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I had some Z-arteifacts on my Ultimaker so I decided to clean my Z-screw. You know, strip the grease and reapply. This process requires unplugging the Z-motor and removing it along with the screw. I did that, cleaned the screw and put it back in.

When I switched it on, I think I saw a small spark under the printer, I am not too sure anymore. Anyways what I was sure of, was that the printer did not turn on. I waited at least 10 seconds before walking to my laptop to scout the forums. While waiting for the page to load I looked over and my UM was turned on!

I then switched it off and on a few more times and it turned on instantly. I’ve never built my own printer before but is this a standard start up behaviour? Like first configuration or the controller is intelligently testing the voltage individually?

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Okay not sure if it’s the power cable itself or the socket or the controller. Shift it and the power went off and on again. The “spark” I saw was the yellow LED light on the board and it makes this spark sound when the connection is halfway in contact.

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Are you sure you have that locking connector plugged in all the way? I’ve seen that sort of behavior when someone has ‘helped’ me put all my printers back in place after an event and hasn’t locked that connector in all the way.

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To clean and reapply the manga line, you don’t have to remove the zaxis, just clean with cloth and apply directly. I think the ultimaker app shows this process.

Perhaps in the process of putting back your z axis you may have pinch a wire nearby, or the molex connection came loose?

would recommend opening up the electronic cover to check if anything is burnt out. Ensure power off.

but also check your power plug and PSU is all connected properly.

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Hi 3DMuse,

I had the same problem about 6 months ago.

In my case, this was due to several factors and from what I read on different forums, here are some steps I have done :

1. Change the bed temperature control frome BANG BANG to PID. (it is a change from the latest firmware upgrade)

2. Check your motor connection. Wire end is often burned or disconnected from the molex socket, so I have remade the connection

3. Check your control board if the Z stepper motor has not a “yellowish” color.

4. Change your control board (you can buy cheap one around 100$ on ALIEXPRESS ans they do the job)

Keep us updated !

Regards,

Aurelien

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It’s almost surely a problem with the power supply and not the printer. They have little computers in them I assume and can get in weird safety states. On the plus side they never melt/burn or send too much power to the printer.

If you unplug from the printer and look at the blue light then unplug from the wall that blue light can stay on for days!

I have UM printers so I’ve had various problems with these power supplies and one actually took a week before it started working again and I used it for a year after that no problems! (?)

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What “printed” said. It’s common for this cable to be difficult to plug in because the PCB can be shifted to the side. The fix is to loosen the 4 screws to the PCB, plug in the power connector so that the connector is centered and then re-tighten the 4 screws.

Once the cable is locked on it should not come off by pulling on the cable - you have to slide the locking connector to unplug the cable from the printer.

1 Like
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Hello,

fancy seeing you again! Yes the cable is in its locked position. When I move it around sometimes it loses contact and the machine flickers. It still prints, just have to try not touch the cable… Anyways since you’re here. The Z-artefacts didn’t go away. I changed the linear bearings to new ones but when I move them up and down the rods individually there is resistance at the same height of my artefacts. Z-rod replacement or just cleaning will do? It’s driving me crazy :confused:

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Then you probably need new Z bearings and/or rods. Contact your reseller about this.

I would fix this power issue also. It probably got pulled hard enough to damage the cable or the board. I would probably confirm it’s not the board and then gently rip open the end of the cable (a lot of work) and re attach all the wires. Or even better - try to buy the same connector and then cut off the bad connector and solder the 4 wires to the new connector.