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Solved Hot end not heating up

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Zachary Sanders, Oct 1, 2017.

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  1. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    I have a ROBO 3D R1+ and have been using it for about a year and a half now, and it has been working great. But now for the past couple of days, the printer will not heat up the nozzle. The heated bed heats up fine, but no heat to the nozzle. I installed a smart controller a couple of weeks ago and it had been working fine up until a couple of days ago. I have tried disconnecting the smart controller and that has not helped. Are there any ideas on how to fix this or am I going to have to buy another hot end?
     
    #1 Zachary Sanders, Oct 1, 2017
  2. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Does the temp read 0° or some outrageously high number when idle?
    Could be just the small cartridge heater or could be the RAMPS board mosfet. either one is relatively inexpensive to fix. Need more info.
     
    #2 WheresWaldo, Oct 2, 2017
    Geof and mark tomlinson like this.
  3. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    The temperature on the hot end says it is at room temperature (17-18C).
     
    #3 Zachary Sanders, Oct 2, 2017
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #4 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  5. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    I actually have an old hot end (one of the screws that hold the assembly broke off inside, but I know the thermistor and the heater core work), I just tested them and the heat does not go up. It stays at 17-18C.
     
    #5 Zachary Sanders, Oct 2, 2017
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Well, that leaves just one culprit* :)







    *technically two, but honestly the Arduino board is seldom the problem. On rare occasions it is at fault.
     
    #6 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  7. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    Well, it's nice to know what the problem might be. What part specifically do I need to replace? @WheresWaldo said it might be a RAMPS board mosfet. Is that a specific part I can replace on the RAMPS board, or will I need to replace the entire board?
     
    #7 Zachary Sanders, Oct 2, 2017
  8. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    You can replace just the MOSFET if you are into soldering, but then... what if something else got taken out as well? I would just replace the RAMPS board. How you do that depends on exactly which printer you have... Do you have an R1+ or is it an earlier one?
     
    #8 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    #9 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  10. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    Unfortunately, it is an R1+... I just ordered a new board. I'll let everyone know if it worked. Thanks for the help! :)
     
    #10 Zachary Sanders, Oct 2, 2017
  11. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Were you able to get an R1+ board from Robo? Just curious. They have been out of stock on them for quite some time.

    A generic RAMPS with the bit of rewiring required is the best way to go. Those are always available somewhere and pretty cheaply.
     
    #11 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  12. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    #12 Zachary Sanders, Oct 2, 2017
  13. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Any RAMPS 1.4 should be fine. They are all the same really ...
    The only problem I have had is that sometimes when I chase the cheapest ones ... they are defective. Last time I swapped a RAMPS I had to buy three to get one that was working :( Fortunately Prime makes returns easy (and free) so it was more of a hassle than anything.

    Those were not three from three from the same vendor either, three totally different sellers. I get why they are that way, at that price it is not like you are getting Cadillac boards :/
     
    #13 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  14. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Make sure when you swap over the Pololu stepper driver boards that you install all of the jumpers under them as well.
    Sometimes the boards come with those jumpers installed and other times.. not.
     
    #14 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  15. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    Thanks for the reminder. I really hope that I do not have to buy several of these boards... So fingers crossed that the one I bought was not a dud!:D

    Also, I have another question, could the smart controller have caused this? Or was this just wear and tear of the board?
     
    #15 Zachary Sanders, Oct 2, 2017
  16. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    You mean the LCD?
    If so, no... that would not directly have been the issue.

    Again the low cost of the boards means that you are not getting high quality and even then ... the high current MOSFET components will eventually die.

    Since 2013 I have replaced 3 RAMPS boards across what is now 5 FDM printers -- the DLP doesn't count although I am using RAMPS on it to :) -- that RAMPS has not died, yet
     
    #16 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It may help to have heat sinks on the MOSFETS, most RAMPS boards don't (some do) and for a while I was adding them. Given the costs of the boards, I don't bother any more.
     
    #17 mark tomlinson, Oct 2, 2017
  18. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    Well, that is a relief... I love using that board!:D

    Also good to know that I might have to replace these boards every now and then.

    I think the guide you linked to earlier said to take the heatsinks off the old ones and place them on the new ones. I'll make sure to do that.

    Thanks again!
     
    #18 Zachary Sanders, Oct 2, 2017
  19. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    the replacement wont have the heatsink but the R1+ board does, just be sure to swap it over. Q3 is the designator in question with the heatsink on it
     
    #19 Geof, Oct 2, 2017
  20. Zachary Sanders

    Zachary Sanders New Member

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    Ok, I just got my new RAMPS board. I started to rewire everything, and I accidentally have the two sets of wires that are for the 5A and 11A+ now completely mixed up. I do not have a multimeter that can handle greater than 10 amps, so I was wondering if anyone knows which of the wires coming off of the power supply are which? Also just making sure, do I cut off the LED and fan headers and place them into the input terminals with the correct polarity?
     
    #20 Zachary Sanders, Oct 4, 2017
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