MK2 suddenly not working
Hi there,
I'm new on the forums but thought I would post here after attempting to troubleshoot for a few days.
I built up the MK2 around last October or November and it has been working flawlessly on the PLA, TPU and Nylon prototypes since then (except in the very beginning during calibration, my friend had to help me adjust the step ratio on the Y axis in the firmware code, as it was travelling much further than the board thought). Anyways, a few weeks ago, the printer stopped working, with the LCD failing first. I turned the MK2 on one day, and the LCD only displayed the 2x10 row in the top left of the LCD. I turned off the printer thinking it was a reboot issue. After turning it back on, none of the LCD showed any letters, sometimes it would only show white boxes. Now, about 2 weeks later, the LCD is completely blank... nothing on the screen. The weird thing was I played around just by memory for how the menu worked and was able to heat up the print bead as well as the nozzle. None of the other functions worked as far as I know, as I could not see what I was clicking on.
Just more information, I have never had anything hit the Rambo board, or the LCD. Nothing looks to be burnt out on the Rambo as well. I have taken the Rambo mini out of its case, and redid all the wires so that they do not interfere (see picture). I have tried reflashing newer firmware (used to run 3.0.8 before the failure, then tried upgrading to 3.0.9), but that did not work either. I have attempted to connect to Pronterface (Mac version) but the computer did not recognize the printer. I also bought a new LCD (I thought that that was the issue at first, as that was the first thing to fail), but after plugging in the ribbon cables to the right EXP 1 and 2 ports, the LCD still failed to light up. Also, I am not great at programming things by the way.
Some friends (not super experienced, just hobbyists who print for fun as well) suggested that it is a faulty motherboard. However, that would mean a $120 controller board just died on me after only 3-4 months of use (I'm a high schooler, and it is sometimes difficult to find the funds for expensive parts). Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Cheers,
Elliot
Re: MK2 suddenly not working
Have you tried swapping the cables that go to the LCD module? Maybe it's just a damaged cable which would be much cheaper to replace.
You should also try to use a USB cable from a computer to see if the Rambo board is working or not.
- Gab
Re: MK2 suddenly not working
Have you tried swapping the cables that go to the LCD module? Maybe it's just a damaged cable which would be much cheaper to replace.
You should also try to use a USB cable from a computer to see if the Rambo board is working or not.
Hi Gabriele,
Thank you for your reply. I have tried a new set of ribbon cables and unfortunately the LCD still doesn't light up. Sorry for being a newbie here, but what do you mean by connecting the Rambo to the computer using a USB cable? Do you mean for example, to connect to Pronterface? (which hasn't worked either in my attempts).
Many thanks,
Elliot
Re: MK2 suddenly not working
Yes, Pronterface or similar program. If that doesn't work either then we can assume that the problem is not the LCD itself.
Are you able to try re-flashing the firmware to make sure it's not a software problem? (Instructions here: http://manual.prusa3d.com/Guide/Upgrading+firmware/66 - latest version is here: https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware/releases )
If everything fails, then the RAMBO board is bad. 🙁 Since your printer is only a few months old though, I suspect it may be covered by the warranty. Contact Prusa support, follow their instructions, and see if you can get to a solution.
- Gab