'm using 20 gauge wire for all my power (I know it's not ideal)
but I simply can't find anything wrong with it.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

EDIT: I just thought of something that my be beneficial: After it turns off, I plug it back into the charger, after waiting for about 10 seconds or so, I can turn it on again and it works for a few seconds before shutting off.
 
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cheese

the tallest memer in town
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Is your battery protection circuit rated for the amount of power you are drawing from it? If not, it could cause it to go into over-current protection, or just flat out fry itself
 

pengy

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Plugging the pack in usually resets the protection circuit so cheese might be onto something. Though I don't think there are many circuits out there that actually don't meet the current needs for an n64p... weird.
 

Matthew

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So I kept poking around. It looks like there is no continuity from the batteries to the 3.3v line on the regulator.

After quickly plugging in the smart charger taking it out. It turns on briefly before shutting off. I check the continuity from the batteries to the on/off switch and it's fine. And from the switch to the regulator is fine but I don't get anything from the 3.3v line on the regulator unless I plug in the smart charger?

Any insights?

@ShockSlayer will thou answer my pitiful mortal plea?
 

Luke

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What do you have against posting pictures? :P
 

Matthew

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There was a size limit. Sorry for the extra post.
 

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Matthew

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I think I may have figured out the issue. The connector used to connect the smart charger to the batteries doesn't quite align properly when it's inserted. If i rotate the smart charger until I see it connect, then the batteries charge up appropriately. The circuit wouldn't turn on or die quickly because there wasn't enough juice in the batteries. I'm going to run a few more diagnostic tests before I close out this thread, but thanks everyone for their help.
 

Matthew

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After much struggle I finally got it working properly. There were quite a few issues but the main one being that my dpdt switch wasn't able to handle the amount of current. I replaced that and redid a bunch of the wiring on the portable and it's working properly. I've played it for a couple of hours each day for the past week and have experienced no problems.

Thanks everyone for your input, it seriously helped me narrow down the issue!
 
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