temperature issues

Just got this thing hooked up and trying to print for the first time. I think the power supply isn't big enough. When I try to heat the bed, LED 2 flashes red and then the power supply turns off. Is that what happens?

Also, trying to heat just the extruder tip and not the bed, the power supply stays on. However I have been waiting like 20 minutes and it went up 2 degrees and then back down again to where it started. I don't think it's working... how long does it take normally? I am using a J-head hotend and the wires are plugged into D10 on the ramps 1.4 board. The board has LED 1 lit green. Any advice for how to troubleshoot the hot end? Or could this also be a PSU issue?

Edit:

I got a bigger power supply and now the bed is working fine. LED2 stays lit red as long as the bed is warming. But the j-head heater still is not working. I tried reversing the polarity (not that I can see why it would make a difference) and it had no effect.

No other LEDs light up when the j-head is suppose to be warming, just the green LED1. Is that normal? Can anyone advise how I can test this? Can I hook up the j-head to the D8 heatbed connector, which I know works, and try to heat the hotend that way or is it too much power for the hotend heater?

Edit again:
I am reading 3.8ohms across D10 with the hotend plugged in, however no voltage when green LED1 goes on and the hotend should be heating.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2013 05:19PM by entropy26.

Have you got both 12v inputs connected?
The green LED comes on when the hot-end is calling for power (as you noted)
What hot-end temp is being reported in the host software?

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Waitaki 3D Printer

Yes, I'm using 2 yellow and 2 black wires coming off the PC power supply, both 12v inputs connected. The hotend thermistor is reporting 24-26 degrees, basically room temp, same as the bed unheated. (I checked that min temp setting in the firmware below which the heater will not start and it's set to 5 degrees).

When the heater is switched on, the 2nd LED from the end (red) and the green LED should illuminate.
Have you put a meter across D10 terminals when you switch the heater on in your s/w to check for 12v?

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Waitaki 3D Printer

I have tested voltage again to double check and also because I wanted to try the D9 connector just in case. For references I am calling these things names using this diagram from the wiki:

[www.reprap.org]

LED2 comes on red when I turn the bed heater on. When I set just the j-head to warm, only LED1 comes on lit green. While this is lit and should be warming, I get 0 volts DC on my meter across D10 terminals and 0VDC for D9 too.

Could this be some sort of configuration problem or is it a bad ramps board? Or the arduino?

Edit: I'm new at this I don't know if it matters but I am using windows Pronterface to try to turn the heat on. It connects fine and everything else but the J-head heater works, including the bed heater.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2013 09:16PM by entropy26.

D9 will only output 12v when you (or the software) tells it to. Type this command into pronterface>>> M106 S255 (Send) and check D9 for 12v - Led 3 should illuminate at the same time. M106 S0 will turn D9 off.

Ok, if LED 4 is not glowing when you switch the heater on then we need to check the fuse first. Disconnect power and check the yellow polyfuse (the smaller one ) is not open circuit - should be near zero ohms (and be cold). If that's OK, reconnect power and put a meter lead on the negative power input terminal and the other lead on the positive of D10 (and D9 if you want) and see what you get- no need to send commands.

BTW, what firmware have you uploaded?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2013 04:42AM by waitaki.

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Waitaki 3D Printer

Alright, first I tried D9 with those codes in pronterface. Nothing happened, no LED's at all. No voltage on D9.

So moving back to D10. When I use pronterface to set the heater on, only LED1 is lit green, no LED4. The fuse has continuity, 0 ohms. From the negative input to the positive side of D10, I have 12V regardless of whether or not the heater is on.

So I set the heater to turn on, and still 0VDC between the D10 terminals and 12VDC between the positive side of D10 and the negative input. Green LED1 still on. No LED4.

So I put my meter between the negative input and the negative side of D10 and 10V go through my meter and LED4 turns on for the first time, lit red, with my meter bridging negative to negative input.

The green light comes on on command, but the red light does not, and the fuse is not burnt.

As for the firmware I flashed to the arduino, I believe Sprinter but maybe a modified one. Here is what the documentation in the sketchbook code for the firmware I used says:

" Reprap firmware based on Sprinter
Optimized for Sanguinololu 1.2 and above / RAMPS

This firmware is a mashup between Sprinter, grbl and parts from marlin.
(https://github.com/kliment/Sprinter)"

Well, whatever firmware you have, you have to set the motherboard correctly. For Sprinter with Ramps 1.4. you select motherboard =33. If you have something else set then configuration may be wrong.
Anyway, from what you've tested so far, it seems that the Mosfet is not getting a gating signal to switch it on and enable power to D10. Do this....

Switch the heater on- you should see the current temp and the target temp in Pronterface.
Put negative meter probe on negative power input as before and the other on the left leg of the Q1 mosfet (the one facing the long edge of the ramps board, You should have 5v on this pin with the heater on. If it does show 5v, then you may have a faulty Mosfet. However, if 5v is not present, then put your + meter lead on the 6th pin joint along (see picture) and check for 5v. (If ok, then check R13 has 5v on both sides - if not, resolder it).
If no 5v anywhere on Ramps, then follow pin 6 vertically down through the ramps connector housing to the bottom of the Arduino board and check if 5v is on the corresponding Arduino pin. If no 5v there then maybe Arduino is faullty or badly programmed. But, if 5v is there, then remove all power connectors and separate the ramps from the Arduino. Bend that 6th pin slightly (0.5mm) and restack the boards (yes, I have seen open circuits on them).
I must re-iterate though,that you have to have the correct board set in firmware before you do anything else.

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Waitaki 3D Printer

Which leg is the left leg? Left on the picture?

I have 5V on pin 6. I tested all 3 legs of the mosfet and from left to right (based on the picture) I got 0, 10V, 5V. So that means bad mosfet on the ramps?

Ok, you have 5v on the gate pin, so Arduino would appear to work fine. However, with the heater on you should not see 10v on the centre pin (only when its off). One more check before we condemn the Mosfet...

Switch on the heater and put your meter leads on both sides of R9 (see pic), You should get 5v dropped across it.

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Waitaki 3D Printer