Hi can I power my raspberry pi 3 when using the ultra borg

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Hi,

I am making a smart car powered by raspberry pi 3. Normally I supply power to the pi via pin2 and pin 6. However now the ultra borg is using all these pins so how can I supply 5v to the power the pi via a batter ?

thanks

piborg's picture

You can connect the power connections to pins 2 and 6 on the UltraBorg daisy-chain connector instead. This will then power the Raspberry Pi via the 3-pin cables which connect the UltraBorg :)

Nope. Just tried. Doesn't work at all. I connected the cables from pin 2 and 6 on the pi to corresponding pins on the daisy chain. No power to the pi at all. I am also using the battery pack to power servos.

Also what you are saying does not make sense. Because why wouldn't the pi be powered just from connecting all connections on the standard connection pins then?

I have figured out what you are saying. Thanks that works.

I have connected the pi this way but it only boots so far and then reboots over and over :( When I connect pi to regular power it does not reboot . Also only the green light comes on. When I connect my other power directly to pin 2 and 6 the red light flashes for a while and then the green light comes on. When I connect via your daisy chain method only the green light comes on flickers for a few times. The boot process goes half way and then it shows the rainbow screen and reboots over and over. It does not look like the ultraborg is supplying enough power. I normally boot windows iot core and that just continously reboots halfway. When I try with raspbian it boots but with a lightning symbol in the top right

piborg's picture

If you are not using a separate supply for any servos connected to the UltraBorg then they may be draining too much power from your supply.

What servos / ultrasonics do you have connected and do you have the "5V link" jumper fitted or removed.

Hi thanks for the responses. I think my uiltraborg may be faulty although it's giving correct sensor readings. When I connect my power supply directly to the pi via the power pins it boots. When I connect via the ultraborg it struggles. Sometimes it boots with a lower power warning and sometimes it just gets stuck with the rainbow screen. I have disconnected all the servos and sensors, removed the battery and put on the jumper.

piborg's picture

Generally speaking this happens when the supply cannot get enough power to the Raspberry Pi. Since the Pi uses a large amount of current at boot it causes the supply to drop in voltage, leading to the startup problem.

Since the supply works when connected to the Pi directly I suspect the problem is the length of cabling between it and the Pi when connected via the UltraBorg. Basically longer and / or thinner wires make it harder for the supply to provide the power required.

It is hard to make a specific suggestion without knowing more about the supply and how it is connected. As a general suggestion you may get better results if you replace the 3-pin cable which connects the 5V and GND pins with a shorter cable, reducing the amount of wire between the Pi and the supply.

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