Power is on but LCD is off?

Beastie 2021-10-17 19:34:10 UTC #1

Hey all,

So I bought my FT-6 years ago and took my sweet time getting around to it. It was overall a very rough process, but I was eventually able to finish it. Tripple check the wiring, flip the power on, and... Nothing. I had no indication that it was even on other than the green light on the PSU. I checked the voltages and I'm getting 24V on the power in, but nothing from the bed wires. (Also if someone has a list of proper voltage reading on certain ports, please let me know )

For reference, I have a Dual Extruder with a 12864 GLCD and a Bigtreetech SKR v1.3 board. I initially thought it was the LCD, so I ran to micro center and picked up a replacement, but that didn't fix anything. I'm not sure if my board is faulty, but if I'm not wrong the LCD should turn on even before the firmware is installed, right? Is there something wrong with my board or is it something I did wrong?

I've heard the SKR board is better than the Marlin board, but I'm having a very hard time finding anyone in a similar situation as I am. I would like to think I have a fair amount of knowledge when it comes to 3D Printers, having fixed up 3 Prusa printers for my school, but this is beyond that knowledge.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I would have asked John himself but I'm not sure where I can even get in contact with him. Plus I'm sure he's busy trying to salvage any remaining bits of the company after the pandemic.
Thanks in advance

csorrows 2021-10-20 00:08:22 UTC #2

Sorry for the delayed reply.

The best way for us to troubleshoot this is to see images of the end points of the wiring. Once we verify the wiring is correct, we can test parts.

I'm also not sure what you mean by "the Marlin board". Marlin is a firmware for supported controllers, which there are many. If you are asking if the SKR is better than a RAMPS type board, then yes, very much so. Also, you can put Marlin 2.0 on the SKR, so it is indeed a "Marlin board".

It's true, John would be better for the elecrical part of it as that was his part of the design. I did the mechanical, but also did the manual, so I do have somewhat of an understanding of it.

Tin_Falcon 2021-10-20 20:55:59 UTC #3

did you try communicating via computer ?
if not download the repitier host package https://www.repetier.com/
It has some fantastic trouble shooting and diagnostic tools.
And to answer you question I would not expect the lcd to function without firmware loaded. it has been a while since I built my kits IIRC i loaded firmware before trying to power by it self. The firmware drives the LCD display.
Sorry have been very distracted by life the last week or so.
Also hate to be the bearer of bad news but I had to tweak things a little to get things to work . Hopefully your experience will be different.