One Z Stepper changed direction
Hi all - I'm not quite sure where to start with this one! one of my Z steppers has just started to run in reverse. This seemed to happen mid print last night, but is now affecting homing - 2 motors will move the bed down as expected, but the 3rd (front left ) is now raising it. The machine has done many hours of successful prints to this point, and of course no wiring or configuration has been changed. Can anyone think why one of the Z steppers would "randomly" change direction? This is of course worrying and can cause a lot of damage I'd rather avoid! Thank you,
3 Replies
harsh-harlequin•2y ago
further to this - I'm doing some digging and have managed to work out that this particular stepper is actually not just reversed, but it's only running in one direction. If I use the "set center kinematic position" script and then ask the bed to move up then the stepper moves CCW, if I ask the bed to move down... then it moves CCW. Thanks,
another update - I've unplugged the cable and tested continuity on all 4 wires and they're fine. Plugged it back in again and... well now it's working? Although this doesn't fill me with confidence since I haven't actually changed anything - any ideas appreciated! Thanks,
are you still using the dupont connectors that come with the motors? If so those can cause strange problems like this and is why the community recommends cutting them off and replacing with jst-xh connectors (or whatever is appropriate for your board)
harsh-harlequin•2y ago
thank you for the suggestion - one of the steppers is using dupont and I had actually assumed that jst was the default and I had put a dupont on there for some reason! the stepper in question with the issue is already a jst connector so actually maybe this points to some dodgy crimping on my part - thank you