Go a heating failure message on your Makerbot replicator 2 or 2X?
What do these messages mean? How do you diagnose the real cause? Most importantly How do you fix your machine! This how-to diagnostic guide takes you through all the heating failure error messages and will get you fixed and printing again.
We have listed each of the Heater Error messages below and detailed what causes them.
Heating Failure #1
Message on screen : "Heating Failure #1 Software Temp Limit reached! Please Shutdown or Restart"
Printer will : shut off heater, cancel the print in progress and flash lights
What is happening: The machine thinks that the heater cartridge is over 300 degrees c
Causes: The obvious assumption here is that the heater cartridge is actually over 300 degrees c, through user error (as Makerbot appears to think would be the case). The reality is that it is almost always actually the heater sensor known as a THERMOCOUPLER that has the fault. If it is partially broken or otherwise damaged it will provide the motherboard with ridiculous readings like this.
Solution : Taken that the machine is not actually 300 degrees C, you need a new THERMOCOUPLER
Read about this here : Replicator 2 : Thermocoupler Upgrade and Repair
Replicator 2X : Thermocoupler Upgrade and Repair
Buy one here : www.bilby3D.com.au (less than $40)
Heating Failure #2
Message on screen : "Heating Failure #2 My extruders are not heating properly. Check my connections."
Printer will : shut off heater, cancel the print in progress and flash lights
What is happening: The machine has waited 90 seconds and did not see the temperature increase by 10 degrees or more
Causes/Solution: There are 2 possible causes.
a) The Heater Cartridge is faulty OR the Extruder Cable bundle is damaged.
The heater cartridge provides the heat to the heater block (the aluminium block the nozzle screws up into). The Heater cartridge is a metal tube that slides into the heater block from behind with 2 white stiff cables coming out of it that have a black connector on the end. This connector plugs into a connector from the main extruder cable bundle (with white and black cable pair).
Check the connector at the base of this bundle and the wires at the base of the cartridge are not damaged (very rare).
Does the heater cartridge actually heat up but the machine does not know ? If yes see b) Thermocoupler. If it does not heat up at all read on.
If you have a 2X disconnect the connections for both heater cartriges and swap them over. Tell the machine to heat the right extruder. The left one should actually heat up. If it does to the same the other way around.
If the working cartridge stops working and the not working one starts heating know that the extruder cable is faulty .
Read about this here : Replicator 2 and 2X : Replacing the Extruder Cable Bundle
Buy one here : www.bilby3D.com.au (less than $20)
If the non working cartridge still does not heat then the cartridge is faulty. Open a support ticket to arrange a new heater cartridge.
If you have a Replicator 2 I am afraid the only way to test is with a new extruder cable/heater cartridge. Open a support ticket and we will help you out.
b) The THERMOCOUPLER has the fault. If it is partially broken or otherwise damaged it will intermittently or permanently fail to provide accurate or any readings to the motherboard.
Is the heater cartridge heating but the motherboard does not know? If yes you need a new THERMOCOUPLER
Read about this here : Replicator 2 : Thermocoupler Upgrade and Repair
Replicator 2X : Thermocoupler Upgrade and Repair
Buy one here : www.bilby3D.com.au (less than $40)
Heating Failure #3
Message on screen : "Heating Failure #3 my extruders are losing temperature. Check my connections."
Printer will : shut off heater, cancel the print in progress and flash lights
What is happening: The machine thinks that the heater cartridge temperature has dropped by more than 30 degrees C after it reached it's target temperature.
Causes: This is a big temperature drop and can only be a failed Heater Cartridge or Thermocoupler...read Heating Failure 2 cause and solutions
Heating Failure #4
Message on screen : "Heating Failure #4 my temperature reads are failing! Please check my connections."
Printer will : The printer will turn off the related heater cartridge by try and still print...you need to cancel the job
What is happening: The machine is unable to detect the THERMOCOUPLER either because it is damaged or disconnected.
Solution : Check the cable for damage at both ends
Read about this here : Thermocoupler Function, Error and Repair
If it is faulty or damaged
Read about this here : Replicator 2 : Thermocoupler Upgrade and Repair
Replicator 2X : Thermocoupler Upgrade and Repair
Buy one here : www.bilby3D.com.au (less than $40)
Heating Failure #5
Message on screen : "Heating Failure #5 I'm reading out of range temperatures, Check my connections."
Printer will : shut off heater, cancel the print in progress and flash lights
What is happening: Voltage readings from the temperature sensor (THERMOCOUPLER) are repeatedly outside the normal range.
Cause : Either the connections have fallen out at the motherboard, or the cable is broken
Solution: Plug the connectors back in (see articles linked to above) or you need to get a new one (also see links above)