Node MCU not functioning correctly

Question

i have a node mcu and i uploaded one example code to test it for rf signal decoding it worked. so after that i have written a code based on that and when i uploaded the code my node MCU suddenly isn't working as it should be. It is giving out some random things onto the serial monitor like this:

⸮L⸮⸮⸮ՋR(⸮⸮^⸮̓#⸮⸮;'⸮⸮(Zs"⸮⸮Z|⸮⸮⸮'⸮⸮⸮'⸮⸮⸮!#⸮⸮⸮G⸮⸮⸮⸮⸮h⸮y⸮⸮⸮⸮'⸮⸮LD⸮⸮J⸮*J⸮⸮⸮⸮⸮⸮⸮LD⸮⸮⸮⸮F(⸮y⸮⸮؁'1⸮L⸮⸮⸮

THE CODE:

#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include <BlynkSimpleEsp8266.h>
#include <RCSwitch.h>
BlynkTimer clocktime;


#define relayfan 5
#define relaylight 6
#define relaylightb 7
#define relayrandom 2

#define VPIN_BUTTON_1    V12
#define VPIN_BUTTON_2    V13
#define VPIN_BUTTON_3    V14
#define VPIN_BUTTON_4    V15

RCSwitch mySwitch = RCSwitch();

int relayfanstate = HIGH;
int relaylightstate = HIGH;
int relaylightbstate = HIGH;
int relayrandomstate = HIGH;
int mainstate = HIGH;
long code;


char auth[] = "rJUG7fhgXk9Y7OlowTontA1C2irfpgs2";

const char *ssid =  "Nag";    
const char *pass =  "87654321";

BLYNK_CONNECTED()
{
  Serial.println("blynk connected first function");
  Blynk.syncVirtual(VPIN_BUTTON_1);
  Blynk.syncVirtual(VPIN_BUTTON_2);
  Blynk.syncVirtual(VPIN_BUTTON_3);
  Blynk.syncVirtual(VPIN_BUTTON_4);
}

BLYNK_WRITE(VPIN_BUTTON_1)
{
  Serial.println("blynk write");
  relayfanstate = param.asInt();
  digitalWrite(relayfan, relayfanstate);
}

BLYNK_WRITE(VPIN_BUTTON_2)
{
  Serial.println("blynk write");
  relaylightstate = param.asInt();
  digitalWrite(relaylight, relaylightstate);
}

BLYNK_WRITE(VPIN_BUTTON_3)
{
  Serial.println("blynk write");
  relaylightbstate = param.asInt();
  digitalWrite(relaylightb, relaylightbstate);
}

BLYNK_WRITE(VPIN_BUTTON_4)
{
  Serial.println("blynk write");
  relayrandomstate = param.asInt();
  digitalWrite(relayrandom, relayrandomstate);
}


void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);
  mySwitch.enableReceive(0);
  pinMode(relayfan, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(relaylight, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(relaylightb, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(relayrandom, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(relayfan, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(relaylight, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(relaylightb, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(relayrandom, HIGH);
  Serial.println("Start");
  WiFi.begin(ssid, pass);
  Serial.println("wifi config done");
  Blynk.config(auth);//, ssid, pass);
  Serial.println("Blynk config done");
}


void loop()
{

  if (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED)
  {
    Serial.println("Not Connected");
    Serial.println("Without internet rf code recieving started");
    delay(500);
    if (mySwitch.available())
    {
      Serial.println("Switch available");
      code = mySwitch.getReceivedValue();
      if (mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594433)
      {
        Serial.println("code matched without internet");
        mainstate = !mainstate;
        digitalWrite(relayfan, mainstate);
        digitalWrite(relaylight, mainstate);
        digitalWrite(relaylightb, mainstate);
        digitalWrite(relayrandom, mainstate);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594447)
      {
        digitalWrite(relayfan, LOW);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594445)
      {
        digitalWrite(relayfan, HIGH);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594436)
      {
        relaylightstate = !relaylightstate;
        digitalWrite(relaylight, relaylightstate);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594437)
      {
        relaylightbstate = !relaylightbstate;
        digitalWrite(relaylightb, relaylightbstate);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594439)
      {
        relayrandomstate = !relayrandomstate;
        digitalWrite(relayrandom, relayrandomstate);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
    }
  }
  else
  {
    Serial.println(" Connected");
    Blynk.run();
    with_internet();
  }
  clocktime.run();
}

void with_internet()
{
  Serial.println("With internet rf code recieving started");
  delay(500);
  if (mySwitch.available())
  {
    Serial.println("Switch available");
    code = mySwitch.getReceivedValue();
    if (mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594433)
      {
        Serial.println("code matched without internet");
        mainstate = !mainstate;
        digitalWrite(relayfan, mainstate);
        digitalWrite(relaylight, mainstate);
        digitalWrite(relaylightb, mainstate);
        digitalWrite(relayrandom, mainstate);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_1, mainstate);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_2, mainstate);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_3, mainstate);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_4, mainstate);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594447)
      {
        digitalWrite(relayfan, LOW);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_1, LOW);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594445)
      {
        digitalWrite(relayfan, HIGH);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_1, HIGH);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594436)
      {
        relaylightstate = !relaylightstate;
        digitalWrite(relaylight, relaylightstate);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_2, relaylightstate);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594437)
      {
        relaylightbstate = !relaylightbstate;
        digitalWrite(relaylightb, relaylightbstate);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_3, relaylightbstate);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
      else if(mySwitch.getReceivedValue() == 8594439)
      {
        relayrandomstate = !relayrandomstate;
        digitalWrite(relayrandom, relayrandomstate);
        Blynk.virtualWrite(VPIN_BUTTON_4, relayrandomstate);
        delay(1000);
        mySwitch.resetAvailable();
      }
  }
}

can anyone tell me what is wrong with my code or my nodemcu module? Is it because i uploaded two codes one after the other and messed up the module?

Answer 1

Can anyone just try to upload this code to their node MCU with changing the WiFi credentials and the blynk Auth token to one of your own project by following the blynk guide and check if it is connecting to blynk and it's only a problem with my module or there is some problem in my code

This might be necessary to see more problems. But it isn't necessary to see at least one important one. Here's what I cut your code down to:

#define relayfan 5
#define relaylight 6
#define relaylightb 7
#define relayrandom 2

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(relayfan, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(relaylight, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(relaylightb, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(relayrandom, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(relayfan, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(relaylight, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(relaylightb, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(relayrandom, HIGH);
  Serial.println("Start");
}


void loop() {
  Serial.println("loop()");
}

So, you have:

#define relaylight 6

One thing to make clear about here is that this is GPIO6, and not D6, which would be mapped to GPIO12, which would make more sense. GPIO6 is actually used internally to the ESP8266 module to access the SPI flash chip that stores your code. Basically when you do this:

pinMode(relaylightb /* GPIO6 */, OUTPUT);

you're kind of ripping the rug out from underneath the the microcontroller inside the ESP8266 module. It's a bit like reaching into a computer and pulling out harddrive while it's running. It's trying to load code and data from the SPI flash, but you've reconfigured that pin.

The ESP8266 brings code from SPI flash into some smaller chunk of internal RAM that it executes the instructions from. So, I suppose it might be possible to get in the situation where you're continuing to run cached instructions while trying and failing to load data from the spi flash, which maybe could explain part of why the problem manifests the way it does for you.

In case you're wondering, it is possible to get the microchip used in the ESP8266 to load code from sources other than SPI flash, in which case GPIO6 might actually be available for your own general purposes, but not with the way most of modules are set up and used. If you look at the pinout for the common ESP8266 modules, the smaller board mounted to your NodeMCU board, you'll notice GPIO6 doesn't actually leave the module; it just goes from the microcontroller to the SPI flash chip, which is all hidden away under the RF shield on the NodeMCU.

There may be other problems here with pin selection. E.g., GPIO7 is not mentioned in the pin mapping, nor does it seem to leave common modules, so #define relaylightb 7 is a bad sign. Have a look through this guide with regard what you can do with each pin and what sort of behaviours they have at boot. E.g. GPIO2 (your relayrandom) is "pin is high on BOOT, boot failure if pulled LOW" according to the guide. So perhaps it will pulse your relay which you might not like. And it may be that whatever circuit you have for the relay tugs GPIO2 toward LOW, which would also be bad. Do keep in mind that the D# labeling is different from the GPIO# labeling.

---

I just checked GPIO7 (randomlightb), and like GPIO6 (randomlight), it was sufficient to execute pinMode with OUTPUT on it cause a reset.