MM9k Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting hints for Mega Menorah 9000.

A work in progress.

Not getting power

A simple test for power and basic operation is that when you press the "Night" button, LED D3 should light up.

If it does not:

• Check that D3 is oriented correctly: The "round" side of the ring around its base faces towards the letters D3, the "flat" facet faces away.
• Check that all five center pins of the USB connector are soldered, and that the solder does not bridge between the pins
• Check that the microcontroller is in the correct orientation, with its little dot facing towards the little dot on the circuit board.

Getting power, but not lighting top LEDs

• Checking resistor R3 (color code and soldering).
• Check soldering at connector J1, and on the 3-pin jack of the display board.
• Check the display board, and in particular the edge trace on the back side, leading from the 3-pin connector to the rightmost (from the rear) LED. Check for any damage to the circuit board that seemingly affects that trace.
• Check soldering of top LEDs. Sometimes, a pin can look soldered, but is only held on by clear solder flux (resin).

Demo mode

Hold down the Night button at reset to enter demo mode animation. That can be when you first plug in the menorah, or when you press the reset button.

Programming

Hold the Color button at reset to enter programming mode. That can be when you first plug in the menorah, or when you press the reset button. LED D3 will pulse when in programming mode. You can only enter programming mode when the USB port is plugged into a computer, not just a USB charger or power supply.

Flash at turn on

To minimize bright flashes when you first plug in the menorah, put it to sleep fully before unplugging it.

Sleep mode

Hold the Night button to put the menorah to sleep. Press Night again to wake it.

The button to be held for about one second to begin entering sleep mode, but will wake up again automatically if you hold the button too long. If you have trouble getting the menorah into sleep mode, try releasing your finger as soon as you see the lights begin to dim.