1 Topic by mr_tim34

  • mr_tim34
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Topic: Flashing LEDs and not much else

OK, about three days ago my S3 decided to imitate a strobe light for 10 seconds or so, it stopped by the time I got to it, but the print had shifted a few mm and was ruined. I've printed a bunch of things since then including several 3 to 4 hour prints. I got home tonight, fired it up and after about 4 minutes of heating the bed and the extruder and the flashing started again. I unplugged it and plugged it back in it was OK for a minute and back to flashing. I disconnected the printer and left it unplugged for 5 minutes. I just powered it back up and am heating the bed with no problem. Not that I'm trusting things yet. I also have a 12V fan on the electronics that's connected to the main 12V line from the stock PS. It has blue lights and they were flashing as well. Time for a new PS? Your thoughs would be most appreciated. I did find another thread with the flashing symptoms but his problem was permanent and involved fried components. Mine is intermittent and fleeting, but possibly getting worse.

TiM

2 Reply by mr_tim34 (edited by mr_tim34 2013-11-21 02:48:22)

  • mr_tim34
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Re: Flashing LEDs and not much else

Follow up, my bed is hot, and the flashing now starts as soon as I start heating the extruder. If I turn off the extruder the flashing stops. The extruder fan cuts out when the flashing starts as well...

3 Reply by terennnash

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Re: Flashing LEDs and not much else

Flickering lighting and power failure to components sounds like it may be a power supply issue.
Double check your connections - particularly the 12v line.

If you have a multimeter, check the voltage coming off your power supply - should be ~12V(center positive). You can check the amps too, but before doing so make sure your multimeter is rated for more than 12.5A(my digital one has a 10A max).

If your PSU is putting out less than the target 12V x 12.5A, you'll have to replace it.

4 Reply by cckens

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Re: Flashing LEDs and not much else

Check for a short in the hot-end heater wires, aswell.  I had this issue and when I unplugged the heater everything was fine.  Swapped out the heater and everything worked fine.

5 Reply by mr_tim34

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Re: Flashing LEDs and not much else

I broke out the multi meter to take some measurements. When the printer is powered up I see 12.8V, when it connects to the computer it drops to 12.7V. It drops to 12.5V when the bed heater turns on and levels out at 12.4V when the extruder starts heating and a low of 12.35 when both heaters are on and the stages are moving. Does this sound right or should the voltage be a bit higher? Of course the flashing has gone away for now. I can only wait and see what happens. I've got about 3 hours of printing since the last time when it wouldn't even get to temperature.

TiM