BMX160 powering down by GPIO

[timmbo]

Dear all,

I'm currently powering a BMX160 by a GPIO of an ESP32. I2C is used for communication. That works fine, but when I turn off VDD + VDDIO the device stays powered on due to the I2C pull-ups. It completely powers down (no measurable power consumption) when I only remove VDD, but keep VDDIO at +3.3V.

Will this kind of power down (VDD off, but VDDIO on) harm the component? Is this the proper way to power the BMX160 completely down?

Thanks in advance,

Timm

[Vincent]

Keep VDDIO high then put VDD to low is a good way to fully turn off the sensor. 

And since the IO pad is connect to system, and sytem is still working,  it is more preferred from our side to do so. 

Otherwise, if IO pad is high while VDDIO is low,  there will be risk to damage the sensor. 

[timmbo]

Hi Vincent,

thanks a lot for the quick answer. Does this recommendation also apply to the BME680 and BMA400? Will the I2C bus still be operational for other sensors if VDD is low (means I2C lines of the Bosch sensor are not pulled to GND)?

Thanks in advance,

Timm

[Vincent · Accepted solution]

IF your GPIO have enough driving power,  it should be also apply to BME680 and BMA400.

Keep VDDIO to high and VDD to low,  the bus will not pull to low by sensor. Only risk in this setup is the leakage current which you need to test on your own board.