I have a CR-10v3 and have just bought and fitted the BLTouch option. I’ve installed the “CR-10 V3TF1.1.6.0BLTouchV3.1PowerLossContinueFilamentCheckEnglishandChinese382.14.hex” firmware upgrade which looks OK. I have the BLTouch option on the menus in any case. I have removed the Z end stop as per the instructions and I fitted the sensor which gives a solid red light prior to printing. This turns blue when a print starts, and goes red again when the probe hits something, but the printer continues lowering the head as if it is still waiting for the probe to reach the base. At this point I have to turn off the printer before it rams the bed.
I’ve checked the wiring and I think it looks good.
So what should I do next to help diagnose this? Any ideas? Thanks.
Put a small square of a certain height underneath the BL-TOUCH so that the BL-TOUCH is triggered early, and then remove the square when he descends, and observe if the Z-axis stops before the platform. If it does, the default Z-axis compensation is too low. You can format the memory card (the Z-axis compensation data is stored in the memory card), and then reboot the machine to set the Z-axis compensation value, you can refer to the video of installing BL TOUCH on CR-10, the second half of the video starts at 4.30 seconds, there is a Z-axis compensation setup procedure.
Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I’ve tried placing my finger under the trigger well above the bed and the head continues to descend for several centimetres, so I don’t think that this is the problem. My printer doesn’t currently have a memory card in it as I print via Octoprint generally. I was testing it with a PC (Linux) connected directly and using Cura or PrusaSlicer to start the auto levelling. The auto levelling starts in the centre of the bed, which I think is a good sign. It just never stops descending.
I think that this might help with the diagnosis. I’ve sent these commands to my printer via Octoprint…
[…]
Send: G91
Recv: ok
Send: G0 Z10 F200
Recv: ok
Send: G90
Recv: ok
[…]
Send: M280 P0 S160
Recv: ok
[…]
Send: M280 P0 S10
Recv: ok
[…]
Send: G91
Recv: ok
Send: G0 Z-10 F200
Recv: ok
Send: G90
Recv: ok
[…]
This causes the printer to raise 10mm, clear the probe alarm (from the previous attempt), drop the head 10mm, which causes the probe to trigger and then the probe flashes red, which I understand is a fault.
If asked to self test, the probe drops and raises all day. If I do a self test and it hits my finger, then again I get a flashing red LED.
I know it has been a while since this thread started but I have just spent 2 frustrating days fitting a BL Touch probe to my (2019 vintage) Ender 3 and experienced similar problems - the sensor did all the right things, but the software was failing to detect when the plunget hit the bed, result = loud graunching sounds as the steppers attempted to drive the nozzle through the bed. It turns out that the 2 pin lead that replaces the Z axis limit switch connection was wired backwards (manufacturing fault), so the proper signal wasn’t reaching the controller. Removing the two pins from the connector block and reversing them instantly solved the problem.
I had other issues, mainly to do with selecting the right firmware build for my machine, but those were relatively easily fixed once the hardware was all connected up properly.
If you look at the video linked by Colin above, the connector that replaces the Z axis microswitch connector has a black and a white wire - the white wire should be nearest to the display LCD connector. If it is the other way around (black nearest the display connectro) it won’t work.