DLPC7540EVM: Device cannot be detected anymore

Hi Miha,

Perhaps you can try connecting to UART debug port to see if you can get any data from there

Hi Made4engineering! 

Thanks for the hint. We have not yet tried this. 
If I am not mistaken, UART debug port is UART0, which is J23 connector on DLPC7540EVM board? Can you confirm this? 
Further, I would much appreciate some more information about this UART connectors, pin configurations or in general how to interface the device in different ways. I haven't found much information about it. 

Thanks

You will connect a USB to serial converter to J102, and use these settings: 

Thank you! 

We were waiting to get Serial-to-USB converter, that's why we did not try this before, and were looking at other possibilities to connect. 
However, connecting to J102 Serial port does not help our case. Device still does not respond. No data even on UART debug port....

The board may have had an electrostatic shock, which would require a replacement. Just to be clear, you have already confirmed there is no data coming from J102? The heartbeat (D15) should still blink even when the DMD board is disconnected. You may want to refer to the design files so you can use the on board test point to check the supply voltage, etc. https://www.ti.com/lit/zip/dlpr092

Hi! 
Correct, there is no data coming from J102. 
As I mentioned already in my initial post, the heartbeat (D15) is not blinking, but is ON all the time - regardless of position of jumper (J67 or J9) and DMD board connection. 
Does this indicate something else, or is electrostatic shock still the most probable cause? 

Thanks for the design files - we will check the supply voltage etc. 

Some sort of physical problem is most likely. Could have been ESD, a short, broken conductor, overheating etc. Checking the voltages is the easiest thing at this stage

Hi! 

We tested a few test points to check the power supply levels. All power supply levels were as indicated on the design files provided. The following test points were tested:

P3P3V_SB           Understanding

TP247                  12V when SW5 set to on                                        OK

TP248                  3.3V when SW5 set to on                                       OK

TP249                  12V when SW5 and SW1 are set to on                  OK

TP221                  1.21V when SW5 and SW1 are set to on               OK

TP231                  2.5V when SW5 and SW1 are set to on                 OK

TP232                  5.0V when SW5 and SW1 are set to on                 OK

TP233                  3.25V when SW5 and SW1 are set to on               OK

J67                       5.0V                                                                        OK

VUSB_VBUS       0V, if J2 not connected; 5V, If J2 connected           OK

Are there any other test points that should be tested, to give us some insight into what is going on? 

Further, we checked the current consumption of the board. Unfortunately, we do not have a reference about the normal power consumption. However this information might be useful for you :

- 129mA when jumper on J67

- 131mA when jumper on J9

As mentioned, the D15 LED is ON (does not blink) regardless of jumper position (J67/J9) - could it be that there is an error when booting FW from the flash?
Is it possible to use JTAG to re-program the controller / flash with the FW? if yes, could you provide more information/instructions? 

Thank you for your help! 

To Flash the bootloader from JTAG see this thread:

https://e2e.ti.com/support/dlp-products-group/dlp/f/dlp-products-forum/1175334/dlpc7540evm-install-firmware-without-usb-connection

Use the following files:

https://tidrive.ext.ti.com/u/o5qZJ5yamQWxmpks/180715bb-a4e2-4cbf-9b9b-fd4138373ab5?l

access code: x335hyL,

Thank you for the info, instructions and files!

At the moment, we are waiting for the delivery of UM232H module. As soon as it is delivered, we will proceed with flashing the bootloader from JTAG. Hopefully this will give us some results. 

In the meantime, we are wondering what are potential next steps if flashing the bootloader does not work. 
Is it possible to send our module to you, for further testing/troubleshooting? Is it possible that DLP650TE DMD board is damaged as well, and will have to be replaced together with DLPC7540EVM controller board? 

Thank you for the support!

Hi Miha,

We generally do not take EVMs back to debug. How long was the board working correctly before this issue occurred? When did you receive it? It's not likely that both boards have issues

Hi made4engineering! 

We tried to flash the bootloader with the UM232H module, using the files and software provided a few posts above. The steps were followed according to linked thread (https://e2e.ti.com/support/dlp-products-group/dlp/f/dlp-products-forum/1175334/dlpc7540evm-install-firmware-without-usb-connection) as suggested. 
Unfortunately we got an error when trying to "Detect Chain". Error: "Failed to find device information in BoardFile". 

The connection from the UM232H module to the J20 connector on the board is wired correctly, jumper was installed to J9 position, both bootloader and boardfile files were exchanged with the ones you provided, as well as size in HEX modified according to the post thread linked. Flash Programmer is simply not responsive after this error. 
Could you provide the right boardfile for our DLPC7540EVM board? Is something else missing? 

Thanks!

Make sure your JTAG wires are kept as short as possible

Hi! 

We have resolved the JTAG issue - most likely a poor connections on the wires. The USB connection has been restored successfully! 

However, we have a problem with the firmware upload over the GUI now. The issue seems to be the same as in the other JTAG related thread (https://e2e.ti.com/support/dlp-products-group/dlp/f/dlp-products-forum/1175334/dlpc7540evm-install-firmware-without-usb-connection)

We also get the error message:

"

Firmware Update Failed.

Write Flash Write command execution failed. 
Error details: Command Error 0xA . Execution Failed.

"

The setup of flashing firmware is the same as in the other thread (according to their screenshots). We also tried to remove J9 jumper for the FW flashing as suggested (even though it is written in the manual, it should be installed on J9). Regardless of jumper position (J9/J67/uninstalled) device always connects in "bootloader mode", and the firmware update fails. We are also not able to get any UART debug messages. 
And unlike in the other thread, it did not suddenly start working for us. There is no solution mentioned in the other thread. 
Please let us know how we can resolve this issue of firmware update fail. 

Best, 
Miha

Hello Miha,

I will let made4engineering know that you replied.  He should be able to get back with you soon.

Fizix

Perhaps make sure the JTAG is disconnected, and that the USB is not going through a hub. Is the heartbeat LED blinking?

Hi

JTAG was disconnected before we tried to upload firmware over USB. We tried to connect USB directly to PC (not using any hub). Still does not work. 

Heartbeat LED is not blinking, no matter the position of the jumper (J9/J67) - device is also always connected to PC in Bootloader mode.

Hello Miha, 

We are looking into your issue. Thank you for your patience.

Best,

Maxine