I finished up my Z-Plus installation, and when I go to home it, it sounds like it’s trying to tear itself apart. The best way I can describe the sound a rumbling noise, which occurs while the Z-axis carriage jerks up and down at random.
Troubleshooting, I moved the Z-axis connector to the X-axis motor which moves smoothly when I begin a homing sequence. Looking at the connector on the Z-axis motor, I noticed that the color of the wires are in a different order compared to the other steppers, including the original Z-axis motor. Is this motor wired into the connector incorrectly or is there something wrong with the motor itself?
The Z-axis motor connector is on the right, with the X-axis motor connector on the left for reference.
Additionally, like krayn, my kit was down two M3x18 screws, which I replaced with M3x20 screws from the hardware store. The 20mm long screws fit best on the Z-axis homing switch.
After further investigation, I’m 99.99% sure the issue is the wires being in the wrong order. I cut the harness on my old Z-axis motor and crimped on some connectors. Then I transposed the wiring (the red and black wires) on the motor to match the new Z-axis motor. The old motor now rumbles the same way as the new one. I’ll contact support to see what there is to do about it!
I just upgraded my 2017-era XXL and I had the same issue and my Z wires are also different from X, Depending - it’s likely one of two issues.
Z is reversed, moving down when homing instead of up – in CM > Settings, I clicked ‘send configuration data’ and this was fixed for me.
Another possibility is that the homing switch not activating and sensing when z is fully up - confirm that the led on the sensor turns on when a metal (ferrous/steel) item is immediately below and see if it is on when stalled and shaking.
I changed the settings to reflect the Z-Plus upgrade in CM before homing. The Z-axis doesn’t make it anywhere close to the homing switch. When starting the homing sequence, wherever it is, the Z-axis jerks up and down, seemingly at random.
I have a reply to my original post above where I tested the new motor’s wiring order with the old motor and got similar behavior.
Then wires are easy to move in the plastic housing. Use a small screwdriver to push the pin gently while you pull it.
Go Black, Blue, Red, Green.
If it goes the wrong direction, change your $3 setting.
Great! Pretty easy right? Seems to be a few of these slipping through. Such a simple fix.
For those who don’t know, All you need to do is get the stepper coil pairs together (Black/Blue & Red/Green) to get the motor moving. If the motor goes the wrong direction, you can swap ONE of the coil pairs (change Red/Green to Green/Red) or, depending on the axis and situation, change your $3 setting.
Black, Blue, Red, Green == Blue, Black, Green, Red because BOTH pairs are switched.
