"ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing  

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

Posted by: @nazarethekmekjiandesign

Hello,

For the first time ever my printer started displaying the following error message shortly after it began running a job:

"ERROR: Print Fan Error"

I don't know what caused this, nor am I sure how to fix it. Has anyone else encountered this before and have a fix? 

Maybe a lost rpm signal due to a broken cable or loose contact?

https://help.prusa3d.com/en/article/err-print-fan-error_2159

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

@karl-herbert

Or check the blades to make sure there is not a piece of filament hindering the blades.  

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

@cwbullet

Good tip - I would check that beforehand, of course. I had this "fan error" after upgrading to 3.9.2 and then went back to 3.8.1, so I'm pretty sure something was changed in the firmware, because there is no hardware error on my printer (fan runs fine).

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

Thanks all - I'm not sure if it's fully resolved yet, but it seems to be okay for right now...

As suggested, I cleaned the blades, checked the connections, and ran the tests per this article. I did notice a zero value/big jump in RPM when running the last "Check RPM" step, though upon further inspecting the cables I did not notice a break. None of those things seemed to help, as I encountered the issue again while running the same job.

I later ran a couple of different jobs successfully before returning to my original job which triggered the issue. I was able to reprint the original job successfully this time. Weird... 

Since then I continued with a different job and so far it is printing okay. I should mention that I switched to printing in "stealth mode" for all of the print jobs today, including the one that gave the error and the others that were okay. 

Things seem to be back to normal now, though I have a feeling I'm not totally out of the woods yet. Will post an update if/when I get the same error again.

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

Buy a spare fan now, or buy some 3 conductor cable.  Or both.
You most likely have a break in the cable.  When my first print fan died,  I could only print on the left third of the build plate.  Anything to the right of center was a crap shoot.
Prusa sent a replacement fan, and  I spent 3 days limping along.  New fan was installed, and the cable was replaced on the bad fan.  

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

I've had this off and on.

First time I blew out the dust and that fixed it for a couple of months.

It started happening again and I just replaced the fan.  I saw that the wiring was going through a tight space in the extruder, so I rerouted it to avoid the strain at that point.

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

@nazarethekmekjiandesign

You can get spare parts fans from Prusa or e.g. here: https://zaribo.com/electronics/88-radial-cooling-fan-5v-mk3.html

https://www.jacksfilament.com/LDO-Radial-Luefter-5015-5V-5000-RPM-DF5015H05S

https://www.printedsolid.com/products/ldo-5015-5v-blower-fan-df5015h05s

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

Should the issue come back after a new fan check the  fan connector pins at the printed circuit board. I had a similar issue with a fan on a computer motherboard. New fan worked just fine for a few weeks and then give me the same error reading the wrong rpm. Turned out to be a cracked or bad solder joint at one of the connector pin. Had to remove the whole motherboard and you could barely see the pin being loose within the bolder blob. After resoldering it has been flawless for four years now with the old original fan (I might never use the spare fan it looks like)...

RE: "ERROR: Print Fan Error" during printing

I also had the problem of a defective solder connection. With a fine tip and some solder I was able to fix everything again.