Just bought a used Solidoodle 2, need help troubleshooting issues (Page 1 of 2)

First off, welcome to the forum!

1) The lights dimming is due to the power supply Solidoodle supplied the printers with. This is usually the case after some modifications, but I have heard of some users getting a PSU of poor quality. There are many replacements and upgrades out there.
2) Do you get any errors when it fails? It may be possible that the PSU issue is tied in to this problem. It could also be that the board is overheating and needs some cooling.
3) The USB port on the board can get wobbly from a user being too rough with it.
If you can supply us with a picture or two of the unit, we can see what, if any changes were made to the machine. I've personally experienced two of the problems stated, but if it has not been modified, my experience may be pointless in this regard.

Everything on the Solidoodle, aside from the bed platform and frame are replaceable. So just keep your cool in the meantime

Here are pictures of the board, the extruder, and the PSU.
http://imgur.com/gallery/ojOaX

Ok, so you have a Sang (Sanguinololu) which is much easier to use and flash than the later models with a Printrboard.
That makes it much easier to upgrade to a Supernight PSU which you can find here.
UPGRADES!! Woo-hoo! Where to start?
-When you can successfully print again, whip this up ASAP http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:111213
-An E3D is a superior hotend to the one you have. Depending on your region, you can either order from e3d-online.com (UK) or Filstruder.com (US). This is a heavily documented and discussed upgrade, so there will be no shortage of help. They start at $39 for the Lite6.
-Consider printing new carriages found here. I can't remember how many users I've printed these for. This will require some other accessories to maximize your results. LM8UU bearings are a must, and it is widely recommended to upgrade your shafts. McMaster-Carr sells near flawless ones for a reasonable price.
-A wellnut costs less than $2 and helps fight backlash on your Z rod.
-Add a fan to your board. If you push your printer for several hours a day, this will really help since your stepper drivers get hot enough as it is.
-The most crucial in my book, and almost as cheap as the wellnut, ditch the kapton on your glass bed. Tear it off and grab some of this...be sure you get the super extra hold. Just give a generous spray to the bottom of your glass, put it back on your bed and cycle the bed heat to 100 and back down to ambient 3 times...you will never need binder clips again. A fine mist or two for the surface is all you need to keep your print in place.

2 things I see in your pic of extruder etc.

that glass looks very thick which may make bed temp hard to reach with the stock heater.

also the micro switch on right side near extruder is missing a wire from its connector tab. Edit;  scratch this I found the other wire its plugged in under the empty tab

Thanks, this helps a bunch! I'll get to printing the replacement carriages and the extruder stuff real soon. I just printed part of a spool holder without any power issues, so I think the PSU is actually okay for now. At least until I upgrade the extruder.

n2ri, what wires are you talking about? I'm not familiar with this stuff yet, but I do know what the micro switches are. I really appreciate the suggestions, and I will post more pictures tomorrow. This thing is DUSTY. It's pretty gross, some parts look like they've had food spilled on them. Poor girl.

Oh, and about the heating bed, It's able to get up to 90 degrees C just fine, but it does take quite a while. I've seen a lot of people just putting Kapton tape directly onto the bed, is that better?

just follow all wires and check for loose or burned connections even at the plastic connector spots as loose leads to heat and melting/arching on heater circuits and high power loads. often needing connections replaced

still need to baby sit your printer. they cause fires

There is one report that I know of on this forum where a solidoodle cause a major house fire, yes.

Alright, update time!

I've installed the new PSU, and it seems to be working perfectly. No more flickering lights.

HOWEVER, Y axis motor seems to be malfunctioning now. I don't know what has caused this, because it was working fine the other day. I've tried moving the y carriage with the power off and it seems to move okay, so I don't think that it's an alignment problem. When I try using the motor it makes a horrible buzzing/grinding sound, but none of the rods or belts are turning, it just sits there and budges just a tiny bit. Is the motor broken?

I'll continue doing some research, and start thinking of buying a new motor.

EDIT: Although, if I'm going to buy a new motor, I might as well replace all the carriages and belts anyway, right?? (This printers starting to sound not so much like the amazing deal I thought I got it for anymore XD...)

Well, adjusting the potentiometers changes the pitch of the buzzing sound it's making, and it starts to jitter in some places but I can't seem to find the right spot. Also, I don't know if this is related but pressing the stop motors button does nothing for me, the carriage still doesn't move freely.

If you mean Repetier Host, and if you mean it's just connected by hitting connect then yes. The x and z motors move just fine. I hope I haven't caused a short or something in the board. I have pretty much zero experience in electronics, so I've just been googling my way through this.

They move... "freely." Not very smooth, especially the Y carriage. However, the roughness sounds like they are coming from the motors, and when the Y belt isn't engaged with the Y motor it still struggles the same way, so I'm confident that it's not a belt/rod issue. I'll carefully try swapping the plugs when I get home tonight.

EDIT: If the problem persists with the motor that I swap out (whatever one is attached to the Y step controller) then what will that mean? Will I need a whole new board?