Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
Good day everyone. I've been printing just dandy on my Mini since receiving it early March. If there was a 'print time' log on the Mini, I'm sure it would say something like 100+ hours already.
Well I recently updated my FW to 4.0.5 and noticed that when doing a print I've done dozens of times with 4.0.3/4.0.4 now my idler gear will click at random times of the print. I've never heard the click until now, nor have I adjusted the idler gear...simply because until this clicking I never had to.
I ran wizard again to make sure everything was proper and level. Saw there was some mention of e-steps being adjusted to adjust for underextruding...would this have anything to do with it?
With the clicking, should I be loosening/tightening my idler gear?
Thanks in advance for any guidance. I'm going to keep troubleshooting it myself this weekend.
Best Answer by bobc:
Clicking at the extruder is indicative of the hotend underextrusion/jamming issue. When the pressure in the hotend gets too high, the extruder motor skips.
I recommend to adjust the hotend as described in There is an official Prusa procedure, but the fact people keep having this issues shows the Prusa setup from the factory is not adequate.
RE: Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
Also to add to it, I've been printing with Prusament PLA, Overture PLA/PETG on the textured sheet primarily with no issues.
RE: Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
I am having the exact same issue. I've printed about 600g of PLA in the past 2 weeks since I got it and today had to stop a print because of the clicking. It was no longer extruding and when I pulled the filament out, it was rough where the gears were. I cleaned it out and tried it again to the same result. I can't print anything right now.
RE: Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
Clicking at the extruder is indicative of the hotend underextrusion/jamming issue. When the pressure in the hotend gets too high, the extruder motor skips.
I recommend to adjust the hotend as described in There is an official Prusa procedure, but the fact people keep having this issues shows the Prusa setup from the factory is not adequate.
RE: Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
Thanks @bobcousins. I redid the wizard, first layer calibration and printed a benchy. No more clicking...Must've been my z layer was set too low and underextruding/jamming against the print bed. Now I gotta figure out why I'm getting weird layer shifts that weren't there before.
RE: Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
Seem like I got under extrusion issues too since 4.05 and I did that fix above already.
RE: Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
Hey @richsholm, did you every figure out your layer shift issues? I did the above fix and I'm having them now too.
RE: Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
@aladdinsane, it could've been the fact that my y-axis belt was loose. I fixed that issue, recalibrated and it's back to printing gorgeous prints.
RE: Idler Gear clicking since updating to 4.0.5
@bobcousins
Been there, done that. It “fixed” the problem especially when the filament wouldn’t unload but after loading 4.0.5 there is something wrong with the extruder since it’s not feed even if the filament hasn’t reached the hot end . Unloading still works.