It looks like I know what to do in the next couple of days, thanks for your input.

@spodeopieter said in No communication after erase button pressed: 3.3 v rail seems good , the SAM chip is getting a little hot , around 40 degrees , the esp is ice cold. Just another thing I noticed , if I press the erase or reset button , nothing happens , no flashing of any LED's The SAM shouldn't get hot if it's just waiting to be flashed. Perhaps it is faulty. Once the chip is erased and waiting to be bootloaded, I wouldn't expect the Erase or Reset buttons to flash any LEDs. It's possible in theory to program the processor via the PanelDue port (and for the same reason, having a PanelDue connected might interfere with programming over USB, although in practice it doesn't seem to). You would need Bossa or SAM-BA and a serial-to-UART converter with 3.3V signal levels.