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Solved Printer Shutting off.

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Gage, Jan 19, 2020.

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  1. Gage

    Gage Member

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    So I've had my printer for several years, worked great and has been an absolute work horse. But after many years something finally gave way. The stepper for the extruder was cogging. First thought was a jam, but it was clean and clear. Ran through a few troubleshooting things and found the motor had seemed to give out. New stepper everything SEEMED to be okay. Ran a few small test prints, all was good. Calibration cube and got everything calibrated and locked in.
    Now the problems started, new stepper started to skip from time to time. Printer began shutting off, giving me the error message that the temp dropped too low and extruder was shut off.
    I put in a new heater core, as it was old as well and could have gone bad. Happened again.
    Thought the garage was maybe just too cold so I moved the printer inside. Same error, during first layer of the print.
    I've looked into a few options, and was wondering if this could be an issue with the RAMPS or a Power supply issue.
    I've turned here in the past and got my issue resolved within 24 hours. So I'm hoping someone can help me out again.
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  3. Gage

    Gage Member

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    Thanks, I guess I should have posted that I am using the 40w heater core since i have the dual fan upgrade.
     
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  4. Gage

    Gage Member

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    So reading through that, I guess replacing the thermistor should be my next check before getting into it being any of the boards.
    Guess when I look back on it, the thermistor currently on my machine is about 6 years old.
     
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It could just be loose if it is the old glass bead style -- the newer canister style pretty much can't get loose so in that case it is a bad thermistor. They are cheap though so replacing them is almost as easy as making sure they are tight :) I'd say get at least two in case you have an accident and also a spare would be handy.
     
  6. Gage

    Gage Member

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    I have a spare glass bead style. I will order a couple can style ones. Know I'll need to update the firmware in doing so. But if I remember correctly it's not difficult. And they are much easier to install than the bead.
     
  7. Gage

    Gage Member

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    Well.changed the thermistor. Not sure if that was the problem, but I'm going to guess that the lights of the printer and it suddenly stopping motion is a fair indicator that it is the power supply.
     
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    If the lights are going off then I agree, more so if the fan on the power supply or the one under the bottom of the printer is cutting off.
     
  9. Gage

    Gage Member

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    Not sure about that. I was just sitting here watching it print, was on the first layer. Everything seemed to be working smoothly. The extruder motor clogged once, the lights went out. Everything stopped for half a second. Powered back up with no lights on and nothing moving. Just the whir of the extruder fan and hum of the steppers not knowing what to do.
     
  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    If the Arduino reboots it will loose the print in progress and stop. That sounds like the power supply more than the electronics.
     
  11. Gage

    Gage Member

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    Well I just ordered a new one. I will post an update once it arrives and I can install it.
    Thanks for the help in narrowing it down though, especially the quick responses!
     
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  12. Gage

    Gage Member

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    Back again, new power supply installed.
    Got to around the same portion of the print and noticed the lights flickering slightly before everything shut down again.
     
  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Then you really need to try an capture the GCode terminal for any errors. The lights (LED strips) flickering is not abnormal (they are cheap China made strips) but if it is disconnecting then something else is bad. Honestly I'd still blame the thermistor and it is probably shutdown by the firmware on the MINTEMP or MAXTEMP error because the thermistor is reading shorted or open circuit. Do you have the canister style thermistor (R1+) or the glass bead style (R1/Beta)?
     
  14. Gage

    Gage Member

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    Believe I found the culprit.
    I noticed a feint ozone scent this time.
    Looked at the RAMPS board.
    The plug of the ribbon cable to the bed heater is charred.
     

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  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  16. Gage

    Gage Member

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    I thought this was an R1+, but it has always had a glass bead thermistor.
    Anything else I can do to make sure I have what I think I have?
     
  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Take a picture of the threaded rods where they go through the bed and upload it. If it has couplers above the bed then it is an R1 or a beta. If the threaded rods go directly through the bed then it is an R1+
     
  18. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    R1+ goes through bed like this:
    R1+ leadscrew.jpg

    No coupler.
     
  19. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    R1 has coupler:

    R1 coupler.jpg

    sorry that pic is a bit small, but all I have on hand :)
     
  20. Gage

    Gage Member

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    20200123_174224.jpg So I'm guessing an R1+ just have a bead thermistor for some reason.
     
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