[SOLVED] PIC18F96J60 Target device ID (00000000).

[Pheetuz]

Good evening folks.

I have been starting work on a project using the microchip wifi modules along with a PIC18F96J60 as used on the PICDEM2.net demo board.
I have put together a circuit based loosely on the PICDEM2.net design and had it manufactured, I then only populated the microcontroller and associated circuitry such as the 10MHz crystal and associated capacitors and resistors. Please see the attached image to see what I have populated.




The power supplied to the circuit is at 3V3 and is working OK, the problem I am having is that when I connect the ICD3 to the circuit and MPLab tries to connect to the device I get the error message:

Target Detected
ICD3Err0086: Target Device ID (00000000) does not match
expected Device ID (00001fa0). If you experience persistent
problems communicating, the ICD 3 test interface can be
used to help diagnose the problem.

I cannot think what could be causing the error, I have tried shortening the paths from the ICD3 to the pins and also buzzed through from the pins to the RJ11 connector to see if that was the problem (I know the schematic does not show MCLR being connected to the RJ11 connector but I have manually put this in now), all to no avail.

I managed to find a few minutes at work the other day to stick a scope on the crystal to find that there is no clock signal to speak of, now I know that this is a problem in itself but as I understand it the device can still be programmed without the use of the crystal oscillator, just not debugged?

If anyone can think of anything that I am missing then it would be much appreciated! I have a feeling it is going to be something simple and I am going to kick myself when I figure it out!

I have checked and double checked and triple checked my connections from the ICD to the PIC are correct!

Many thanks,

Pheetuz.

 

[Pheetuz]

Also, it is worth me pointing out that the ICD is working correctly because it can program and debug my PICDEM2.net board without issues!

 

[keith1200rs]

That error is common when the connections are incorrect. Probe the pins from your ICD to make sure you are certain which is GND and VCC (and hence the rest of the pins) and then check they flow through to the right pins. It is possible there is a pin number reversal going from one connector to another. Turning on the power so the ICD provides 3.3V can help trace it through.

Otherwise, try to monitor the MCLR, PGC, PGD lines with an oscilloscope when you try to program. I particular, MCLR.

Keith

 

[Pheetuz]

Thanks for the info Keith.
I figured out what was wrong, thought I would update the post so hopefully no one else will trip over the same problem.
The PIC18FxxJxx range operate on a 2.5V core that can either run from an external 2.5V supply or off of an internal regulator, which is used is selected by the user through the use of the ENVREG pin and the VDDCORE pin, I had just left them both floating which mean that the core of my PIC was had no power being supplied to it, added a few bits of wire and its now working properly!
Moral of the story? Always read the datasheet!

Pheetuz.

 

[keith1200rs]

I am glad you have sorted it. I am familiar with the internal regulator on the PIC24/PIC32 but didn't realise they had them on the PIC18. It is always worth looking for the 'getting started' section of the PIC datasheets where it shows the minimum connections (including decoupling) to make it work. Also, be careful if you migrate to a different device - I have moved from one device to another and noticed (luckily) that the function of the regulator pin changed from a pin requiring power to a pin requiring a decoupling capacitor where power must not be applied.

Keith