MPU6050 with ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1

Wiring for the MPU6050 (GY-521) accelerometer + gyro on the ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1 (ESP32-C3, 3.3 V logic), chosen with the same pin rules BoardPilot uses: default buses first, and no pins that are used for flash, USB, the debugger or booting.

Wiring

Check before you power it on

• Supply: 3.3 V from the 3V3 pin.
• I2C can use almost any pins on the ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1; 8 (SDA) and 9 (SCL) are the defaults. If the part is not found, the wires may be crossed: try Wire.begin with the two exchanged.
• To make sure it is the real chip, read register 0x75: a genuine part answers 0x68.

Good to know

• The address is 0x68, or 0x69 when AD0 is HIGH. (InvenSense MPU-6000/MPU-6050 Product Specification, I²C interface: slave address)
• It starts in sleep mode and reads zeros until PWR_MGMT_1 (0x6B) is cleared. Libraries do this in begin(); your own code must too. (InvenSense MPU-6000/MPU-6050 Register Map, Register 107, Power Management 1 (reset value 0x40, sleep))

Test code (Arduino)

#include <Wire.h>

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Wire.begin(8, 9);  // SDA = 8, SCL = 9
  Wire.beginTransmission(0x68);
  bool found = Wire.endTransmission() == 0;
  Serial.println(found ? "MPU6050 (GY-521) accelerometer + gyro found at 0x68" : "Not found: check power, GND and SDA/SCL");
}

void loop() {}

Arduino board: esp32:esp32:esp32c3. If uploading does not start, hold BOOT, press and release RST, then release BOOT.

Questions

Which ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1 pins do I use for the MPU6050?

VCC → 3V3, GND → GND, SCL → 9, SDA → 8, INT → 10.

Does the MPU6050 work with the ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1 at 3.3 V?

Yes: the MPU6050 runs at 3.3-5 V and the ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1 uses 3.3 V signals, so no level shifting is needed.

What is the I2C address of the MPU6050?

0x68 or 0x69. An I2C scan (BoardPilot does it for you) shows which one your module uses.

Full ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1 pinout · MPU6050 (GY-521) accelerometer + gyro: all pins and data

The MPU6050 on other boards

ESP32 DevKit Arduino Mega 2560 R3 Arduino Nano Arduino Uno R3 WeAct Black Pill STM32F411CE ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 Nordic nRF52840 DK NUCLEO-F401RE Raspberry Pi Pico 2 Raspberry Pi Pico W Raspberry Pi Pico Teensy 4.1

Other parts on the ESP32-C3-DevKitM-1

BME280 BMP280 DHT22 DHT11 HC-SR04 SSD1306 OLED DS18B20 WS2812B LED strip SG90 servo Relay module HC-SR501 PIR LCD 1602 I2C INA219 VL53L0X BH1750 MAX30102 RC522 RFID NEO-6M GPS Capacitive soil moisture sensor ADS1115 TM1637 28BYJ-48 stepper L298N Potentiometer Push button LED Joystick module SD card module AHT20

Learn the basics

Lesson: UART, I2C and SPI Lesson: Timers and interrupts I2C I2C address SDA and SCL Pull-up resistor Interrupt