OpenBuilds Blackbox4X v2.7 Brains Board (Says 2.1 next to the heat sinks though) Machine has been working fine, now the Z axis led on the side is coming on. Have tried adjusting the dial but nothing changed. Have tried changing the order of powering up by USB and by 24V power. Unplugged USB etc. Checked z axis 4 wire connector was plugged in properly. If I disconnect the Z 4 pin connector it doesn’t light up but that is expected. Looking at the manual it says to check power and for shorts. Not 100% sure on what ports to check. Hope my motor isn’t toast. If anyone has any advise for how to go about testing, it would be greatly appreciated.
Swapped Z axis and Y axis around to check if it was the connection to the motor. It is always the Z axis led that lights up no matter which motor I plug in.
Switching jumpers to Slave Motor Z (Y was not in use anyway) and the direction seems to allow me to control the Z without error. Not sure if this causes any other issue. Guessing the Blackbox Z axis driver is fried or something.
When I said without error, the Z led still comes on but it doesn’t seem to impact my use of the Slave from a non used Z to a “Z2” if you will.
If it stays red even when disconnected, then probably yes. Ever spun the Z motor by hand while it was still connected to the controller?
I haven't ever done that because I read a while ago it's a bad thing to do on stepper motors. Will running off the Y2 and changing the jumpers to Z cause any other issues. I think the stepper has burnt our or a fault occurred on the Z so I used the Y2 and changed the jumpers. Still a red light without a motor plugged in on the Z but the Y2 solution at least got the machine running again.
Nope thats why that jumper exists. If you havent got a Y2 motor, it is a convenient spare for any axis
Cool thanks man, I will try and make sure the VREF dial is correct as it is the only thing I can figure caused it to burn out. Appreciate your help as always!
Well, no. If the current is set too high, the driver will shut itself down, light the LED, and once you dial it back, and power cycle, resets itself. Those driver are pretty bulletproof, protects themselves from undervoltage, overcurrent, short circuit and overtemperature. To be damaged permanently, i'd more attribute to the (as you mentioned couldn't be) backfeeding of the driver by spinning motors by hand, or disconnecting motor wiring while power is on (collapsing magnetic field causes back-emf) - perhaps inadvertently (intermittent connection / loose terminal)
I would be inclined to think I didn’t have the Z axis plugged in all the way at some stage then. I am pretty confident on it but if that’s the most likely cause I can never be 100%.
