[Help Needed] DFPlayer Mini (MP3-TF-16P) with Arduino Mega 2560 – Playback Not Working or Suddenly Stops

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working on a project using an Arduino Mega 2560 and a DFPlayer Mini (MP3-TF-16P) module to play audio files via button control. However, I'm running into some frustrating issues.

  • Sometimes the DFPlayer doesn't start at all after powering on
  • Other times it doesn’t respond to button presses
  • Occasionally, it starts playing but then stops unexpectedly mid-track

Setup Details:

  • Board: Arduino Mega 2560
  • MP3 Module: DFPlayer Mini (MP3-TF-16P)
  • Power Supply: USB or external 5V (tested both)
  • Buttons: Connected to digital pins with pulldown resistors
  • Communication: SoftwareSerial (Pins 10 as RX, 11 as TX)
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2

Do you have a pen and paper ?

Sketch out an annotated schematic, then take a well lit photo with your phone, and post it here.

3

Have you accounted for the fact that your breadboard has interrupted power rails?

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4

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5

Incorrect, OP does have it correctly wired. He could add a 47uf cap across the 3.3vcc and gnd. Also what are the resistor values going to the tx and rx pins? They should be about 1kohm

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6

See next post. Not incorrect. Official document. I see the USB+/-. Is that power not data?

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7

That pin you have circled would appear to be IO_1, not VCC.

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8

I now see it. Thank you.

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9

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, went "d'oh!" more times than I can count. :slight_smile:

10

The picture is a little too blurry but it looks like the op is using 10k resistors. 10k is too much, from my testing, it should be between 800 to 1200 ohms.

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11

+1
(Not even sure it's 10k; looks more like 11k!)

@1hp_student

Please check that before before we go any further. And reply to post #3.

BTW, you only need a single 1k resistor, the one to the player's RX pin (2). And try reducing the length of its wire.

We're now waiting to see your sketch, with properly formated code please.

EDIT: Is that your own circuit or another's? As your RX/TX are 10/11 it appears you're using Software Serial. That's common on a Uno, Nano, etc, but on a Mega it's recommended to use one of the three more reliable hardware serial pin pairs. Hence my question. If you do have a Uno or Nano, try that instead.

EDIT2: Hmm, I see from your photo that you are also using a pair of the HW serial pins...?