Not loading filament anymore
Hi, my printer (MK3S+) does not auto-load filament anymore, any tips for troubleshooting?
It was printing during the night and ran out of filament, but did not detect it so it continued to "print" without any filament. Now it does not detect it when I try to auto-load new filament.
RE: Not loading filament anymore
Less than a year old contact prusa through live chat or eu within 2 years and they will send new sensor if not take out and clean sensor
Please help me out by downloading a model it's free and easy but really helps me out https://www.printables.com/@Hello_474427/models
You can turn off the sensor in the LCD menu which will get you printing again with manual loading.
Pull and reinsert the plug at the Einsy end - actually, do all the plugs there, in case it has shaken loose or picked up some corrosion.
Undo the sensor cover and clean out the area in case dust or random stringing has got in and jammed the sensor.
Watch the sensor value (LCD menu) while you insert and remove filament to check whether it changes.
And if you have a multimeter check the continuity of the connecting wire.
Cheerio,
RE: Not loading filament anymore
Thank you for the help. It seems the first part of the problem was just the filament sensor that was not connected anymore. It is nothing that holds the wire connections firmly in place, but when I found the sensor support settings with your help I was able to test it out a bit and now it detects filament.
But now it just makes a clicking noise when it tries to pull in the filament so it is able to detect it and start pulling it in, but something is stuck. Do I then need to take it all apart to check the inside or are there some other steps to try before that?
And I bought the printer used so I guess I do not have any support.
You will have no warranty but Prusa will give you some limited support if you are up front about it, plus if you open an account you will be able to access the spare parts shop.
The clicking suggests either a wrongly set extruder idler - adjust the screw, it could be either way.
https://help.prusa3d.com/article/idler-screw-tension_177367
Or the hotend/nozzle might be clogged.
https://help.prusa3d.com/article/clogged-nozzle-hotend-mk3s-mk2-5s_2008
To find where the blockage is try to load some pale filament, it will fail. Mark the filament at the point where it enters the extruder (sharpie) and unload. Now offer the filament up against the extruder aligning with the mark and you can see how far down it gets.
Also see
https://help.prusa3d.com/article/extruder-noises_2013
And there is one possible issue we rarely see nowadays; some low quality filaments are not the stated diameter and you have to adjust the idler for them. Measure the diameter in a few places and average. If it's off enter that value in Prusa Slicer as well and it will adjust feed rates accordingly.
Cheerio,