LCD Panel Scrolling Issue  

LCD Panel Scrolling Issue

I just finished building my new Prusa i3 MK2. I have been waiting a long time for this machine. Just a bit of background: The first 3D printer I purchased was quite a while ago and it was an iteration of Prusa's new MK2 design (new for that time). It went horribly wrong as the company was a Chinese manufacturer and everything about the product's build was inferior with inferior support to boot! That turned me off from Prusa's design for some time and thereafter I worked with makerbot/flashforge design printers exclusively due to the incredible ease of use. However, I hit a wall with what I could do and the Prusa was rated best printer. After some research, I found the many references to the original Prusa being far superior to the Chinese knock-offs. So I made my purchase.

I received the original Received the printer about 5 weeks later, built it, now here I am. Everything looked great until I turned the machine on. The LCD panel displays language preference, click "English. Then the main "monitor" screen comes up. I click on the button and it goes to the menu. I turn the potentiometer to scroll and I start getting strange characters and/or white blocks where characters should be displayed. About 2 seconds later the LCD panel (and board) reset. Hoping this was just a small hiccup, I scrolled when the screen came on and it once again either showed blanks or strange characters.... then I started to have flashbacks to my Chusa (Chinese Prusa) and all the problems with it. Support from Prusa3D website was unhelpful. They gave me 4 different options for rewiring the 2 LCD cables, which took about 20 minutes to do because of the cramped space in the electrical box... the LCD panel did not turn on save for one of the options of wiring--the one I initially had (this is not my first rodeo!). Next, I flashed the board with a clean version of the 1.75_13a hex file from the Prusa website, and guess what happened...nothing! If nothing else, the LCD panel is consistent in its behavior. Same thing happened again, white blocks mostly, sometimes strange characters (a la pronterface console at the wrong baudrate), and within 1-3 seconds the board and LCD panel reset. I believe I may have had this problem with my Chusa as well, but I can't remember... I remember I eventually did get the Chusa working--albeit with great difficulty and very bad print quality.

I've noticed a lot of people have had problems with the Prusa LCD panels on the web. However, very very few have this exact issue, and usually the issue is a simple one (loose connectors, incorrect positioning, etc.). I've checked everything over and over and found no issues, so I am putting it out to the forum to get some help. I had extremely high hopes for the Prusa from all the hype, so I can't fault Joseph and his crew for the utter disappointment I feel. The quality of the printer's parts is relatively exceptional. However, the only forum entry I found that might explain what is going on is that Prusa was once supplied with faulty LCD control boards which they sent out with their printers. I'm wondering if this might once again be the case...? Also, I should note that I don't believe the SD card is working either as it lists nothing on the LCD monitor screen and there is nothing displayed within Pronterface.

I'm including some pictures, which should illustrate the issue, as well as the current wiring configuration. https://www.flickr.com/gp/147377944@N06/48LJ9J