I have to reset arduino after I power it on to get the sketch to run

Projects Programming
1

Every time i power on my arduino (usb or external) i have to press the reset button to get the sketch to run properly. When it first powers on there is a blinking curson on the lcd in the 13,3 position (the lcd is a 20x4) How can I fix this so I don't have to hit reset every time I power it on. Eventually I will have all of this mounted so the arduino is hidden. And i'd prefer not to make an external reset.
Thanks in advance.
JT

#include <Wire.h>
#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h>
#include <Keypad.h>

//constants for Control Pin

int controlPin = 12;
char currentTimeValue[4];
int currentState = 1;
int timerSeconds = 0;
int lpcnt = 0;

//define the keypad
const byte rows = 4;
const byte cols = 4;
char keys[rows][cols] = {

 {'1','2','3','A'},
 {'4','5','6','B'},
 {'7','8','9','C'},
 {'*','0','#','D'}
};

byte rowPins[rows] = {11,10,9,8};
byte colPins[cols] = {7,6,5,4};
Keypad keypad = Keypad(makeKeymap(keys), rowPins, colPins, rows, cols);
LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(0x3F,20,4); // set the LCD address to 0x27 for a 16 chars and 2 line 
//display

void setup()
{
 lcd.init(); // initialize the lcd

 // Print a message to the LCD.
 lcd.backlight();

 //display main screen
 displayCodeEntryScreen();

 //setup and turn off relay
 pinMode(controlPin, OUTPUT);
 digitalWrite(controlPin, LOW);
 
 //setup default time to 00:00
 currentTimeValue[0]='0';
 currentTimeValue[1]='0';
 currentTimeValue[2]='0';
 currentTimeValue[3]='0';
 showEnteredTime();
}

void loop()
{
 int l;
 char tempVal[3];
 char key = keypad.getKey();

 //key pressed and state is 1
 if (int(key) != 0 and currentState == 1) {

 switch (key) {
 case '*':
 relayStatus(false);
 currentTimeValue[0]='0';
 currentTimeValue[1]='0';
 currentTimeValue[2]='0';
 currentTimeValue[3]='0';
 showEnteredTime();
 currentState = 1;

 lpcnt = 0;
 timerSeconds = 0;
 break;

 case '#':
 tempVal[0] = currentTimeValue[0];
 tempVal[1] = currentTimeValue[1];
 tempVal[2] = 0;

 timerSeconds = atol(tempVal) * 60;

 tempVal[0] = currentTimeValue[2];
 tempVal[1] = currentTimeValue[3];
 tempVal[2] = 0;

 timerSeconds = timerSeconds + atol(tempVal);
 currentState = 2;
 break;

 default:
 currentTimeValue[0] = currentTimeValue[1];
 currentTimeValue[1] = currentTimeValue[2];
 currentTimeValue[2] = currentTimeValue[3];
 currentTimeValue[3] = key;
 showEnteredTime();
 break;
 }
 }

 if (currentState == 2) {
 if (int(key) != 0) {
 if (key == '*') {
 relayStatus(false);
 displayCodeEntryScreen();
 currentTimeValue[0]='0';
 currentTimeValue[1]='0';
 currentTimeValue[2]='0';
 currentTimeValue[3]='0';
 showEnteredTime();
 currentState = 1;
 lpcnt = 0;
 timerSeconds = 0;
 }
 } else {

 if (lpcnt > 9) {
 lpcnt = 0;
 --timerSeconds;
 showCountdown();

 if (timerSeconds <= 0) {
 currentState = 1;
 relayStatus(false);
 displayCodeEntryScreen();
 showEnteredTime();
 } else {
 relayStatus(true);
 }
 }

 ++lpcnt;
 delay(100);
 }
 }
}

void showEnteredTime()
{
 lcd.setCursor(8,3);
 lcd.print(currentTimeValue[0]);
 lcd.print(currentTimeValue[1]);
 lcd.print(":");
 lcd.print(currentTimeValue[2]);
 lcd.print(currentTimeValue[3]);
}
void relayStatus(bool state)
{
 if (state)
 digitalWrite(controlPin, HIGH);
 else
 digitalWrite(controlPin, LOW);
}
void showCountdown()
{
 char timest[6];\

 lcd.setCursor(0,0);
 lcd.print("   BURNING SCREEN   ");
 lcd.setCursor(0,1);
 lcd.print("                    ");
 lcd.setCursor(8,2);
 lcd.print("                    ");
 sprintf(timest, "%d:%.2d", (timerSeconds/60), (timerSeconds - ((timerSeconds/60)*60)));
 lcd.print(timest);
 lcd.print("   ");
 
}

void displayCodeEntryScreen()
{
 clearScreen();
 lcd.setCursor(0,0);
 lcd.print("     ENTER TIME     ");
}

void clearScreen()
{
 lcd.setCursor(0,0);
 lcd.print("                   ");
 lcd.setCursor(0,1);
 lcd.print("                   ");
 lcd.setCursor(0,2);
 lcd.print("                   ");
 lcd.setCursor(0,3);
 lcd.print("                   ");
}
2

As an experiment try adding a delay(1000); both before and after your lcd.init(); // initialize the lcd statement in your setup function. I've read that LCD can take a lot of time to initilize and can lock thing up if you don't let it complete.

3

retrolefty:
As an experiment try adding a delay(1000); both before and after your lcd.init(); // initialize the lcd statement in your setup function. I've read that LCD can take a lot of time to initilize and can lock thing up if you don't let it complete.

Good idea but no luck.
Thanks anyway.

4

How old is your arduino, and what kind is it? (Uno, Micro, Leonardo, etc...)

5

westfw:
How old is your arduino, and what kind is it? (Uno, Micro, Leonardo, etc...)

It's new and it's an uno r3

6

I don't have your hardware so I can't try your code.

I suggest taking stuff out of the code until the problem goes away and then adding it back in small pieces.

...R