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Oct 2016

Please see attached picture.

The power in green plug has melted and the wire inside was glowing orange/smoking.

- Heat bed installed

- Power supply set to 12v

Prior to turning on the printer, it had completed a 2 hour print. After that, I tried to print again and noticed the smoke / orange glow.

Any ideas what I can do? Does the board need to be replaced? Is it salvageable (safe?)?

Any ideas why the power in was overheating in the first place?

Thanks

  • created

    Oct '16
  • last reply

    Oct '16
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Hi There,

First off, I would not reccomend trying to print again with this connector still on your machine. The risk of electrical fires or short circuiting just isn’t worth ruiniing your printer for. Any time you see a problem with the electronics it is a good idea to fix it. I would remove this part and replace it with a new one, making sure that all connections are isolated from each other and making good connections. See if you can talk to the manufacturer/designer or check applicable forums to see if it is a common problem or if someone has already found a solution.

Hope this helps,

Martin

Hi,

The motherboard is a Ramps 1.4, look for a replacement. After the connector was replaced on the current one it can be a spare one in the future.

The connector melted due to not making a proper connection (corrosion, faulty manufacture etc.) its the +12v wire for heatbed so its gets the biggest load (11A)

Until your new board arrives, or replace the connector, you can solder the cable to the motherboard directly(hot glue is your friend to fix and insulate the solder joint)

Had this issue 1.5 year ago, in my case to connector melted where the cable enters to it, due to bad connection.

Br.,

T.

piss poor wiring is one part, you shouldnt be able to see the stripped portion of the wire. Possibly connectors not rated for the current. This is why you dont cut corners when buying a or building a printer

Thanks for your responses @MSdesignCo (I definitely was not going to try to print with it as is) @tpalagyi.

I’ve already ordered a new board.

I think I’ll also try to wire in a relay and clean up the wiring (@keebie81@keebie81).

Anyone have any experience in wiring a relay?

I’ve ordered the relay in the attached photo and also put in what I think is the correct wiring.

Also, the relay says 10A but I’ve heard the heatbed may pull up to 11A? Would this be a problem?

I also realized the wire I was using was too small. Need to use a lower gauge wire, I’m planning to use 14 awg.