MSP430F5131: Issues with trying to download the program into the MicroController

Could you tell something about the hardware connections between the MSP and the FET?

yes ofcourse ,

Here's the wiring schematic of the msp430 to the MSP-FET . on the board there's a Header connector of 4 pins 2mm . i still havn't provided power to the PCB

Is it only your schematic or aren't GND and 3.3V connected to the MSP? Additionally you should add some capacitance between Vcc and GND very close to the MSP. 100n + 10µ in parallel, for example. RST should have a resistor of about 47k to Vcc and a small capacitor like 1n or 2n2 to GND. These RC combination is not required to flash the code or for debugging while the FET is connected but it should be assembled when running the device without the FET.

Dennis Eichmann said:

RST should have a resistor of about 47k to Vcc and a small capacitor like 1n or 2n2 to GND. These RC combination is not required to flash the code or for debugging while the FET is connected but it should be assembled when running the device without the FET.

This device has internall pullup on RST pin, so external is not needed. It should be released and run just fine after flashing without cap + resistor combo on RST pin.

I have connected everything - i need to supply a voltage of 12vdc to the pcb , i already placed a regulator that its output is 3.3vdc .
i also connected the MSP-FET according to the wiring schematic above and it still popping up the same error window.

zrno soli said:

This device has internall pullup on RST pin, so external is not needed. It should be released and run just fine after flashing without cap + resistor combo on RST pin.

Yes, it will most likely run, I agree. But I would always recommend to add it anyway. Keep in mind that even TI populates it on their boards and also recommends it.

OMER DAGAN said:

supply a voltage of 12vdc to the pcb , i already placed a regulator that its output is 3.3vdc

But in this case you should use pin 4 of the FET connector to sense the voltage of the target.

Here's the wiring schematic of the connector to the MSP-FET: 

i connected pin1 of J1 to TDO/TDI in the MSP-FET , pin 2 of J1 to TCK in the MSP-FET , pin 3 of J1 to VCC_TOOL in the MSP-FET and pin 4 pf J1 to GND in the MSP-FET . 

i changed pin3 of J1 and connected it to VCC_TARGET in the MSP-FET and it still did the same error.

Is the analog supply rail connected as well?

This is the wiring of the MSP430:

AVCC and AVSS should not be left open.

they are connected to 3.3v supply voltage and gnd

In your schematic they are not.

look at that : looks like it is connected :

sorry my mistake its the AVCC and AVSS , is it really necessary for them to be connected coz i dont use any analog options.

Hi Omer,

Yes, it is necessary for AVCC and AVSS to be properly connected. Are you still experiencing this issue?

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

Yes but i think the problem is that  the regulator's output (that supplies the MSP430) supplies only 0.7V for some reason (while the MSP430 needs at least 1.8V) so i guess thats the reason why the MSP-FET could not recognize the target device.

So now i am going to replace that regulator with a newer one and we will see if that works. I also connected the AVcc and AVss to DVcc and DVss.

Hi Omer,

Any updates you'd like to share on this?

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

Well i havn't figured out the exact problem but i am 100% sure that something went wrong while soldering the component onto the board. now we are trying to understand which component shorts the 3.3v bus. i'll keep you posted. thank you.

ok so the PCB works just find and the MSP430 gets the amount of volts its needed but i still get the same error while i try to download the program through the CCS to the MSP : " couldnt find the target device"

Hi Omer,

Could you please share your updated schematic with us?

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

Hello Omer,

Couple of checks:

• Which IAR version you are using. If it is latest then its ok but if it is older, Check MSP-FET is supported or not. Some earlier IAR version (I guess till 5.4) doesn't support this tool.
• Have you checked connecting MSP-FET with any other IDE like LiteFETPro430 . You can downlaod it from www.elprotronic.com  and try to flash a hex/.txt file in MSP430 device.
• Have you made sure debugger setting as Spi-By wire as you are not using JTAG interface.
• Try to reduce capacitor on RESET pin, infact remove this cap and try.

Hope these points should help you...

Regards,

Vikas Chola

 Hello ,

This is the updated schematic , another thing is : i want to verify that i have connected the PCB to the FET debugger correctly :

1) RST/NMI/SBWTDIO (pin 36 on the MSP430) ------> to TDO/TDI (pin 1 on the MSP-FET)

2) TEST/SBWTCK (pin 35 on the MSP430) ------> to TCK ( pin 7 on the MSP-FET)

3) 3.3v (the PCB supplies that voltage by a regulator) ------> to VCC_TARGET (pin 4 on the MSP-FET)

4) ground (from the PCB) -------> to GND ( pin 9 on the MSP-FET)

This is the updated schematic :

updated electrical drawing.pdf

1) I'm using IAR version 6.05.4 , I also tried using Code Composer Studio and the same problem occured.
2) i will try to download that.
3) I have already changed the settings in the IAR to SpyBi Wire and still didnt work.
4) about the capacitor of the RESET pin , isn't it supposed to be 2.2nF? if im not mistaken it's written in the msp430 family datasheet.

ok ill try doing that

Hello Omer,
2.2nF is maximum suggested value at RESET pin but some time due to variation in component value, Cap creates issue in SPY Bi wire communication. Can you check your circuit without this cap...
Also Please make sure that TEST and RESET pin shouldn't have any other capacitor.

Regards,
Vikas Chola

thank you for the reply .

ill try to remove this 2.2nF cap.

Should i have to wire the MSP-FET to the MSP430 like the following schematic? :

Should i have to connect the resistor R2?

Hi Omer,

In addition to changing the RST cap, I still recommend changing the VCORE cap per my previous post. You really need 470nF on this pin instead of the 100nF.

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

If you don't require JTAG Fuse functionality, You can connect Test pin directly with Pin no 7 (i.e. R2 as 0 ohm) and disconnect it with Pin no 8.

Also Please follow all recommended value of Decoupling cap etc. as suggested in other replies.

regards,

Vikas Chola 

ok now i get 3.3V and the MSP gets the amount of voltage its needed, although i still have the same problem once i try to download the program through either IAR Embedded and Code Composer Studio. it still doesn't recognize the target device (the MSP)
maybe i havn't connected the pins well to the MSP-FET , how exactly should i connect it to the MSP-FET , should i use R2 in the wiring schematic above?

Hi Omer,

Please confirm that you have populated a 470nF capacitor on the VCORE pin?

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

Hello ,

The weird thing is that the PCB has already worked fine before...so I don't think this is the problem , it worked with 100nF at the VCORE pin .

Hi Omer,

It may have worked but that doesn't mean it will work 100% of the time. Regardless, 100nF on VCORE is out of spec and we can't guarantee proper operation at that capacitance.

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

so you suggest to replace the 100nF with 470nF?

Do you have another ideas of what could cause this problem?

Hi Omer,

Yes, please change the 100nF capacitor on VCORE to 470nF. I recommend trying this first, then we can explore other options if it does not fix your issue.

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

Alright i have tried it with 470nF and nothing changed

Hi Omer,

You've made some schematic changes since the beginning of this post. Can you please share your most up-to-date schematic with me so we're both on the same page?

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

4010.updated electrical drawing.pdf

here's the full electronic schematic.

Hi Omer,

There's nothing apparently wrong with the schematic you've shared. Other than the capacitance on VCORE needs to be 470nF, which I trust you've changed.

Your connections to the MSP-FET are correct. Have you tried programming a known functional device with the MSP-FET? Something such as a LaunchPad would be a good test. This way we know the MSP-FET is functioning properly.

How many boards have you tested? There is a slight possibility of damage when the VCORE cap was 100nF instead of 470nF. Can you try testing this on a fresh part with the most up-to-date schematic changes?

Finally, Vikas suggested removing the 2.2nF RST capacitor and I see that didn't change anything. Instead can you reduce it from 2.2nF to 1.1nF? A lower capacitance will enable higher speed SBW communication.

Best regards,
Caleb Overbay

Hello ,

thanks for the reply .

I don't have any LaunchPad , all i know is that this circuit has already worked perfectly before and the MSP430 had been successfully programmed .

i already replaced the capacitor on VCORE to 470nF.

this is the first board i have tested with this MSP-FET.

I don't know what else i should do in order to make this work.

about the MSP-FET connection fo the MSP430 , the wiring schematic shows that i have to place R2 resistor of 330Ohm at the TCK (pin 7) input. is it really necessary? the TEST/SBWTCK of the MSP430 is connected to both TCK and TEST SBWVPP pin , should i need to connect it to pin TEST SBWVPP (pin 8)?

thanks.

It looks like the wiring schematic you're referencing is for MSP430F2xx, MSP430G2xx, and MSP430F4xx devices. A more up-to-date schematic can be found in our MSP430 Hardware Tool's User's Guide Figure 2-3:

You've mentioned this board was being successfully programmed before. What were you using to program the device? 

Can you try connecting via 4-write JTAG and see if you can communicate properly with the device? See Fig 2-1 in the document referenced above,

How many boards are exhibiting this behavior?

Best regards, 
Caleb Overbay