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I'm not sure whether I've seen mention of this here before or not.

Anyway, I have a B+ with max_usb_current=1 enabled so I can run an external USB drive off it. There's never been a problem with this, but usually the pi is plugged into a dedicated 2+ amp adapter.

Just now I had it instead running off a 3.8 A powered hub, which I think is unregulated. Anyway, I plugged in the HD and suddenly the red PWR led started blinking steadily, about 1 Hz.

The pi itself remained operating and responsive and the blinking stopped when I unplugged the HD. I shut the pi down, plugged it in with a dedicated adapter, and put the HD back in, everything is fine.

Is this a documented/recognized feature of the (some of the) newer (+ and beyond) models?

goldilocks
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    I have seen the same behavior with model 2's – Steve Robillard Apr 10 '16 at 18:32
  • I experienced something similar with my Pi3. I expected to have no problems with a 2A supply, but tracked it down to the cable. There doesn't seem to be any supply of good microUSB cables so I made my own. Incidentally the APX803 is 4.63±0.07V so even if the LED is on the supply can be below minimum 4.75V. – Milliways Apr 11 '16 at 00:33
  • Actually the "dedicated adapter" is a 2.1 A USB charger using the exact same cable, so in this case I can't blame that; obviously the hub won't put out the ~1 A I'd guess it takes to run the pi with a drive attached. – goldilocks Apr 13 '16 at 11:51

1 Answers1

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It sounds like the power supply is failing to regulate and dropping out momentarily. The answer below seems to describe a similar scenario and the rpi wiki also mentions that the blinking PWR LED indicates an issue with the power supply.

From this question:

I have a Raspberry Pi B+ connected to an external USB disk, a Seagate Portable 1 Tb (no external power source)

...

The red light blinking but everything working fine

The accepted answer by user @tslmy who quotes the wiki at http://elinux.org:

Red power LED is blinking

A blinking red power LED indicates problems with the power supply. On model A and B, it is hard-wired to the 3.3V power supply rail. If it is blinking, as one user has reported1 it means the 5V power supply is dropping out. Use a different power supply.

On model B+ (and presumably also the A+), the circuit has been improved to give a much more reliable warning of poor power quality. The red power LED is wired to an APX803 supervisor[2] which kicks in when the 5V power supply drops below 4.63V[3]. If it does, the LED will blink. Check your connections, cable, and power supply.

From the APX803 supervisor data-sheet:

Microprocessors (μPs) and microcontrollers (μC) have a reset input to ensure that it starts up in a known state. The APX803/D drive the μP’s reset input to prevent code-execution errors during power-up, power-down, or brownout conditions. They assert a reset signal whenever the VCC supply voltage declines below a preset threshold and keep it asserted for a fixed period of time after VCC has risen above the reset threshold

If the data-sheet for the model B+ is correct, the APX803 is hooked up to the red PWR LED as the wiki states. I can't account for the blinking (could it be caused by C6? Is it actually the raw input power drops you're seeing? Is it a feature of the APX803?) but it certainly shows that the APX803 can make or break the ground connection of D1 (red LED) via Q1 (depletion-mode n-channel MOSFET):

Raspberry Pi Model B+ APX803 brown-out detection circuit

Glorfindel
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jDo
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