Printer Ignores Endstops

I have a MendelMax 1.5 and RAMPS 1.4
When my printer moves the print head around by manuely clicking in Printrun, it would gladly pass right through the end stops. When I press an endstop switch with my finger and do a M119 in Printrun it recognizes when each switch is pressed(X,Y,Z), but it doesn't stop the motors from moving. Is this OK, and I can ignore it, or is there some setting in Marlin that I am missing? I am a newbie so any help is greatly appreciated!

Using Marlin firmware only the x, y, z home buttons in Pronterface will use the end stops. Manual moves will ignore the end stops - be careful, you can damage things.

In Configuration_adv.h there's a line that controls whether the endstops are used only for homing or all the time. The default is for the endstops to be ignored except for homing.

#define ENDSTOPS_ONLY_FOR_HOMING // If defined the endstops will only be used for homing

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When setting up:

1) Make sure the moves are in the right direction.
2) Make sure the "home" positon is where you want it (home moves towards the end stops etc)
3) Make sure that the distance it moves is correct.

If all of that is ok, you can move on in your setup process.

Hey guys! Thanks so much for the feedback. I spent several hours tonight trying to fix another problem and I have to go to bed before I wake up with a keyboard imprinted on my face. I will come back to this as soon as I can, thanks!

Your printer did come with the mandatory warning - "this stuff may be habit forming" didn't it?

Great, this info was all a huge help. I went ahead and enabled the endstops all the time for safety's sake. Now if only I could fix my other problems!!

There is no such thing as "fixing all the problems" on a printer. It's simply a case of getting them to the point that you decide to ignore what's left of them.

Simple approach once things are running:

1) Get several rolls of filament all from a vendor you trust. Same type / batch / color.
2) Write off the cost of the rolls. Forget about the money in them. Use as much as you need for the rest of this (it's free!)
3) Set a side several weekends / evenings just for calibrating and adjusting the printer. Don't rush it or leave out steps.
4) Get the printer into it's permanent home. Either bolt it down or never bump / move it
5) Check all the nuts / bolts / belts for tightness, bed for level and flat, each axis for travel etc
6) Oil and clean the smooth rods and drive rods
7) Check the wire connectors for tightness, power supply for correct voltage
8) Check the mechanical calibration (10 mm requested = 10 mm moved) adjust firmware if needed.
9) Start with any of the standard calibration parts and get it to print ok
10) Move on to the next (and next ...) get each one to do ok

that sounds like the batch .... but...

Now re-check the first one, get it to the excellent level, step through the rest - same objective. As you tweak things in calibration, you improve the settings on the printer. They interact with each other. You want a single set of them that's optimum ( or at least a small set of them that work for this or that sort of part).

Depending on your setup and printer you may need to check the bed for level from time to time. You may also have other things that are very specific to your printer. Things like stepper currents and drivers that overheat are what I would call printer specific issues.