LIS3MDL not detected using Raspberry Pi 3

Hi,

I want to use LIS3MDL in I2C mode. Changing VIN to VDD (using RPi3’s 3.3V pin) also don’t allow it to be detected. Could I have broken the board in the process of soldering? I used two different sensors to test but both would not show up with sudo i2cdetect -y 1.

The second and third pictures are the first board that I tested and the fourth picture is the second board that I tested.

Thanks for the help.

Hello.

Unfortunately, the soldering on those boards definitely seems problematic. In your second and third pictures it is hard to see how well the solder joints are wetted to the pads, but it definitely looks like you applied too much heat in some areas causing discoloration. It is possible that might have damaged the board.

As for the board in your last picture, it appears that most of the solder joints are not fully wetted to the pads, so I do not expect those to be good connections. The Adafruit Guide to Excellent Soldering might be a useful reference for correcting that.

Also, that seems like an unusual way to be using a right angle header; is there a specific reason you are trying to solder it like that? I suspect it would be easier for you to solder a straight header instead, which should have also been included and would still allow you to connect your jumper wires the same way.

If you fix your solder connections and the board is still not working, can you post some updated pictures? Could you list what Raspberry Pi pin is connected to each pin on the LIS3MDL?

- Patrick