I need a little help getting my Qwiic Starter Kit (SPX-14752) fully working. Since I am having problems with two of the four Qwiic devices, I have posted here rather than for the individual devices.
I downloaded and installed the libraries for the devices. I hooked up the Qwiic RedBoard and each of the Qwiic devices in turn along and then ran its most basic example.
The Qwiic Accelerometer (SEN-14587) and the Qwiic Proximity sensor (SPX-14690) worked fine.
The Qwiic Micro OLED display (LCD-14532) did not respond at all with the example MicroOLED_Eemo_I2C. It never displayed anything, not a pixel. I got the same result with the example Example4-QwiicStarterKitDemo.
The Qwiic Joystick (v1.1, SPX-14656) at least showed signs of life. The power light came on. With the example Example1_BasicReadings running, the serial monitor displayed “Qwiic Joystick Example” and on a second line “X:” and then nothing else. When I ran the sketch with the board unplugged, I got the message, “Joystick does not appear to be connected. Please check wiring. Freezing …”.
I’ve completed several projects with Arduinos, using multiple sensors and creating my own libraries. So, I’m not a newbie. But I could have overlooked something obvious.
Here’s what I have already tried: rebooting the computer, repowering the Qwiic RedBoard, recompiling and reloading the sketches, and swapping out the Qwiic cables.
None of my theories as to the problem work, so I would appreciate any help anyone can offer.
Hi William,
The issue with the Qwiic OLED might be related to using an older version of the library that is covered in [this post. Make sure you are using the most recent version of the Micro OLED Library that is linked there.
For the Qwiic Joystick, again, just make sure you are using the most recent version of the [Arduino Library. If that does not fix it, try running the [I2C scanner example to make sure the Joystick is being seen on your bus. I would expect that to work since it is not freezing on startup but it is worth a check. The next step would be to run the [I2C Address and Firmware example to check the firmware version of the module. Do not enter anything into the serial monitor, just check what it prints for the firmware version on startup. That will help us identify if the issue is with the firmware or not.
I hope this helps you get both of these up and running but if not, let us know and we can troubleshoot further.](SparkFun_Qwiic_Joystick_Arduino_Library/examples/Example2_I2C_Address_and_Firmware/Example2_I2C_Address_and_Firmware.ino at master · sparkfun/SparkFun_Qwiic_Joystick_Arduino_Library · GitHub)](GitHub - sparkfun/SparkFun_Qwiic_Joystick_Arduino_Library: An Arduino library to read the SparkFun Qwiic Joystick. https://www.sparkfun.com)](GitHub - sparkfun/SparkFun_Qwiic_Joystick_Arduino_Library: An Arduino library to read the SparkFun Qwiic Joystick. https://www.sparkfun.com)](https://forum.sparkfun.com/viewtopic.php?f=105&t=49742)
Thanks for the prompt and detailed response. As you suggested, I installed the most recent libraries. No joy.
I scanned the Qwiic chain and got these addresses: Joystick = 0x20, Micro OLED = 0x3D, Accelerometer = 0x1D, and Proximity sensor = 0x60. Those seem to match the numbers listed in the product descriptions.
Thanks again,
Bill
To try to eliminate the unlikely chance that I received two defective sensors, I ordered and received replacements. Swapping out the Joystick and MicroOLED devices made no difference whatsoever.
Given that the Proximity and Accelerometer sensors work fine, I can’t see that replacing the Qwiic RedBoard would help.
Any ideas?
Hi again William,
You’ve got me stumped. I do not know why the Qwiic Joystick and Micro OLED boards would show up on the bus but not work. Especially since the other two Qwiic breakouts are working just fine. Just to confirm, you are using the same cables when swapping between the working and non-working boards, right? That is about all I can think of that would be causing the issue. One last suggestion would be to use the Qwiic Breadboard adapter cable included in that kit and manually connect the jumper wire end to 3.3V, GND, SDA and SCL on the Arduino and see if that resolves anything. I doubt it will, but it is worth a shot.
If neither of these suggestions work, I think the best option here would be to get all four of the malfunctioning Qwiic Breakouts sent back to SparkFun for testing. Assuming you purchased the kit and replacement Qwiic boards directly from SparkFun, fill out the form on [this page and in the “Why do you want an RMA?” box, include a brief description of the issue and provide the URL for this thread and we will follow up with instructions on how to proceed with the return.](Return Policy - SparkFun Electronics)
Hi,
It looks like the problem was multiple bad connector cables. OK, that’s not entirely correct. It looks like the connectors were not mating correctly. Some required a little twist to the right and others to the left–not much just a few degrees.
That does not explain why the MIcroOLED showed up on the scan but did not otherwise respond.
The problem with the joystick was the joystick. No amount of cable-swapping or connection-finessing made any difference. The replacement joystick worked just fine with the replacement cables.
Now I can begin coding! Yeah.
Thanks,
Bill