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My M3ID appears to be dead :-(

Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:11 pm
by Explorer74
I had my M3ID lock up again in the middle of a print. I shut the system down and when I came back a couple of days later I could not connect to the printer. When I turn it on the power supply comes up and the PI lights up, but the printer does not power up. The only light in the electronics box is a dim green light at the USB connector. The fan does not come on and the printer does not make the little noise it usually makes when it powers up. I have checked the power connection and it is good ( or the PI wouldn't have power). At this point I am really frustrated. Anyone have any suggestions ?

Re: My M3ID appears to be dead :-(

Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:36 am
by Tim
The electronics board has three fuses, one large automotive one and two small surface-mount type parts in little sockets. I don't think that these have changed in the RAMBo revisions since the one I have. Remove each of these, starting with the automotive fuse, and check for continuity.

If a fuse has blown, then it's important to figure out why it blew, otherwise plugging in a new one is just going to cause it to blow again. Sounds like something shorted, in which case your best bet is to go straight to MakerGear for help. Don't worry---they'll get you up and running again.

Re: My M3ID appears to be dead :-(

Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:48 pm
by jk42
I agree with Tim. If you haven't done so, please open up a ticket with us at support@makergear.com
It does sound like a blown fuse. We need to figure out if it is and why this is happening.

Re: My M3ID appears to be dead :-(

Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2017 4:24 pm
by Explorer74
I checked the fuses. They are all good. I talked with Michael at MakerGear support. We finally figured out that the USB cable I had connecting my printer to my laptop was interfering with the wifi commands. I unplugged the cable and everything worked :-) When I first got the M3ID I plugged in the USB cable because that is how I used the M2. I didn't realize the wifi talking to the build in PI with OctoPrint was fighting with the USB cable all this time.

Re: My M3ID appears to be dead :-(

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 4:13 pm
by Tim
Huh. I would not have expected the combination of WiFi and USB to make the machine completely unresponsive. Thanks for posting a follow-up with the resolution; that will certainly help users in the future if they run into the same issue.

Re: My M3ID appears to be dead :-(

Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:23 pm
by Explorer74
Apparently it doesn't usually affect the printer. I had been using it like that for several months. There was one previous occasion when the printer just stopped and locked up in the middle of a print. I guess it runs normally on wifi through the PI, but occasionally the USB sends something that makes the printer spasm. Weird. Glad I got it figured out :-)