All white screen sanity check

[Jace055]

Hi all,

Minty Pi v3 has all white screen. I get activity on the LED so it’s doing something. Continuity check on all Pi pins test ok and the pads on the display test ok all the way back to the Pi. Tested 2 different SD cards as well. I have no way to tell if any buttons or anything works.

I do notice a brown area on the bottom of the screen.

I have been familiar with a soldering iron and electronics for 25 years. I am missing something easy I can feel it

[ChrisBreaksStuff]

Seems like your screen was not soldered propperly to the PCB and needs some reflowing, this appears to be a common production issue with this badge of screens, check out Helders IG Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu4pEUrF3C5/

There is a tutorial in the post which pins to reflow

[LilTrublMakr]

Yeah, the ribbon needs to be reflowed like stated in the previous post. It isn't hard to do. I HIGHLY recommend getting and using flux if you don't have any. And if it doesn't work from a reflow, try adding a little bit of fresh solder.

One of my screens took a few tries for it to start working properly. Just be patient and take your time.

[Jace055]

Thanks!

I totally missed that. I haven’t been on Instagram in a few days. I had a feeling the problem was back there but I wanted to ask before I dissembled Helder’s magical assembly.

[LilTrublMakr]

Just take your time doing it. I used a very thin guitar pick to separate my screen from the board. You also only need to pry 3 sides (not the side where you can see the ribbon cable on the bottom).

[Jace055]

New problem.

It took a few tries to get it to take but it worked once. Well, 1/2 a time.
I finally got a picture on the screen for the first time. I saw the RetroPi logo and about 1/2 a second of the minty Pi logo then the screen went dark. I waited a few minutes and nothing. I powered down and back up and now the back light doesn't come on anymore.
I didn't move it at all the entire time. I have a switch on my power lead.
I tried to reflow the backlight area of the ribbon and I can't seem to get anything.

Any other ideas I can check?

Edit with pictures:

The area with the smaller ribbon cable seems to be power. My “+” seems to be disconnected. Am I on the right track here or is this an unused pin?

Edit #2

I just noticed the screen is on. The backlight is flickering faintly but no picture comes up. The screen does not start all white. It looks like there is life but just a little.

Edit #3

IT IS WORKING!!! Bad solder joint on the Pi connection. Recheck the simple things people!!