S5 has constant auto bed leveling issues

[gr5 2,178]

The people at UM Tech Support know much more about this than me as I've fixed maybe 3 printers and they've fixed over a hundred.

[gr5 2,178]

1 minute ago, beadster said:

Ultimaker support replied today to say I must take it into be fixed by their UK authorized service company 😞 

Is it still under warranty?  It's certainly okay to take the print head apart either way.  I'm disappointed they told you that.  Are you handy with electronics? Are you good with a voltmeter? If not, that might be the best advice. If you tell them you aren't afraid to take the head apart and ohm out wires, they may give you more specific advice.

 

It could just be a wire that needs to be soldered back on.  That is what happened to my S5. Everytime that door opens and closes it bends the wires a little.  They can get pinched as well I suspect.

[beadster 2]

Just had a nice chat with the service dept at 3DGBIRE and a very helpful lady gave me some more tips, along the lines you just suggested, they have had breaks in the sensor wires internally,  the diag test will read OK but the self-levelling doesn't work.

yes, I am good with electronics, I build all sorts of race car electronics stuff from scratch. and we suffer similar issues on the race cars to solve it we use very high spec wire and very careful with routing

going to do as she and you suggest and test continuity on all wires.

then if I have no joy and due to time constraints (jobs stacking up) I will drop it off with them, and because it's out of warranty pay the 225£ for a fix it which isn't so bad.

 

[NTwoO 5]

Once I had a print core that became unscrewed. See if you can feel play in the core when holding the heat block and gently turning the collar where the filament is inserted. Don't use tools or force as the connecting section is very thin.

[gr5 2,178]

30 minutes ago, beadster said:

Just had a nice chat with the service dept at 3DGBIRE

Yay!  I didn't know it was 3DGBIRE and I didn't know you were close by.  I know a guy who works there.  Great guy.  225 pounds is a steal as it will probably take them a few hours.

[madmax21 0]

Hello,

 

For me the issue is solved. Seem to work. I clean again all the fans, plate etc.

 

Thank you

[madmax21 0]

Hello,

 

So the noise still persists to me also. I would like to mention the following:

- Core 1 - CC 0.4 new

- Core 2 - BB 0.4 new (tried with Aa 0.4 the same result) 

- Nozzles clean

- Build plate leveled and cleaned

- Weirs are correctly positioned and no damage

- Lift switch calibration calibrated

- Tested with front fan plugged and unplugged, no difference in noise

- Fan bracket alignment correct

Noise level 30-60 

 

 

[gr5 2,178]

Anything over 8 is a problem.  calibrating the lift switch is a complete waste of time as long as noise is at 30-60.

Whether the cores are even installed or not should have nothing to do with the noise.

 

You need to fix the noise level first.

 

Do you have sources of EM noise nearby?  Sources may include:

computers

motors

fans

air conditioners

speakers

things with computers in them like toasters, microwaves, cell phones, laptops, unfortunately everything these days has a computer in it.

wifi access points

wires that lead to any of those things - even a 30 foot wire that leads to a noise source - the wire can act as an antenna if it passes near the printer

 

Move all those things 3 meters from your printer and see if that affects the noise.  If not, move the things where they were as they weren't the problem.

 

30-60 is crazy high.  I didn't know it could go that high!

[beadster 2]

A cautionary tale and an embarrassing error.

I am posting the answerto help others even though the mechs in our workshop are having a real fun time with the solution to this issue.

I mixed up the fan and capacitive sensor plugs, but the diag on the cap sensor still gave realistic readings through the coil of the fan 😞 which masked the error.

 

I won't excuse myself with justification but we all can mess up but...

 

In the rush to fit the new fan I forgot to take a picture of the connections in the rear, the capacitive sensor plug didn't want to go back into the housing I knew it came from easily and I didn't want to push it, the fan connector easily fitted and the cap sensor plug easily went in the other, I didn't notice they are all JST connectors and could be fitted wrong.

 

3DGBIRE did also mention the routing of the fan cable can affect the sensor performance.

 

The moral of this fix is

it was always the front fan on this machine. the original slowly died and I cleaned it and got another month of work but the issue was slowly returning, the new fan fitted would have fixed it.

 

3DGBIRE did a service and a great quick turn around, I can't fault them on their service and a decent price.

I will now go and avoid all my co-workers  and hang my head in shame.

 

bd

[Faf666 1]

at least you found your issue !

[beadster 2]

yes indeed,

and thank for all the help on the forum

[Faf666 1]

@madmax21 check this thread after checking your pcb wiring as replied by @beadster

 

 

[Dustin 132]

10 hours ago, gr5 said:

30-60 is crazy high.  I didn't know it could go that high!

lol anything over a 9 is considered off the chart. so double digits is things are NOT okay.

[madmax21 0]

Hello!

 

This is the answer from Ultimaker

UltiMaker Support Team	Thu, Apr 25, 4:07 PM (4 days ago)
to me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Ferko!

Thanks for the information.
The noise level indicates, including the info from the video capture, that the print head pcb needs replacing.
 

232194

Print Head PCB UMS3/S5 Service Assembly

I've attached a manual that will help you guide with replacing the part. 🙂

You can purchase this part from your local Ultimaker reseller to be found below:
- https://ultimaker.com/resellers/romania/

If you don't feel comfortable replacing it, no worries, we have trained resellers that can help you out.

Could you let me know how everything went from here?

 

I think is not correct to change PCB on 1 year old printer.....