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Trying to power on my first raspberry pi (pi 2 model v V1.1). The ACT led is solid green but the RED led does not light up and nothing on HDMI display.

Here is what I tried so far, 1. Source of power is the Apple 10W wall adapter (tried an alternative one too). Both read +5V using a multimeter. 2. The micro USB cable seems to be thick enough. Tried the branded ones from Samsung & Blackberry. 3. Tried powering directly via GPIO pins (2 & 6) 4. Tried with/without/replacement SD card (Sandisk Class 10 16GB)

I've measured the following, 1. Voltage between pin PP2 and ground (+5.01 volts) 2. Voltage, when not powered by GPIO pins, between PIN 2 & ground (+4.92 volts) 3. Voltage, when not powered by GPIO pins, between PIN 1 & ground (+3.33 volts) 4. Voltage, when not powered by GPIO pins, between PP10 and ground (+3.33 volts) 5. Current, when connected via GPIO pins, starts at 0.84 amps and then drops to 0.6-0.7 amps

With my ear held close to the Pi 2, I can hear a faint and fast ticking noise when the power is switched on. Also, the board gets warm after being on for a while. However, no RED led and nothing on the HDMI display.

I can return it, of course, but would love it if there is a way to avoid the process. Any ideas?

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    That sounds terminal. It should not have got through factory tests in that state. The only thing I would try is connecting a serial cable to see if it boots up, but that is a purely academic exercise. It needs returning.
    – joan
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 11:21
  • I agree with joan. No red light but a green light is at least a little bit broken. If you plug it in with no SD card, a normal Pi 2 will have both lights on steady.
    – goldilocks ♦
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 12:05
  • ok, thanks for the comments. Don't have access to a USB->serial cable right now (bit busy to rig one up). Looks like returning is the only option.
    – Vijay Seshan
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 12:12

1 Answer 1

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Ticking noise is a sure symptom of damaged electronics (1, 2, 3). It appears when a faulty IC component goes into breakdown, discharges adjacent capacitors and recovers. Capacitors charge again up to breakdown voltage and the cycle repeats.

Your RPi needs to be replaced. When you get a replacement, make sure there's no static electricity on your hands when you touch the board. ESD may well be the root cause of the damage.

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