smart effector not working

Monster Delta

hi my smart effector z probe has stopped working all i get now is the led flashing twice then if i tap the hotend it might work momentarily but then stops and blinks twice again, if i leave it alone every minute or so it will flash twice again

dc42

It sounds like the electronics on the effector is resetting at intervals, which suggests a power problem. Check that the Vcc and ground connections on the 8-way connector are sound. If you waggle the cable, does it flash twice a few seconds later?

Monster Delta

i re crimped all the wires and its back to working like a charm thankyou

Monster Delta

ok so its back to not working now ive re crimped all the connections and run continuity test from the pins under the connector on the duet to the pins under the conector on the smart effector and there are no breaks so the problem has to be on the effector side not the wiring, am i correct?

BPisLife

When I put my smart effector together I had broken the ferrite bead off of the board torquing down the magballs. I was able to repair it and replace the ferrite bead. Make sure the components on the board near the magballs aren’t cracked or lifting off of the board. You could be getting intermittent connections.

Monster Delta

Thanks for the suggestion but it all appears intact. I checked the voltages on the 8 way header and there all 3.2v its really odd

dc42

@monster-delta said in smart effector not working:

ok so its back to not working now ive re crimped all the connections and run continuity test from the pins under the connector on the duet to the pins under the conector on the smart effector and there are no breaks so the problem has to be on the effector side not the wiring, am i correct?

Is the symptom the same as before, i.e. it works at intervals, and sometimes flashes twice for no apparent reason?

Monster Delta

@dc42 yes its the same as before i spent all day yesterday trying to chase down the source of the problem i even changed the wiring loom last night but still no joy

dc42

Does waggling the loom provoke the error?

This type of problem is usually caused by a bad crimp connection in the loom, however I suggest you also check the following:

Do the solder joints between the Vcc and Gnd pins of the 8-way connector and the Smart Effector PCB look sound?
Does the ferrite bead (labelled L1, close to the Vcc pin of the 8-way connector AFAIR) look properly soldered to the PCB? Use magnification to check this, also check that this component is not cracked.

Monster Delta

@dc42 all things i have checked and are good as far as i can tell and as i say there is 3.2v between the pins so rules out a bad crimp

dc42

@monster-delta said in smart effector not working:

@dc42 all things i have checked and are good as far as i can tell and as i say there is 3.2v between the pins so rules out a bad crimp

Does anything in particular provoke the fault, such as waggling the cables, or moving the effector in a certain direction?

Monster Delta

@dc42 tapping it sometimes does leaving it for a few hours will sometimes get it to respond but soon reverts to either not working at all or the 2 flashes but it really seems random i even soldered the crimps onto the wires but i cant seem to find one particular thing that provokes a response

dc42

@monster-delta said in smart effector not working:

@dc42 tapping it sometimes does leaving it for a few hours will sometimes get it to respond but soon reverts to either not working at all or the 2 flashes but it really seems random i even soldered the crimps onto the wires but i cant seem to find one particular thing that provokes a response

OK, if you think the effector is faulty, please ask your supplier to replace it. See https://www.duet3d.com/warranty.

Monster Delta

@dc42 ok will do thanks for your time

Monster Delta

I filled out the warranty form on monday morning but i havn't received a response yet

T3P3Tony

@monster-delta I have highlighted this

Monster Delta

@t3p3tony thankyou

Monster Delta

Replacement received promply and now this one is doing weird things. I went to run calibration this morning and at first it wouldn't do much and after a few reboots it sprung into life but now it constantly triggers erratically and the values bounce around from 0 to 1000 and various values in between i checked the voltage and it is is 3.3v un plugged the fan and the hotend and removed the arms but it makes no difference

dc42

If the reading bounces around without the green LED flashing or flickering in sympathy, that suggests a bad crimp connection in the output wire from the effector to the Duet Z probe input.

Monster Delta

The green light does flash randomly without any kind of pattern to it