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Solved Printer Stops Printing and Lights Turn Off

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by 0ryanx, Jan 21, 2018.

  1. 0ryanx

    0ryanx New Member

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    For the last 3 days, my printer will start printing, then at some random point in the print (mostly near the beginning of the print, sometimes in the middle) the printer will stop dead and the lights will go out. The slicer program still thinks everything is ok (Simplyify3D and Matter Control both continue like it's printing, and Simplify3D's Communication tab still shows a response from the printer that everything is ok), but the lights are off and it is not printing, even though there is a light on the Arduino. When I disconnect from the computer, the printer comes back on, almost like it's tripped a breaker, or something. I suspect it's something to do with the power supply, but I can't see anything visually wrong with it, and there is no odd smell. Anyone have any ideas?
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  3. 0ryanx

    0ryanx New Member

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    No, this is a separate issue. The G Code console indicates is still printing and is not giving the temp error you're talking about. The printer stops printing, the fans stop running, and the lights go out. It's almost like it loses power, but it's still communicating with the computer, through the G Code console
     
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Then you have a USB communications glitch. Try launching the print from the SD card
     
  5. Kilrah

    Kilrah Well-Known Member

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    Looks like a power issue indeed. The control board continues to be powered by the PC so all is still seemingly good for it initially, but nothing in the power electronics is supplied anymore.
     
  6. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    This is why I suspected the error, when it hits that error it forces a shutdown that looks a lot like that. It very well could be the power supply as well though. Like @Kilrah mentioned the logic boards are powered from the USB if that is connected so it will keep on trying to work.
     
  7. 0ryanx

    0ryanx New Member

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    I think I finally figured it out. A while back, I replaced the parts fan to better cool the plastic as it printed, and it looks like I didn't insulate it properly (I had to cut the wires to replace it). The insulation slipped and the wires shorted out, causing the fan to stop and, hopefully, causing the power turn off. I put the old fan back in and made double sure it was properly insulated this time, and an currently running a test print to see how it holds up. So far, it's printing like a champ, so we'll see. Thanks for the responses.
     
    mark tomlinson likes this.

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