After installing Nozzle upgrade kit I get Z Switch Broken error . . . but the switch it isn't broken!

[FLG 9]

Hi there all. Interesting one this. I upgraded my Ultimaker 2 to the 2+ with the upgrade kit. All appeared to go well.

I then turned it on and installed the latest firmware from Cura. It's now _2.1

As with all firmware updates I was thrown into a levelling routine. When the build plate started to rise it fell well short of the normal position it runs to. I would say less than half way. So I spent some time winding the wheel to get the plate into the calibration area, but it calibrated just fine.

When the the plate began to descend but fell short of the bottom. The bolt that engages with the Z-switch did not enter the orifice by about 10mm or so. I then got the error on the screen:- "ERROR-STOPPED Z switch broken" and a link the Ultimaker web site for Error 5.

I decided to do a few other things.

I turned the printer off and on again. I went into Maintenance and manually raised the build platform. It went to within 20mm or so of the head and stopped. I then told it to lower the platform and it stopped short again with the same error. So I restarted and selected the lower platform option and it went to the bottom tripped on the Z switch and settled as normal. I thought that I may have errantly set the UM2 Go as the machine because it was not travelling far enough before, dare I say, giving up and coming up with the error.

I loaded Cura 2.1.2 and checked. Yes I had selected the correct UM2+ I decided to check the firmware again in Cura and everything seemed fine.

I removed the circuit board and tested the Z switch with a circuit tester and it switches just fine.

I have done a factory re-start and it has not made any difference.

Can anybody help on this one as I am now scratching my head again!

Nigel

[00D00B 58]

Hi,

You should try to connect the ZSwitch instead of X or Y and vice versa into the board and make a homing in maintenance menu.

Of course, when you see it moving, just manually push on the switch to be sure the mechanic thing will do right. If it still makes nothing.

Than you'll be sure about where's the problem located

[FLG 9]

Thanks for your reply. The switch trips the circuit straight away swapping them around as you suggest. As soon as I press the microswitch it tricked the head into resetting where it was so I am confident the Z switch itself is working fine.

Putting the switches in their correct positions in the circuit board . . . .

When I turn on the machine and send the build plate down to make the home position it will do this just fine unless I start with the plate towards the top of it's travel. When it starts from higher positions it stops short of tripping the Z switch with the error. It's as though it thinks it should have tripped the switch and times out believing the switch to be faulty, dare I say it.

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If I turn it off and back on again and send it down it trips the switch and re-sets just fine.

What I don't understand is when I send the plate up from the home position it makes it practically to the top. Sending it down it errors before the bolt gets to the switch.

Repeated tests of the microswitch using a circuit tester at the connector demonstrate the switch is working fine.

I will try installing some older firmware tonight and then install 2.1 again to see it that helps!

Anyone any more ideas!!

[00D00B 58]

I had a problem like this one before, I downgraded the printer and then it was OK. You can retry to upgrade it after, for me it worked !

Software is now the only possible problem I guess

[sevakprime 0]

I have the same problem. I also did the same things that Nigel tried.

I've checked the wiring and the z switch. The hardware is all connected and working properly. In fact, when you first turn on the printer after updating the firmware, the table properly activates the z-switch on its way down, and stops. I've re-installed the firmware (for the "+") several times and re-tried. Each time I get the same error.

It seems the new firmware believes the table's travel down should be shorter than it actually is, so it stops before reaching the switch, by a bit over 2 inches.

After contacting the seller of the upgrade kit, I've tried with firmwares from Cura versions 2.1.2 and 15.04.6.

I also tried this when calibrating the table height. Instead of going up to the nozzle, I went up only half-way (roughly 6-7 inches off the bottom). Then, completed the calibration steps although the nozzle was no where near the table. On the table's shorter travel down, it properly triggered the z switch and didn't complain anymore.

So, it seems that there is an internal threshold that is triggered to stop the table when the table comes back down at the end of the calibration. This threshold stops the table far too short of triggering the z-switch, causing the software to emergency stop the table.

Please help! This is very frustrating. Thank you!

[gr5 2,071]

There are 2 possibilities:

1) wrong firmware or new bug in firmware (maybe this is a new bug, maybe you downloaded um2go firmware with wrong distances)

2) z microstepping jumper fell off.

#1 is simpler - just get this version of firmware which is better anyway and I'm sure it works:

https://github.com/TinkerGnome/Ultimaker2Marlin/releases

#2 requires removing the 4 screws that hold the board in.  Again.  Yuk.  Easily take you 10 minutes.  Change the circled jumper.  It will half or double the number of steps/mm for the Z axis.  I don't remember if the jumper is supposed to be there or not.

Note that you can also set steps/mm manually in the tinkerMarlin software (which is in step 1).  It really doesn't matter that much if you go for 8 microsteps or 16 microsteps as long as it agrees with the steps/mm in the firmware.

Back to #1 - note that there are many "positions" in Marln - one for the distance from home at bottom to nozzle at top, and other distances. It could be that the um2go value somehow got in the um2 normal build.

Edited June 23, 2016 by Guest

[gr5 2,071]

Oh! I forgot the photo to show you the jumper:

[FLG 9]

Well GR5 you don't know how close you are. Last night I decided to have another look a the whole setup and begin from the very beginning!

For the electronics to play up a new electrical component has to be faulty, or the wiring is still wrong. It could not be anything else unless I have damaged something!

Off came the cover and I examined the installation for a third time. Within seconds I could see that I had connected the blue-orange wire of the hot end fan connector to the middle of the board, but to the wrong connector! That is hard for me to admit making a numpty mistake like this!

See the attached picture for the other connector I connected it to (looks familiar don't it) The connectors were returned to the correct White block terminal on the circuit board not quiet in the middle of the board but there you go. All seems to be working now so a few test prints before I go out for the day!

Thank you to everyone who posted here and maybe if someone else has this issue it was not a wast of forum space!

Nigel

[neotko 1,417]

Afaik that switch jumper it's never on and z stepper works at 1/8 mode as default on um2/umo+

Photo from the um2+ installation video

[purps 9]

Well GR5 you don't know how close you are.   Last night I decided to have another look a the whole setup and begin from the very beginning!

For the electronics to play up a new electrical component has to be faulty, or the wiring is still wrong.  It could not be anything else unless I have damaged something!

Off came the cover and I examined the installation for a third time.  Within seconds  I could see that I had connected the blue-orange wire of the hot end fan connector to the middle of the board, but to the wrong connector!  That is hard for me to admit  making a numpty mistake like this!

See the attached picture for the other connector I connected it to (looks familiar don't it)  The connectors were returned to the correct White block terminal on the circuit board not quiet in the middle of the board but there you go.   All seems to be working now so a few test prints before I go out for the day!

Thank you to everyone who posted here and maybe if someone else has this issue it was not a wast of forum space!

Nigel

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for this information. I can't believe I made this numpty mistake as well - I'll put it down to tiredness.

It would have taken a very long time to diagnose without this thread, especially as I had absolutely no desire to remove that flipping mainboard again.

Cheers,

Matt.

[FLG 9]

No worries Matt. That's what the forums are for.

Looks like the Numpty team is growing LOL

[reubengovender 0]

I made the same mistake as the OP. It took much head scratching and forum searching before I found this post. I opened up my board to find the fan connected to the Z-motor jumper pins.

Thank you to all the contributors for the detailed help - if I need to send one of our UM2s off for repairs, it involves couriering the machine 1500 km which I wasn't looking forward to!