Red HBP power plug seems incorrect. Am I missing something?

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blumie89
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Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:58 am

Red HBP power plug seems incorrect. Am I missing something?

Post by blumie89 » Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:11 am

I've had my M2 for almost a year now, and I've struggled with the red plug the whole time. I usually just revert to printing in PLA and not worrying about it. When I try to plug it in, it never has a 'solid' connection. It will just fall out. It almost looks like it could be an incorrect plug because of how the metal prongs line up. I can get it to heat to the bed when I sort of twist the plug to engage the two prongs. See attached pics. What can I do about this? Thanks guys!
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Tim
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Re: Red HBP power plug seems incorrect. Am I missing somethi

Post by Tim » Wed Oct 22, 2014 1:31 pm

Definitely a bad connector. They should seat tightly, and line up perfectly. A loose HBP connector is actually pretty dangerous; it can pretty easily smoke your wiring (I do not ascribe to the idea that this is likely to start a house fire. . . but once you've carbonized your wiring, you've just made it a lot harder to repair properly).

Please contact MakerGear to see what they can do about it.

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jimc
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Re: Red HBP power plug seems incorrect. Am I missing somethi

Post by jimc » Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:59 pm

It looks to me like on the female side the one tab is pushed over to the wrong side. Like the blade is going in on the wronge side of the female contact. Ill have to take a look at mine. Everything should line up and seat tight with that and the o ly thing i can see is what i just said.

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Tim
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Re: Red HBP power plug seems incorrect. Am I missing somethi

Post by Tim » Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:43 pm

I just looked at my two connectors, and the female side (on the wire harness) of the connector in the photo looks exactly like mine, while the male side (on the HBP) looks like a mirror image! Which is bizarre. But that's what I'm seeing in the photo vs. what I'm seeing on my M2. As you can see in the middle picture, the contact goes all the way through the connector, which is just molded around it. So either there are two types of this type of connector, in left-hand and right-hand version, and the wrong one got put on the HBP, or else the contact got shifted during the manufacturing process (I'm not sure which of those two would be less likely. They both seem unlikely, but there's the proof, in the photo).

I'd say you're due for another HBP from MakerGear. Send yours back to them and let them send it back to the manufacturer for failure analysis or quality assurance or whatever it is that they do with those things.

blumie89
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Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:58 am

Re: Red HBP power plug seems incorrect. Am I missing somethi

Post by blumie89 » Wed Oct 22, 2014 10:03 pm

I got a hold of Josh from Makergear and they're sending me a new HBP power harness to use. Hopefully it's not too difficult to install!

Dale Reed
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Re: Red HBP power plug seems incorrect. Am I missing somethi

Post by Dale Reed » Thu Oct 23, 2014 3:08 am

When my HBP wire flexed too many times and broke at the back of the red connector, I replaced it with Anderson Powerpole connectors ( http://www.andersonpower.com/products/s ... ctors.html ). The smallest ones are a bit larger (especially, longer) than the red connector shipped with the M2, but the shells hold pins that are rated for 15, 30 or 45 amps (depending on the crimp size). (I sincerely doubt that the red connector that comes with the printer is rated for 20 amps...) The mating surfaces are self wiping, and they have a little room in the shell to support the wire to help prevent flex breaking. I crimp AND solder the wires, and when done properly, the pins slide into the connector shells with a satisfying CLICK, indicating the pin is fully held in place by the spring clip. The connectors are "genderless" -- use the same connector on both sides. Great for mix-n-match batteries, power supplies, chargers, and radio equipment.

I use them on all my ham gear, so I have a bunch, plus a crimping tool, so it was a no-brainer for me to do the replacement.

As for where to get, Radio Shack doesn't carry them, and I didn't find them listed on Fry's website. My local Micro Center has them in the robots/kits area, and any of the major ham radio shops (AES, HRO) will carry them. Also available at http://www.powerwerx.com and other online stores that cater to hams. I suppose Mouser, Digi-Key, Newark, Avnet, etc. probably stock as well. Nobody seems to have them super cheap in small quantities. I use so many, I buy 20-50 various color shells and 100 pins at a time. Over time it works out with the way they are priced by quantity.

Dale (W8ABZ)

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