Lowrider 2 Electronics Issues

Looking for Electronics Troubleshooting Tips … I connected my Arduino for the first time (Flashed with RAMPS Dual Endstop), added the RAMPS Board, added all 5 Motors and Motor Drivers (verified proper orientation), added the Full Graphics Contoller, added USB to computer for Arduino and added 12 volts to RAMPS…and nothing. Display is not on or backlit, no lights (that I can see)… I did verify voltages (12 V) going to RAMPS and appear OK, I even switched the 2 controller headers and still nothing. Removing Arduino from the stack and powering it separately appears to have power and appears normal… Please advise any troubleshooting tips/sites so that I can intelligently identify the issue.

Your problem is a bit of a puzzle. Usually with symptoms like yours, the issue is a blow voltage regulator on the Arduino Mega board, but I believe your board should have worked even with a blow regulator if you had the USB connected. The clone Mega boards are known for “weak” and “unreliable” voltage regulators, and the boards are delicate in that if you short pins to ground, it is easy to burn out the pins or blow the regulator.

So, since the Arduino appears to be alive with USB power, the first step could be to verify the board is alive when 12V power is used. You can apply the power to either VIN, or the power jack as framed in red in this picture:

If your Arduino is alive with 12V power, then the issue is likely with the Ramps board. Post a picture of your Ramps board and wiring, and we can verify that you have it wired correctly. Check for bend pins on the Ramps board. You can find a pinout diagram for the Ramps 1.4 here. Framed in red below is a 12V pin pair that you can use to verify that you have power to the board (and therefore the fuses are not blown).

image

I’m not sure what hardware you’re using, but I had a Rambo board with the external display. The display connects to the controller with a small, maybe 10 pin, cable. For whatever reason, the cable needed to be turned 180 degrees, reversing/inverting the connections. The cable even needed to be modified to cut the key notch off so it would fit.

Not sure if this is your issue, but this is a place to start.

Received New RAMPS 1.4 and this one works properly.

Question - Can you point me to the compiled (HEX) code for the Lowrider 2 (Marlin) for dual (independent) Y and Z steppers on RAMPS 1.4? Somehow, I get compile errors in Arduino when I try to do it myself.

Thank you
Darrell Buck

MarlinBuilder releases should have a V1CNC_Ramps_DualLR.

The Arduino IDE will no longer compile Marlin. PlatformIO is the IDE of choice on this forum for compiling Marlin.

1 Like