Troubleshooting PIC18F45J10 Wiring with PICKit2 Programmer

[El Moriana]

Hi,

I am attempting to wire a PIC18F45J10 to my PICKit 2 Programmer and I'm running into difficulties.

My PICKit2 is reporting a VPP and VDD Voltage level error. Troubleshooting it further tells me that I have a VDD short.

I have attached my wiring diagram along with the general wiring guideline that the datasheet provides. I cannot see anything wrong, but then again i am a newbie at this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lewando]

Not a PIC specialist, maybe someone else can add to this...
Anyway, a checklist of sorts:
Do you have the latest PICkit 2 version?
Is the PICkit 2 set up to provide power to your circuit?
Is your circuit exceeding the maximum current that the PICkit 2 can provide (25mA)?
You said you found a short--great! That's probably it then. Did you fix it?
Is the connection between the PICkit 2 and your circuit correct (connector not reversed)?
Just saw this: you have no current limiting resistors in series with your LEDs. Maybe that's not a problem for the PIC, during programming, when the I/O should be in a tri-state mode, but normally you should have some resistor value there--otherwise you operate at the the maximum port current Disconnect the LEDs to simplify the troubleshooting process.
Can you show a screenshot or two of your PICkit 2 setup?

 

[El Moriana]

Thanks for replying.

Going down the list:
I have the latest PICKit 2 version.
It is set up to provide power.
It is not exceeding 25mA. The PICKit 2 can fully support a PIC18F45J10 (according to PICKit 2 documentation and PIC datasheet).
The "VDD Short found" was a message from the PICKit 2 software. I cannot find the short, I have wired my PIC according to what the schematic shows and according to what I know, there shouldn't be a short.. as you say, this is probably the problem. But I can't find it..
The connector is plugged into the header correctly.
Yes I noticed this also, however it isn't an issue at the moment, I have temporarily disconnected the LEDs from the main circuit (including all connecting wires to make sure there wasnt a short there) until I can get the PICKit 2 to successfully pick up my PIC and communicate with it.
I don't have a camera atm, but will post pictures as soon as I am able.

 

[lewando]

Is it possible that the PIC pin 1 is not where it should be (PIC rotated 180)?
Can you power this from an external supply (no PICkit 2 pod attached) to see if the short is real?
Do you have another known good PIC circuit that you can use to verify the wellness of the PICkit 2?