While Loop Not Working - - Please Help

Using Arduino Programming Questions
#1

Can someone please tell me why my while loop isn’t working in this function?

const int ledPin = 13;
const int targetRelay = A0;
const int vibrationSensorPin = A6;

int threshold = 50;
int startTime = 0;
int settleTime = 2500;
int sensorReading = 0;

void feelProgram()
{
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
digitalWrite(targetRelay, HIGH);
while (startTime != settleTime)
{
delayMicroseconds(1000);
settleTime–;
if (startTime == settleTime)
{
break;
}
}
int sensorReading = analogRead(vibrationSensorPin);
if (sensorReading <= threshold)
{
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(targetRelay, LOW);
Serial.println(sensorReading);
sensorReading = 0;
regDelay(2500);
settleTime = 2500;
}
}

#2

What do you mean by "isn't working". Is it not delaying at all or is it not breaking out and delaying forever? What's supposed to happen? What's actually happening? How does this fit into the rest of the code?

#3 
 while (startTime != settleTime)
    {
    delayMicroseconds(1000); 
    settleTime--;
    if (startTime == settleTime)
      {
      break;
      }
    }

Couldn’t this just be

delay(settleTime);
#4

I agree with @Delta_G

As a programming exercise I would like make some comments on this bit

while (startTime != settleTime) // this would be better as while(starteTime > settleTime)
    {
    delayMicroseconds(1000);
    settleTime--;
    if (startTime == settleTime) // this IF is quite unnecessary. The WHILE clause will make this happen
      {
      break;
      }
    }

...R

#5

Ah, sorry. I meant that it's skipping over my while loop and performing like it's not even there. I'm trying to set up a countdown timer to decrement and the code after is only allowed to execute when the while loop timer is expired.

#6

Ok,so why not just use delay(settleTime) It would do the exact same thing as this code.

I have a feeling that your problem lies somewhere else in the code you're not showing. There's nothing obviously wrong with that while loop. Post the rest of the code. Use code tags this time so it can be easily read and copied.

#7