Affected by electrical noise pollution

Several months ago I described a problem with transients affecting the PIR motion detection circuit. A 0.01uF monolithic capacitor was eventually installed at GP3 of the PIC 10F202 MCU. This markedly reduced false triggering of the circuit.

Recently, a newly repaired 2x40W fluorescent lamp which is within a meter or two of the PIR circuit has been causing the MCU to reset (program counter PC is zeroed) almost every time it is switched on, but not when turned off. I speculated that the transients produced by the fluorescent's starting circuit (starter and ballast) might be tripping the MCLR (GP3) pin, causing the resets.

To check whether the MCLR pin was experiencing any abnormal voltages, that pin was monitored using a Fluke 87V set to measure VDC with Min-Max turned on and set to Peak detect (250µsec response time). The fluoro lamps were switched on and off several times. Results showed that the voltage at GP3 was within normal range of zero to 3.3V.

I then rechecked the 5VDC power supply (which was already checked months back and showed no problem). With the same meter and settings the voltage at the power supply pin of the MCU was monitored. Voltage was within normal range.

Voltage at GP2--which is connected to the mode switch--was then checked. It measured a peak maximum 1.243V and peak minimum of -0.030V. The expected value is zero volts with mode switch at its default auto position. Apparently, transients were affecting this pin. Any appreciable length of conductor (more than 5cm) has the potential of capturing and conducting EMI. And the two-wire #22 SPT fixture cable going from the circuit board to the mode switch is around a meter long. So this could explain the nonzero voltage measured at GP2. To try and address this, a 0.1uF monolithic capacitor was installed from GP2 to ground. The lamps were then switched on and off several times. The recorded peak max and peak min values were: 0.080V and -0.018V. With the 0.1uF capacitor no further MCU resets were observed.

I'm curious as to the actual peak voltages impressed upon GP2. I have my doubts whether the Fluke 87V is fast enough, even with its stated 250µs response time, to capture the glitches. The 10F202's spec sheet says the I/O pins can withstand a voltage down to -0.3VDC and so the no-capacitor voltage readings of -0.03 to 1.2VDC shouldn't cause any problems. However, according to the spec sheet as well, GP2 is TTL when configured as input, and the undefined range is between 0.8 and 2.0VDC. The measured peak max of 1.24V is right smack in this badland. I might just do another round of tests using a digital oscilloscope and capture the transients. I'm really curious as to their frequency and amplitude.

On the firmware end, since the reset isn't being caused by a MCLR, I'm suspecting a WDT timeout. I will have to pore over the code and figure out how that might occur.