My Max is running, but not the LCD ! :-(

[Elysio]

Hi.

Yesterday nigth I activated my Max. Wowwww what a feeling
So all my work was right the cables and the electrical stuff seams to be right.
I followed ecxactely step by step the instruction to animate the controller with the firmware, everything runs well and the firmware was perfectly transmitted, I could see that with repetier host, because I could activate every part of the machine , BUT
Unfortunately the LCD Display doesnt show me any information, I just still see the blue light and the violet/gray blocks on the display, nothing more.
I transmitted the firmware 3 times, but the result was always the same.
So I thought that I have connected the plugs wrong to the display and the Rambo, but , no they are perfect, like the pictures in the instruction.

So what is the problem ?

Is there a pin discription, where I can see the function of every pin ? This evening I will control the soldering points but I think they are right, anyway, maybe you can tell me which pins are important for the informations ?

Thank you in advance, Christoph.

[Nylocke]

Did you switch the ext1 and 2 cables to the LCD around? That's something I always mess up.

[Elysio]

Hi.

No everything is connected as in the instruction.
I tried now different possiblities, but its mostly the same result, one time it was also black.

[Nylocke]

What firmware and what version of it are you using?

Also, it is rather important to install the RAMBo pin extensions provided in your firmware into your Arduino folder in your documents.

from the wiki

Marlin and Repetier-Firmware (and others?) have extended support for RAMBo that takes advantage of the Atmega2560 MCU's pins that are not available on Arduino Mega2560. These pins are used for LCD interface or external stepper drivers.
RAMBo can operate with the Arduino app as an Arduino Mega2560, but it is best to install the RAMBo Arduino addons. The add ons need to be copied into your Arduino application's hardware folder. You should end with a boards.txt file at arduino-1.0.5/hardware/rambo/boards.txt. The add ons can be found in https://github.com/ultimachine/RAMBo/tr ... uino_1.x.x or it may be included with your firmware(i.e. Marlin).
Once the add ons are installed you can select RAMBo from Arduino>Tools>Board>
Without the add ons you can use Arduino Mega2560 from Arduino>Tools>Board> . You will not have functionality on the extended ports. Firmware may not work as expected if the firmware developer expected the add on folder to be installed.

[Elysio]

Hi Mike.

I`. using the firmware Repetier _0.91

Repetier.ino

Created : 11.03.2014

Thank you for the info, but theres nothing in the instruction about this, I will give it try, to hope that it will work.

[Elysio]

Okay, now its broken
I really dont know what to do, this is a level to high for me.
How can I copy the folder from github, there is nowhere a link ?
There are many files in the subfolders, but which one shell I take ?

Or is only this important :

arduino/hardware/rambo/boards.txt

- Means this text file ?
- And what to do after i have this files, should I send them ecxactely like the firmware to the printer?

Sorry I`m asking why is this not in the instruction of the Rostock Max V2 assembly guide ? I think if this is really to do , it is an important information.

Sorry for my terrible english, but this is a level to high for me

Christoph, who is really confused now .

[Nylocke]

Ok, so what you need to do is locate your arduino folder, on Mac its in your documents, and on windows it should be somewhere in Program files. You'll need to unzip this folder and put the two folders in it into your arduino folder, and that will allow arduino to understand that the RAMBo has more pins than the Arduino MEGA 2560, and will allow it to use those (The LCD uses these pins). Then from there, all you gotta do is go to tools-board and select RAMBo from the list, reupload, and it should work.

[Elysio]

Thank you so much, it gave me new hope.
I could locate the Rambo in Ardunio and I cleared the Eprom, and uploaded the firmware again.
But no, nothing happend

Thank you but I`m still on search.

[Elysio]

Okay lets make it systematicly.

- Is someone here who can give me his files which enabled you installing your LCD Display successfully ? Please give me your version of the firmware, and the additional files you`ve installed. OS : Windows 7 64 bit
- Is someone in Germany with whom I can fix the problem ?

Now the technical way.

- What should be the first step to find the origin of the problem ?
- What could be the reason why the display is active but does not show any information. Maybe the pins, maybe there are other reasons?

Please be patient with me and my questions, but look, I spend 5 days to assemble the printer very conscientiesly and slowly, not to make any mistake, and indeed the machine is build very well, but now this.......... Man that annoys me so much. Its really the question , that I have done something wrong or the software causes problems ?

Best regards, Christoph.

[guanu]

any way you can post some pics of the lcd-rambo as it is and how you have it wired in the machine, and maybe some close ups of the actual rambo-lcd adapter (each side)?

Guanu

[Elysio]

Hi Guana.

I will do this immediately this evenning when I`m home, Thank you.
Maybe you need some more informations, Corelogs etc...

One thing I forgot to say, it seems that the displayboard works partly. The Beeper works, and the navigation wheels works because I can hear the signal of the beeper.
Also the Reset button under the navigation dial, works well, the Printer will set back immediately when I press it.

[geneb]

That sounds like you've got a cold solder joint on the LCD adapter board, or a solder bridge across a couple of pins.

g.

[Elysio]

Hello

As promised, here are the pictures

I also added an image with the pins where I could find out which pins are connected, ecxactely 20, and which not , 14 pins.
So I think this count fits perfectly the count of the connector pins of the LCD, but maybe you can see which one is a problem ?

I did a simple test, I took an Ohmmeter and stuck a resistor in every pin and I`ve tried to find the counterpart pin on the LCD Connector , so I could see which one is connected and which one not.

Today I also played a little bit with the navigation dial, and it works , because I could activate the hot end and the bed to heat. Even without any information on the LCD
So as I wrote, the LCD has its blue light, and the pixelblocks are visible.
So I guess its the Rambo which doesnt know that it should give the LCD the informations for the display.

So what ist the origin of the problem.
Firmware
Cold solder joints ( I guess not )

Thank you in advance, Christoph.

[Elysio]

No idea ?

[Dad003]

same trouble for me , checked everything and rechecked and nothing only a blue screen who bip if you push the buttom ,

[Eric]

Have you tried adjusting the contrast pot? If set to an extreme, it could be impossible to see anything on the LCD even if it was working.

[Elysio]

Thank you Eric.

No unfortunately its not the contrast.

Dear SeemeCNC Team , what could it be. I gave you the pictures, I guess its not enough, what else do you need ?
Are we the poor two guys , who have this problem only , and no one else ?

I mean yesterday I calibrated all parameters via the computer, and the printer is running fine.
But maybe our questions are to stupid, but if it is so, please let us know that.

Christoph.

[Polygonhell]

If you want to contact SeeMeCNC you should probably send them an email, John does post here occasionally, but it's infrequent, this is predominantly an end user forum.
As the the LCD, it could be bad wiring, or a bad LCD panel, the latter does happen.

[vedat]

@Elysio, you need to go through this step by step. From what I’ve read on this thread, it seems as if you pieced it together according to the given instructions and I understand that when one follows the tutorial very carefully and makes sure that every detail is correct, sometimes, it’s not the best feeling to have when the LCD doesn’t work properly or doesn’t light up or stuff like this. Once this happens, most people start testing the parts of circuit abruptly and miss the real issue in their abstract testing. I’d suggest that you go through this step by step again.

printed circuit board

[Elysio]

Hi

Problem solved. I bought a new 20 € Display, and it works very well, just plugged it and it works.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/301161697820?ssP ... 1439.l2649 It the same LCD, but for a different printer, as you can see on the adapter.

Bye and thank you for all your help and replys.

[Eaglezsoar]

Hi

Problem solved. I bought a new 20 € Display, and it works very well, just plugged it and it works.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/301161697820?ssP ... 1439.l2649 It the same LCD, but for a different printer, as you can see on the adapter.

Bye and thank you for all your help and replys.

If you had been a little more patient the team at Seemecnc would have taken care of you. Sometimes they get busy and do not respond immediately but
they will respond. Anyways, good job in getting it working again.

[Elysio]

Hi

Yes they asked me to send them back the LCD display, but truelly, sending it back to USA would be more expensive and resources consuming than ordering one here in Germany. Sometimes its better to do it directly in your country

[Eaglezsoar]

Hi

Yes they asked me to send them back the LCD display, but truelly, sending it back to USA would be more expensive and resources consuming than ordering one here in Germany. Sometimes its better to do it directly in your country

That I can understand, at least they offered. Glad you got it fixed.
Happy Printing!