So I’m 47 hours into my print and I notice this… My build plate is at only 23c… This is room temperature. My question is, do you guys thing the heating element just died or is it possible that the print itself is working as a heatsink and cooling everything down? This temp makes me very nervous because below 35c parts start popping off of the build plate. Since I’m 47 hours into this print there’s no way I’m going to stop it. I’ll have to test it after it’s done I guess. I even used an IR temp gun and verified that it’s cold. I’m really worried that the part’s just going to pop off mid print and ruin the whole thing… Oh great… Down to 22c…
Could it be the gcode telling the printer to turn the plate off? I’ve had that happen before where I forget to punch that setting into slic3r
@Jacob_Bridenbecker_W the photo shows the gcode target is 65C.
@Kevin_Danger_Powers I’d say broken wire or similar electronics issue.
@Ryan_Carlyle That’s what I’m thinking too… Now I’m probably going to have to figure out how the hell to fix that…
@Jacob_Bridenbecker_W It shouldn’t be the gcode because it’s programmed to run at 80c (the temp sensor is off) until the first layer is done and then it’s suppose to drop down to 65c. I do this so that it sticks to the plate well but then it cools down so the new hot plastic coming out cools faster.
Doubt the bed itself died. Could be the wire or the mosfet…
Did you check with your hand to ensure its the bed that’s the issue not the thermistor? If it’s the thermistor and the bed feels hot it’s likely to burn your house down if it’s a cheap Chinese kit.
FYI, IR temps guns don’t read accurately on a lot of surfaces… bare aluminum or glass for example. Should read fine on plastic or blue tape.
@Griffin_Paquette I really hope it’s not a mosfet. That won’t be as easy or cheap to fix.
Or the wiring or connectors melted, and it’s moments away from catching fire. This is why most good firmwares have implemented thermal runaway protection that halts the print.
@Kevin_Danger_Powers if it is shoot me a hangouts message. I can repair/replace even surface mount ones fairly easily.
Would love to see what you are printing. 
@Griffin_Paquette ok, if I have any questions I’ll let you know. Thanks.
Ok so I just did a little poking around and found out that BOTH wires from the heated bed broke off… -.- that’s annoying. I can’t really see back there but I’m guessing I can just solder them back on. The part I’m most annoyed about is the fact that now I’m going to have to relevel my bed. God that is a pain in the ass. Lol. But I have a much better understanding of how to do it now so it shouldn’t be too bad.
@Paul_de_Groot check out my previous post. I have a bunch of pics showing it’s progress.
You also need to dig into your firmware and see why the print didn’t stop… Marlin has a safety feature that if it can’t maintain the correct temperature (outside of an acceptable range) then it will shut down with a #MINTEMP or #MAXTEMP error. Why that is disabled is beyond me, as it prevents your house from burning down if the thermistor fails.
@William_Steele I have no idea how to access the firmware for this thing.
@Kevin_Danger_Powers fatigue failure. Solder breaks if you repeatedly put it under stress. You need some kind of strain relief to get the bending away from the solder joint. And upgrade to flex rated wiring.
This is why I hate i3 type printers… big, high-current wiring in a flex cycle application? It’s a recipe for failure and has a pretty good chance of causing a fire.
Mintemp/maxtemp errors apply to the hotend, not the bed. Many printers don’t have a heated bed…
Hotend meltdowns have been the cause of several fires (don’t leave the printer unattended, including sleeping), but I haven’t been able to find mention of one from an overheated bed. While possible most beds are power limited, just not enough juice in the supplies to get them that hot
Absolutely wrong. Most hotends operate at 40 watts. Most beds operate at 150-200 watts. Since a lot of old printers are 12v that means 13-18 amps. This is more than most household appliances.
The bed itself might not get hot enough to burn, but every wire, mosfet, and connector in its path is more than capable of catching fire.
Heatbed connectors burn up all the time.