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I have a 16x2 LCD display that I'm just trying to use for the first time. The model number is 1602D1 according to this datasheet from where I purchased it. I first tried attaching it to a Raspberry Pi using Adafruit's tutorial, which had the same pinouts as the LCD display I have. Now I've tried using an Arduino and I get the same results, which are shown in the picture below.

enter image description here

The LCD display never updates when I try to send text to it and only displays the blocks in the bottom row. Adjusting the 10k variable resistor doesn't seem to do anything. When I send data to the LCD, I notice it flickering slightly as if its updating, but no text is displayed. I'm simply using the code from tutorials, nothing special. Any ideas what I am doing wrong? Thanks.

For clarity because the picture might be misleading, here is how I have the pins hooked up:

LCD Pins:

  • LCD 1 - Ground
  • LCD 2 - 5V
  • LCD 3 - 10k Variable resistor middle pin
  • LCD 4 - Arduino 12
  • LCD 5 - Ground
  • LCD 6 - Arduino 11
  • LCD 7 through 10 empty
  • LCD 11 - Arduino 5
  • LCD 12 - Arduino 4
  • LCD 13 - Arduino 3
  • LCD 14 - Arduino 2
  • LCD 15 - 5V
  • LCD 16 - Ground

Variable resistor:

  • Left - 5V
  • Middle pin - LCD pin 3
  • Right - Ground
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  • \$\begingroup\$ Its not entirely clear from your pic, but it looks as though you've got pin 4 of your LCD tied to ground (through the 2 green wires) as well as over to your arduino. \$\endgroup\$
    – brhans
    Mar 18, 2015 at 18:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ No, I have pin 5 tied to ground. Pin 4 goes to arduino pin 12. I'll edit my question to clarify. \$\endgroup\$
    – deltaray
    Mar 18, 2015 at 19:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ That's actually the top row, and the display hasn't been initialized properly. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
    Mar 18, 2015 at 19:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ The LCD by default is in the 8-bit mode. Did you send the proper init sequence to it to use the 4-bit mode? It's probably a matter of calling the right init from the library. \$\endgroup\$
    – Alexxx
    Mar 18, 2015 at 19:35

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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You're reading the pins upside down.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Hey you're right. Doh! It works great now. Good thing I didn't fry anything. I should be more careful next time. \$\endgroup\$
    – deltaray
    Mar 18, 2015 at 19:43

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