Broken heated bed cable
After several hours of testing and investigation, I finally figured out that my heated bed cable has failed. There's a visible break in the ground wire insulation about 2cm from the bed end, and the positive lead feels like it may have an internal break in the strands. Both wires give intermittent continuity as I move them around, and the heater LED on the bed turns on/off as I move the cable.
It's simple 13ga wire so an easy fix, except I'm not convinced my soldering iron can handle the giant blob of solder on the bed end. Has anyone tried replacing this cable?
RE: Broken heated bed cable
Won't help you fix your problem, but it sounds like your cable broke from flexing.
You should have no flexing - at all - at the connector.
Textile sleeve should be firmly captured by the connector, and snugly wrapped around the cable.
This avoids flexing at the connector. In use, the sleeve bends gently.
RE: Broken heated bed cable
@robert-rmm200
The textile sleeve was in place and I never noticed any strong bend in the cable during operation, but it must've been sneaky.
RE: Broken heated bed cable
Is the printer in an enclosure?
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Broken heated bed cable
Just make sure to replace the whole cable and not only part of it.
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RE: Broken heated bed cable
I used this wire to replace my heat bed cables. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D3N6722/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It has lots of strands and is better able to withstand the repeated motion than the stock wire.
BTW, please crimp new terminals, don't be tempted to solder new terminals when replacing your cable. Solder forms an abrupt transition from rigid to flexion. That is a recipe for early fatigue failure whereas a crimped connector is less prone.
RE: Broken heated bed cable
@guy-k2
My R2-A3, C1-10P, and BB-8 units are entirely kitted out with silicone sleeve wire. I have lots of spare lying around. 🙂
For all: I grabbed a 140W soldering iron and gave it a try. Just about when I was ready to give up, the blob melted and I was able to swap out the wires. All is good now.
RE: Broken heated bed cable
Its a star wars droid type. All 3 things listed are star wars droids.