Z axis screams after Marlin update

Hi folks, it's been a while since I have been here as I have been concentrating on my cnc pcb mill project.

First a little background to the problem, feel free to skip this.

I must admit that I do not know too much about the firmware in a printer, I know enough to get successful prints Now that I have come back to my 3D printers I decided to update the firmware on 3 out of the 4 I have.
My problem is with my self built Reprap i3, which is also my favourite.

My i3 was running fine on Marlin 1.6.1 (using a Win10 pc but flashed when I had Win7) and was doing some very impressive prints but it occasionally put out a poor print, without any changes to my slic3r settings.
After reading about the upgrades to PrusaSlicer, I decided to update the firmware thinking latest slicer and latest firmware is a must try after a break from printing.

Now, here's the PROBLEM.

I updated to Marlin 1.9.1 (Win10 64bit) then connected to Pronterface. As there was no filament installed I M302 S0'd to enable cold extrusion. When jogging ALL axis, including extruder, everything was going GREAT. Well, not GREAT but very good, measurements are not too important at this stage.
Anyway, I started a test print with Marlin's default config file, and a g.code file of an already printed piece, as a starting point.

AAAARRRRRGGGHH!!!!!

My Z axis is screaming, and I mean SCREAMING. Up and down it makes THE most awful screaming noise.
I stopped the print and reset the printer, jogged the axis again and everything was ok. STRANGE!!!

I might make a video (with a delta motor) in a couple of days if the problem persists. I don't want to subject my steppers to any more damage.

I then changed all the speed settings in the default config file to my original settings from Marlin 1.6.1, re-flashed the printer and tried again.
Exactly the same result.
All axis jogged good in pronterface (and in Arduino IDE serial monitor as well), but the Z axis was still screaming during a print.
I have tried different Mega's, Ramps boards, drivers (all A4988) and current and even different motors. Everything is giving me the same results.
I then found all the config setting that were different to my 1.6.1 file and changed most of them to my 1.6.1 settings (except PID, bed size, levelling etc. that I left alone). Re-flashed, same result.

Can anybody give me an idea as to what the cause might be or what other settings I need to change. I have not changed anything in the config.adv file, maybe that might need a change or two. But as the file ext says, it's Advanced. I am not.

The firmware is the only thing that has been changed since I left it.
I have tried to put my 1.6.1 firmware back on but now I get an error about 'struct' and 'f-pos', but that's above my level (I think this may be a Marlin update thing).

As I said at the start, I don't know much about the firmware but I know i'm missing something.
If I can't fix this then it looks like I have 3x 3D printers I can not use anymore.

If you can shed any light on this issue I will be eternally grateful. I am willlng to try almost anything......almost.

Thanks for reading, and stay safe out there.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2021 02:18AM by Electric ant.

when you jog Z it uses the max feed rate in your gui

when you send gcode that move Z it defaults to the last set feedrate or max federate settings in your firmware, which ever is least.

eg #define DEFAULT_MAX_FEEDRATE { 200, 200, 10, 65 }

where the 3rd value 10 is the max feed rate for the z axis

You need to adjust this number down.
And make sure to reset eeprom if you have eeprom enabled, or changing this in firmware will not change anything

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2021 04:58AM by Dust.

Thanks for the reply Dust.

I have found another mega that has my 1.6.1 file on it and that still works fine.
After comparing settings on pronterface, 1.9.1 max feed rate for z is 2. In my 1.6.1 file it's 5 and the z axis screams on both settings with 1.9.1
So what is in Marlin 1.9.1 that is making this happen ?

Now that I have my other mega at least my i3 is not totally dead. But my A8 and my Delta are.

Any other suggestions would be good, and all will be tried and results explained.

Thanks again guys.

@Dust,
I did also say in the first post that the z axis worked fine in the Arduino serial monitor.

I have now put my other mega with the Marlin 1.6.1 back on and when I set a print going surprisingly I am still getting the same screaming z axis.
I am using the same ramps 1.4 and the same A4988 drivers unchanged from before I left it (only 2 months ago).
I have swapped the x and z drivers over but still the same results.

Could a dodgy stepper cable cause this type of issue ?
Provides enough power at jog speed but not at print speed.
I really don't want to have to take the printer apart, so a little trial and error testing must be done seeing that I'm not getting any help here.

I find it hard to believe that no one else has ever suffered from this type of issue before.
Please people, a little help here.

Regards,
Electric ant

Well, first I'll say thanks to Dust for the only reply I got. And thanks to everyone else for their total lack of interest. 170 odd views and only 1 reply (and that was around the 5th view).

People on other websites have told me that the Reprap forum was a good place to go to get help with almost any 3D Printing problem.

Boy were they wrong.

Either that, or nobody else has ever had the same problem as me.

I did fix my Z axis but I don't think I'll bother saying what the problem was. It won't help anyone.
After all, no one is interested anyway.

Like I already said,
Thanks for nothing guys, maybe I'll get more response with my next problem.

Quote
Electric ant
Well, first I'll say thanks to Dust for the only reply I got. And thanks to everyone else for their total lack of interest. 170 odd views and only 1 reply (and that was around the 5th view).

People on other websites have told me that the Reprap forum was a good place to go to get help with almost any 3D Printing problem.

Boy were they wrong.

Either that, or nobody else has ever had the same problem as me.

I did fix my Z axis but I don't think I'll bother saying what the problem was. It won't help anyone.
After all, no one is interested anyway.

Like I already said,
Thanks for nothing guys, maybe I'll get more response with my next problem.

You can be sure that if someone had a similar issue, they would be all over you like a cheap suit. Be grateful that you didn't get a bunch of worthless responses, and please post your fix!
Kudos to Dust for his response, and you should at least consider whether his response was useful, or not, and reply appropriately.

A forum is like praying to God. Sometimes the answer is "NO". You may not like it, but that's life. Carry on, and try to help others with your experiences.

@rq3,
I understand what you are saying but I thought at least a couple of suggestions would have been made.
I did also say in my second post that I had tried settings from 2 different config files and the Z feedrate had also been set at 2 and 5 with no difference when jogging or in Arduino IDE (running at print speed). It was a good suggestion, unfortunately I had already tried that.

The answer to my problem was kind of stated in my 3rd post, and I was right.

A stepper cable.

I unplugged both Z motors from Ramps board and plugged in 1 stepper with wired lead. Started the same gcode file as before and, after setting the right current on the driver, the single motor was whisper quiet.

The steppers I have on my reprap i3 are the kind that have a separate lead (17HD34008-22 and the leads are longer than they need to be but I don't have any crimpers so I cannot make them any shorter. My left Z stepper lead had only 1 coil in it, not tight at all. I un-did the loop and plugged both Z motors back in and tried again.
Using the same gcode file again I started the printer fully expecting to hear the scream but this time, VIOLA, almost silent, like it should be.

So it looks like the problem must have been down to simple interference.
Literally the only thing I have done is to undo the loop in the left Z stepper lead.

Now I can try Marlin 1.9.1 and PrusaSlicer again (PrusaSlicer gives excellent results on my Ender 3 Pro) and hopefully get back to printing quality prints again.

Thanks for your reply rq3 and I apologise If I sounded disrespectful, I just expected more response than I got.

Electric ant.