WiFi shield not always working. Parts on Arduino UNO R3 heating up.

Wireless & IoT Wifi
1

Hi,

After going through a few on board WiFi solutions for the Arduino, I though I had everything solved by using the SparkFun Wifi shield (WRL-13287). Not so…

First: All header pins have been tested for shorts: None found. Also tested for continuity from header pins to pins on the Arduino. All fine.

Second: Using the libraries and example for the SparkFun pages.

What happens: At first, everything was fine. I could make a connection to my router and the tests worked. Then all of a sudden, things started to go bad.

Upon powering up the arduino and shield from an external 3A 12V supply when it is working, the blue light comes on, flashes, and then stays steady. All is good. However, most of the time what happens is that the blue light does NOT come on and when that happens, it seems that some chips close to the 12V input become really hot. In addition, the sketch says that the communications to the ESP8266 failed. If I plug and unplug the power, sometimes it will appear to work, with the lights coming on.

The issue appears to be exactly like this: viewtopic.php?f=121&t=52470 including the links therein.

The issue will also happen without the external supply, and a USB connection instead.

Any suggestions? I see that the previous threads had no resolution?

Thanks, Tom

2

I see you are not answering this, while the message just above this one was answered. Why not?

3

Tomb18, thanks for the post and my apologies for the delay here.

It seems as if you have tried troubleshooting the issue to the best of your abilities and this seems like it might be an issue with the design of the shield itself. Our engineering team has been informed of the overheating issue and will prioritize and work on the issue as soon as possible. I will provide an update once I obtain a progress report.

In the meantime, I can take care of the module you have currently. Just fill out a return ticket here: https://www.sparkfun.com/returns

Thank you for your patience and understanding on the matter. Please let us know if we can do anything else for you.

4

Hi

Sorry but this problem has been around for 4 years with your board!!! It has been on the comments section, in this forum and various places on the Internet.

It is clearly a problem with the design, you have acknowledged it exists 4 years ago, but it is still being sold and not fixed.

Do you realize the amount of effort people put in to getting this to work to just find out after countless hours that it is not designed correctly?

Does Nathan know all the issues people have had, and how it’s been acknowledged by support but yet after 4 years nothing has been done?

I’ve spent at least 10 hours to get to this point where it’s ready for the trash. It’s more expensive for me to send back than just step on it and more satisfying too.

You guys should be ashamed that you know about it, that it is still being sold, and that nothing has been done.

First and last Sparkfun board for me.

5

I am sorry to hear that we have failed to meet your expectations on this matter. This issue is being reviewed by our engineers and we are aware of the issues you and others have brought up regarding the heating issue associated with the product. We hope to fix it as soon as possible.

If you would like to send an E-mail to Support@SparkFun.com with a link to this thread and the order number associated with the ESP8266 shield we can look into a reimbursement solution for the inconvenience.