QWIIC GPIO (DEV-17047) not working on Nano-33-BLE (but OK on normal Nano)

Qwiic System
1

Hello,

I just started testing on the QWIIC universe and purchased a bunch of boards and QWIIC wiring parts.

I test with a NANO 33 BLE, and attach 3.3V, GND, SDA and SCL to the QWIIC bus, then I run I2Cscanner sketch:

OK:

a) Sparkfun I2CBOB-16784 8-channel I2C MUX works fine, addr=0x70

b) Sparkfun RV-8803 RTC works fine, addr=0x32

d) Sparkfun LCD-17153 OLED works fine, addr=0x3c

FAIL:

e) Sparkfun DEV-17047 GPIO card (LED comes on buth no I2C comms)

But on another old NANO, this same device works fine on addr=0x27, using same QWIIC cable

f) Sparkfun KIT-16833 Quad Solid state relay (LED comes on buth no I2C comms)

Fails on both N33BLE and on old NANO

For I2C scanner I tried both 100KHz and 400KHz

Is it anything I’m missing out here? Tried to search for similar problems without finding any, so I guess it is something on my side.

As sidenote I purchased several of the GPIO boards and get problems with all of them.

Also tried to cut off the I2C pullups on one of the GPIO boards, but made no change.

thanx in advance for any help!

Gard

2

Now tested also with standard Arduino MICRO board:

  • Sparkfun GPIO board is OK

  • Sparkfun KIT-16833 Quad Solid state relay, NO reply (but LED comes on)

Have also tried to test through “click board” I2C isolator board. If runned from Arduino MICRO all OK, if instead running through Nano33BLE, no good.

ALL other devices I have tested so far works fine, Adafruit PWM board, Sparkfun MUX board, Sparkfun OLED display, Sparkfun RTC clock… also works fine when runned through isolator.

This is a complete mystery… guess I need a oscilloscope to figure out what exactly is wrong here…

3.3V output from N33BLE is measured to 3.268 volt

3

The Nano 33 BLE runs at 3.3v, while the old nano runs at 5v - I bet something related to that might be the issue?

Some of the Quad relay kits have been giving folks intermittent issues; if you made the purchase from SparkFun head to Return Policy - SparkFun Electronics and fill out the form and we’ll get a replacement sent out; if purchased from a vendor, simply contact them for its replacement.

4

Hello, I just got a replacement QUAD RELAY kit from ELFA, but same problem here, nothing shows up on I2C scanner. Tested with a standard old Arduino Nano using a QWIIC cable, and have confirmed other devices pops up just fine using same cable. Got comms with e.g. RTC and GPIO cards, but nothing for Quad relay card.

Measured 3.3V on the PCB solder-points where non-QWIIC wiring can be connected.

Both kits seems to come from same batch - is it maybe a “global” firmware problem on the whole batch?

Sidenote: As for the other problem with GPIO card not showing up on N33BLE, I have not managed to diagnose more, but have now got a scope, just need time…

thank you for your time!

Kit #1 - Batch #139648

Kit #2 - Batch #139648

5

Any update on the bad QUAD relay kit? Is the whole batch #139648 bad? Just return this one also to ELFA and ask for new with different batch number?

6

That’d be our best suggestion - the issue seems to be intermittent, and unrelated to any pattern we have been able to discern…