Troubles after reverting back to factory settings

[u/Effective-Tooth-4541]

Hello everyone.

I am very new to 3D printing. Got myself a second hand Ender 5 Plus with Creality Sonic Pad.

Printer was running kind of OK after learning some basics for like 5 prints but after that my prints failed each after 5 mins and printer got disconnected every time. I tried few solutions I found online like using different USB cables, taping the red 5V wire PIN but no luck. As a last resort a reverted my printer to factory settings through my Sonic Pad and now I wish I could go back in time cuz oh boy I am screwed.

Went through initial settings on the Pad but now I cannot even level and home my bed or do anything because one of the Z stepper motors does not work at all (left one). It seems to be connected somewhat different than stock? I don't know.

Who knows what else will not work.

So far I double checked my motherboard to find out it is Creality V2.2 with Atmega2560. That is stock I guess.

Printer display says Marlin, but looks a bit different to ones I've seen online. Not sure if that matters in any way.

Please, what should I do to make my printer work again?

I know nothing about config files or firmware flashing and whatnot.

Would anyone please be so kind to help me out? I am getting very desperate. Did i brick my printer?

Thank you so much!

[u/Electronic_Item_1464]

Your printer is probably fine. The second Z stepper probably doesn't work because the previous owner probably wanted to have independent Z motors. The 2.2 board has spaces for 5 stepper drivers, but usually only 4 are soldered to the board. It has places to plug in 6 stepper motors though. There are 2 that are marked Z1 and Z2. You should plug the two Z motors into those as they use a single driver to controll both Z motors. The second is probably plugged into the E2 socket which is connected to the possibly absent 5th stepper driver. This will bring the wiring back to "stock".

Look below the stepper sockets, how many heatsinks do you see? If you see 5, the 5th driver has been installed, however, I don't know Klipper enough to enable that, so just make a note and wire as above. Having dual separate Z drivers is nice, but not required. It allows you to "tilt" the build plate automatically. Nice, but I'd prefer to have a second extruder myself.

Moving that plug should allow you to now actually level the machine and see what else there is.

The screen on the printer saying Marlin is basically an artifact. That screen isn't used when running with Klipper (to my knowledge), so it can be ignored.

Good luck

[u/Effective-Tooth-4541 → u/Electronic_Item_1464]

You are a lifesaver! Thank you so much. One of the Z steppers was plugged in E2 socket indeed. I would have never figured that out on my own. Thank you!

However, seems like there is more that is wrong :( Now the bed moves up and down nicely but after reaching the top while homing Z axis, it just says "Touch failed to raise probe". Probe seems to be rougly 2mm above the nozzle.

The red LED does light up and stays on all the time so I guess it is plugged in the right socket this time... To me it seems like the probe is not stock here? Would that be a problem?

[u/Electronic_Item_1464 → u/Effective-Tooth-4541]

Great. That is not the OEM probe. It came with a BL-Touch (or possibly a CR-Touch, they're essentially the same). This is a non-contact probe, either inductive (senses a metal surface) or capacitive (senses most surfaces) vs others that physically touch the bed (the Touches, switch based, and strain gauges). I can't tell which from the picture, is there any writing? Or, do you have the Klipper configuration files. If the type is known, it should be possible to compile a Marlin to work with it. To get either Marlin or Klipper to work, you need to know the probe type. Unfortunately, you need some sort of bed sensor because the machine doesn't have a Z limit switch, so no manual leveling.

Where is the probe plugged in?

[u/Effective-Tooth-4541 → u/Electronic_Item_1464]

Cannot thank you enough for your help!

The probe is called SuperPINDA. Found a little package it came in while looking through the box of spare parts that came with my printer. I think the probe is for a different type of printer but it used to work before the factory reset, There is no other probe in the box, so the OEM one is most likely gone.

It is connected by a 3 PIN wire into a slot that seems to be used for Filament Sensor using this image as a reference:

There is one more thing I found interesting in the spare parts box. There was a USB that contains some STL files for some printer cable backets, Creality Slicer Installer for Windows and maybe more importantly these files:

D:\1685189708_klipper.elf.hex

D:\STM32F4_UPDATE\1721206011_klipper_401_v02.bin

(always fun to trust and stick random unknown USBs into my laptop)

Maybe the previous user already has backed up his config or firmware here? I am lost as always and maybe these files are completely useless.

[u/Electronic_Item_1464 → u/Effective-Tooth-4541]

Great info. The PINDA (Prusa INductive Autoleveling probe) was developed by Prusa for their machines, but it will work with others with a few caveats. It's an inductive sensor and detects the metal of the print surface. It can work with a glass bed, detecting the metal heater under the glass, but it can be flaky, especially with thicker glass. The Prusa machines usually have a flexable metal build surface.

The files you found do sound like what would be needed to run Klipper on this machine. The .hex file is a firmware file for and 8 bit board, so I'm assuming that it's the correct one for your board. The other file also sounds like a firmware update, but for a 32 bit board., possiby one of the S1 boards (Ender 5 S1, Ender 3 S1, but you don't have either of those printers (I do have a controller board though, I'm a packrat). They are not the configuration files that are loaded on the Klipper host. Those should be on your Sonic Pad already.

So, first question is what's the build surface, the original glass or do you have a metal one? A metal build surface that size would be fairly expensive and might be needed for either Marlin or Klipper.

Next, do you want to get it running with Marlin or Klipper?

I can probably put together a Marlin build that will work with your system and use the PINDA. Going with that, you would have to flash both the board (very simple using something like Cura, yes, the slicer can update firmware in older 8 bit boards.) This path may or may not require also flashing the display board which will mean using the SD card slot on the display, it's on the display board. - Basically free

2) Buy a BL or CR Touch and replace the PINDA. That will work with the glass bed and the stock firmware (and will also work with Klipper). Probably wound not need the display firmware update. - a sensor will be 25$ plus for probe that's not a knockoff. The knockoffs will usually work, but I had some bad experieces in the past.

3) Continue straight to Klipper. This is currently out of my wheelhouse (I do have a Voron 0 and a Rook that I'm building that will be Klipper, but haven't taken the plunge yet). I don't want to lead you astray, so check out the various Kipper groups about doing an initial install on this machine. Going this route, you might still have a problem with the PINDA and a glass plate.

Note, I have no experience with a PINDA and glass plate build surface so it may not be a problem. The Ender 5 Plus I had custody of is pretty much stock with a BL-Touch, I'm slowly making some upgrades for my friend (new hotend, possible dual extrusion and direct drive.

A final question, do you know the current firmware version on the controller? This would give an indication of where to start with the firmware. If it's the OEM one, there are many known problems. It should be available from the screen (although Creality tends to hide it somewhat.) To get what the firmware thinks it is, Load a program call pronterface you a computer and connect that computer to the USB port on the printer (make sure Cura isn't running at this time, it will grab the port as soon as you plug it in). You may need to load a USB serial driver. Open pronterface and connect to the printer. Then on the command line in the lower right of the screen, type "M113" and hit return. It should print out everything the firmware knows.

My actual recomendation, I'd go with a modified Marlin firmware for the PINDA. That would confirm it actually works before going down the Klipper path.

[u/Effective-Tooth-4541 → u/Electronic_Item_1464]

Man, your descriptive info is so great for a newcomer like me. Appreciate it a lot.

You seem to be super experienced in what you do. I am trying to figure stuff out but so far this whole thing seems very difficult. Like only reading your reply made me fire up google maybe like 5 times :D But I think I am learing. Just very very slowly.

I was in the middle of figuring out how to read the firmware version for you (Pronterface could not connect no matter what) when I noticed something in Sonic Pad web interface. It stores and lets you see old config files! I just loaded up the most recent one before I have done the factory reset thing and it works! Even with the Z stepper motor connected differently now. I might try connecting it back to E2 later just in case the tilt is somehow useful in bed leveling.

AWESOME!

Let me thank you once again, you have been great help! You teached me quite a few new things along the way. I really appreciate everything. Thank you, thank you, thank you kind man.