sudomod

Okay, I had my minityPi up and working before the battery monitor board and after installing the battery monitor board. Everything was complete except the final 3 out of 4 screws which I could not get to grab onto the bottom 3D printed part once everything was sandwiched in my tin. The top left screw hovering above the battery monitor board area was the only one that screwed in. I figured I would eventually get the last 3 screws to catch and wanted to show off my achievement on social media because I was super proud and never soldered anything until I got my hands on this project. I got a lot of good feedback but now it doesn't turn on and I have friends that want to play with it (loud forehead slap!).
I had left it on while I was wiggling it around to get the final screws to catch and then the mintyPi just shutoff. I took it apart and noticed the white wire came off of the safe shutdown switch. Thought that was probably it, re-soldered it but to no avail it will still not turn on. Since I was pressing around on top of the sandwiched parts with only one screw in so I re-checked all of the solder connections in case a connection broke and they all seem good with continuity. I changed out the power wire to thicker 22 gauge from the power switch to the bat+ (but not sure if it matters which pin the wire goes to on pin switch).

Changed out the ground wire from the micro lipo after it melted accidentally touching it with the hot iron. Maybe someone with a keener eye than mine can spot what I did wrong or help with any suggestions.
Newbie Questions:
Does it matter which power switch pin (left pin or right pin) from the power switch to the bat+?
Is the option to connect the power wire from the switch to the larger VCC pad area on the battery monitor board instead of the bat+? I also have the power wire from the soundcard to the bat+ is why I ask. I'm not sure where to troubleshoot for good connection for the bat+.

I appreciate any feedback this has been a fantastic learning experience so far backed by the most helpful online community I've ever been a part of!

more pics in different angles, puzzled!
I have parts for a 2nd mintyPi build to try if needed but that will probably be the last resort for now while I'm still checking connections.

Check the large ground on the battery monitor for continuity. That joint requires a little more heat to get a solid connection.

First, decent work for your firsting solkdering project! With that said, it looks like you were shaking your iron or shaking the board when you were soldering, none of your joints look smooth.

Are you getting any voltage on the Pi when you have it powered on?

Also, looks like you're shorting your ground and possibly vcc on the battery monitor board:
Edit: 22 gauge wire is too thick. 26 gauge max for power parts in this build.

It's alive!! I am so embarrassed at what it was.
Alright, alright, alright, okay so when I first installed the battery monitor board a few days ago I saw the battery had full power so it didn't even cross my mind that it would a dead battery. Plugged in the USB power for 10 minutes came back and I saw the screen was back-lit, the switch was left in the 'on' position, flipped the switch off and on and it darn thing booted up normally, Hallelujah!

Troubleshooting 101: Step 1. Check if unit is plugged in and power is set to on.

Jeez what a time suck for me and everyone reading this, my apologies.

dryja123 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 03, 2017 5:40 pm

it looks like you were shaking your iron or shaking the board when you were soldering, none of your joints look smooth.

Also, looks like you're shorting your ground and possibly vcc on the battery monitor board:

Good, useful tips, I will definitely work on those items to prevent a future mishap.
Maybe hold my breath when soldering to minimize the caffeine shakes lol, cuz you were right on about that.

Abunchahicks wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 03, 2017 5:33 pm

Check the large ground on the battery monitor for continuity. That joint requires a little more heat to get a solid connection.

I remember reading about this in my research and will keep that in mind on my next build, thanks.

Looking ahead I can only get better from here so time to clean up a bit, gently try to get those screws in securely, and close up this Peppermint build. Excited to begin working on my Spearmint!
Cheers everyone,

we've all been there man

Lphillimore wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:59 am

we've all been there man

hehe , ya man, it's fun to explore the variety of posts in this forum. Mostly everyone I've seen here so far is humble, sets people in the right path, and checks their ego at the door, love it.