Solved Extruder Heating Element Loose

Hi! I've had a busy day diagnosing problem after problem. Things started out with my printer stopping mid-print and cooling off. I read through posts and learned about the temperature issue (the m999 line readout). I further diagnosed my problem thinking that it might be the thermistor, but it didn't seem to follow the pattern of the thermistor being bad.

What I've found is that the cylindrical heating element is apparently loose and has worked itself halfway out of the hotend. It's in there juuuuust well enough that it'll heat the hotend up during preheating, but once the fan kicks on, it cools the hotend too much and triggers the error.

So, are there any ideas on how to resecure the heating element back into the little slot? I'm using the stock hexagon hotend that comes with the Robo 3D R1+. Here is some of the additional information asked for in the rule thread above:

Filament type: Red ABS
Extruding Temp: 230C
Bed Temp: 80C
Bed makeup: heated glass bed with hairspray

 

There should be a set screw that holds it in place under the silicone boot.

 

My nozzle never actually had a silicone boot. For some reason when I'd see people talking about them on the forums, I assumed it was something standard with an older model. Until today, though, I've never had a problem like this so I never really put much thought into that.

I've attached some pictures of my hotend . I'm not sure which of those screw holes might be the correct one, but I can say that the cylindrical heating element is very easy to slide in and out even when fully heated.

This is a very new problem, and I'm a little confused as to why it's happening today. I didn't do anything to jostle or bump the printer or the nozzle, so it seems odd that it'd spontaneously loosen. Of course, it does see extreme temperatures fairly often, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that it could have just heated and cooled so often that it finally worked itself loose.

 

Thank you! When I posted those pictures, I thought it was just a pin or a brad, but I got a much closer look at it, and it was a very small hex bolt. I was able to tighten it just enough that now the heating element is firmly back into place.

I appreciate all the help I got here. I know I probably sound like a complete novice, but I didn't want to damage anything more than had already happened. I'm glad it was a very easy fix, and once again thank the great community here at Robo 3D!

 

i think im having same issue glad i had seen this