MeDucer controller not working

[Elder1]

When I turned on the main power this morning the firmware immediately became scrambled again, the same as before. I double checked the voltages from the supply and they are correct. I tried to upload the firmware again but it now gives me a sync error and fails. I will be doing some more troubleshooting. I suspect there may be a problem such as a board voltage regulator.

[Elder1]

Something is very wrong on the control board. I was trying to upload the firmware but this time I turned on the main power before doing it. I reached over to check the USB cable to make sure it was correctly plugged in and the cable was very hot. I immediately unplugged it and fortunately there does not seem to be any damage to my computer. I turned off all power and disconnected the steppers and left the USB cable disconnected. I then turned on main power. I used an infra-red temperature gun to check the controller board and the driver chip set for the filament stepper was very hot at 61C even thought the stepper was not connected. The other driver chips were ok. This board needs to be replaced.

[Elder1]

Perhaps I should mention that I know some Mandarin and read a little Chinese because in this part of Canada there are over 500,000 people that have a Chinese dialect as a first language. It is the third most common language in Canada. In some parts of the Vancouver area nearly all store signs are in Chinese

[zhangxueyou]

Chinese culture is great and profound, it worth learning.
And thank you for your suggestion, we will mark it and try to do better.

[Elder1]

I removed the board entirely and removed the stepper drivers. All cables are unplugged with only the USB plugged in and supplying power. It still fails with the sync error which means it is not talking to the computer. Something is destroyed when I turned on the power before trying to upload the firmware again. I am sure the USB chip is dead but not sure why. I have also tried talking to it with the computer 5 volts cut and on main power but that does not work. The regulator seems to be OK but something else sure is not. Anyway, it has failed so another board is required. Considering the circumstances regarding this machine I will not ask for a free replacement.

[zhangxueyou]

Is it displaying "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): nit in sync: resp=0x00" when you are trying to upload the firmware?

[Elder1]

Yes.

[Elder1]

I should say that when I cut the USB 5 volt cable and try to connect it to the board under printer power the USB cable still becomes hot very quickly. It seems to be supplying high current on one of the USB data cables. I haven't measured it because leaving it on very long at all can damage the computer. I do not currently have a scrap computer to try it on.

[zhangxueyou]

The situation seems not so good, please contact the customer service.

[Elder1]

OK, thank you for your help.

"Chinese culture is great and profound, it worth learning. :D "

Yes, it is. Some of my favourite music is Chinese Pure Land Chants. It is very beautiful and relaxing.