Flashforge Creator Pro Extruder Stepper struggling to push filament

[emax16]

I have problems with my extruder motor. It starts clicking after a while without any specific cause. I tried to change the stepper, then I swapped the drivers on the board, I tried to put the motor on the left of the two extruder slots.

When I turn on the machine and feed filament, it can go for quite a while. When I hold the filament to raise the tension then it can start clicking. When I switch of the machine and an again and repeat feeding, it starts clicking without any resistance. The stepper motor is not getting hot or something. It is so strange, I have 4000h of printing on the FFCP and never experiented that problem.

I shot a video, you can hear the clicking even if the fan does quite some noise. You can see very well the interruption in the extrusion every some seconds

https://youtu.be/bIBhjUzpAvw

[cobnut]

Hi @emax16 have you checked the hotend and the nozzle? It’s possible the extruder is having difficulty feeding filament because there’s a blockage in the hotend. It doesn’t have to be completely blocked, so filament could still be coming out, but if there’s an obstruction of some kind it could easily be trying to feed more filament than can be pushed through.

What do prints look like?

[wirlybird]

My first thought is the PTFE tube is worn out or damaged. You may not be able to see the damage.
I would replace the PTFE tube and nozzle and then see how it does.

If you hear “clicking” it simply means it is struggling to feed the filament. You could think of it like the adjustable torque setting on a cordless drill set to the minimum. It starts to click when you put some force on it.
Steppers almost never go bad and the driver is unlikely to cause the clicking.

[ml_blackshadow]

Thank you for your advices. It turned out to be the wiring, a loose connection. I saw little flashes and by moving the cable, I could provoke the clicking. It is not easy to get replacement cables though. I would like to get a bunch of it as this error will come back after all while as the cables are constantly moving.

[wirlybird]

Good you found it but odd for the cables going to the extruders to get a break from movement unless they have been altered or something.
Anyway, stepper cables can be found on Amazon or on eBay. Look for QIDI Tech-1, parts are less but essentially the same machine.

[cobnut]

I fitted an extra support for the cable bundle from thingiverse, I can’t remember which one it was but if you search for “flashforge pro cable” you’ll see them. Helps to reduce the movement stress I think.

[emax16]

Hi, thank you very much. Now looking back, I think it is vital to relief the stress on the cables. I use the cable support now. This is the one I chose: Flashforge creator pro estruders cable holder clip by Andicot - Thingiverse