Electronic – arduino – 16×2 LCD display not working with arduino or RaspPi

arduinolcd

I have a 16×2 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

Best Answer

You're reading the pins upside down.

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