# Specific 3D Printers, Scanners, & Hardware > MakerBot Forum >  X-Axis Won't Jog

## tommygdawg

Hello all,

Imagine my surprise when I went to email makerbot support and I've discovered they now charge $100 bucks just to send a flippin' email. Incredible. So I found this board. My issue?

It's been a number of months since I ran a print, and the last time I ran a print I was experiencing some issues with layer shifting on the X-Axis. Now, months later, the X-axis won't even move when the printer commands it to. I can move it by hand no problem, and all the applicable areas have been lubricated. I attempted to go into jog mode and try that, but the motor acts as though it's jammed when attempting to jog on the X-axis in either direction. It just grinds gears (more-or-less; it just doesn't move), then stops.

I previously had to have the motor cable replaced, because as is common with these things, it developed a short and I started experiencing similar issues as I am now. Since the replacement, I've let the motor wires hang free and out of the way, so they don't experience the same stress and then fail. I had hoped that would prevent this problem from happening again.

Any thoughts? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 - Tommy

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## RCSubGuy

THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME, too, and I got the same response from Makerbot in that they want $100 just to talk to me, won't diagnose over email or phone and want me to ship the entire unit back to them for mystery diagnosis and repair.  With a host of new, comparable printers on the market for at or near $500, what the hell are they thinking?  It would be a hair more to buy a whole new printer than it would be to send mine back for repairs.

At any rate.. rant ended, problem below:

I had intermittent "skips" in the X axis during prints, which screwed up the whole print, of course.  I troubleshot the issue to the best of my ability and determined that the shuttle moves freely and without binding, the belt is tight and is not slipping, and the stepper motor itself is not the issue (as I bought a replacement motor from Makerbot thinking that it _had to_ be the issue.

No luck with any of those solutions.

I'm at a complete loss now, but seeing that someone else is having the same issue is giving me hope that this is a quasi-common occurrence and someone, somewhere may have come up with a fix.

HELP!

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## RCSubGuy

Guess I should have done more research online as this looks to be a really common issue.  I'll tear into my printer tonight, but the issue appears to be broken wires in the ribbons controlling x-axis movement.  Wouldn't hurt to replace the limit switch wires at the same time.

Detailed instructions:

https://davenunez.wordpress.com/2014...axis-skipping/

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## tommygdawg

Heyyo,

Agreed on the rant  :Wink:  In regards to the issue, I don't think that it's the wires this time. As stated, I already replaced them once because I did have the issue you're talking about, and this time, I let them hang free so that they wouldn't be put in the same compromising position again. That aside, the issue I'm having is somewhat different this time. The X-axis won't move _at  all_. It just continually grinds. I tried taking the wires out and holding them in various positions whilst using the jog command to see if there was indeed an issue with the cable and it didn't help. The X-axis just won't move.

It's going to be hard to get replacement parts now, and I sure don't want to mail them my unit, shipping that thing will be a huge pain.

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## Mjolinor

It isn't the position that makes them fail it is the constant movement. Flexible wires are very expensive and so they are rarely fitted. However it hangs it will break eventually.

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## RCSubGuy

Well, at this point I don't have anything to lose and the issues that I saw on the other sites and YouTube videos are the exact one that I'm having.  I'll give it a shot and cross my fingers for success!  If so, I'll post up here...

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## tommygdawg

> It isn't the position that makes them fail it is the constant movement. Flexible wires are very expensive and so they are rarely fitted. However it hangs it will break eventually.





> Well, at this point I don't have anything to lose and the issues that I saw on the other sites and YouTube videos are the exact one that I'm having.  I'll give it a shot and cross my fingers for success!  If so, I'll post up here...


Guess I'll just pick up some replacement wires from a third party supplier. These are what I'm looking for, yeah? http://www.robotshop.com/en/replicat...otor-rev2.html

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## tommygdawg

Scratch that, it's this cable: http://www.robotshop.com/en/replicat...e-x-motor.html

I played with the wires some more and figured out that cause. When I held the motor cable a certain way, everything suddenly functioned as normal, when I let go of the cable I started having issues again. There's obviously a short in the cable. Problem seems to be solved.

RCSubGuy, this should help you out too.

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## Mjolinor

It is not likely to be a short it will be a break.

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## tommygdawg

> It is not likely to be a short it will be a break.


IE an open. Could be either.

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## MBSupport

Hey Guys! Support for printers out of warranty do have an incident cost of $100. Despite this you can certainly purchase parts from us at no additional cost. I recommend for you to use the Support site to troubleshoot and diagnose your issue and then call us up to purchase the correct parts.

Your issues specifically sound like either you x-axis motor cable or your x-axis bot step needs to be replaced. These instructions should help you diagnose:

1) Please turn off and unplug your bot.


2) Put your bot on it's left side and turn it so the bottom is facing you.


3) Using a 2.5mm hex key/screwdriver please remove the black rectangular plate covering the bottom right side of your bot.


4) When the plate is removed you will see your MightyBoard. Along the top of your MightyBoard you will see three, green rectangular chips called botsteps. Botsteps control the movement of your bot's axes. The botsteps are plugged into ports labeled X, Y, Z. Because it sounds like your issue is with the X axis and not the Y axis, swap the two botsteps connected to the X and Y ports. 


5) Put the bottom panel back on.


6) Return the bot to it's upright position.


7) Plug in and turn on your bot.


8) Jog each axis in each direction. If the issue moved to the Y Axis, we've isolated the issue to the botstep.

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## Hazel

What do you think is the biggest problem?

----------------------------------------------------

My stepper motor website:skysmotor.com - Machinery Design ? - ? Stepper Moter Development


"Necessity is the mother of invention." - Author unknown.

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