USB Port and Cable Info

cults3d

This guide is here to address 2 common issues caused by USB cables & the remedy: -After time several USB ports become "Unusable" on several 3D printers. -Even when turned off, the USB cord is powering the printer. This is caused by the USB cable sending power to your printers main board. This is EXTREMELY bad for the main board, as it supplies too low of voltage when the board is not powered on, and it sends EXTRA voltage to the board when it is powered on via the power supply. It can cause MANY issues such as the perception that the USB port has broken, corruption of data on the SD card placed in the printer, or even permanent damage to your main board's components. The remedy is extremely cheap and simple & reverseable. Take 1mm of tape and align it over the VCC pin (purple tape, as seen in the photo below), then press it down with some small tweezers or a small screw driver. Place it into the USB port (as it really pushes it down), then remove it and examine that the tape is where it needs to be. The power pin should be disabled at this point.