[Help] My Ender 3 isn't powering the extruder motor. Do I need a new motherboard?

The extruder suddenly stopped working after I cleared a jam that caused it to grind.

I tried every combination of motor and cable to trace the problem. It seems the only fault is the extruder's motherboard connector.
The motor is functional. I connected it to the XYZ motor cables and it spins on every one.
Nothing happened when I tried plugging the other axis cables into the extruder port on the motherboard.
Finally, I am comfortable using a multimeter and soldering iron, but don't have immediate access to them.

I really appreciate any advice on this because I miss printing!

5 comments

Do make sure you're running the nozzle, if you're trying to move axis from the menu, Enders' won't let you move the extruder if it isn't heated, it has fooled me a few times
I'm assuming this is a stock motherboard with motor drivers soldered directly to the board without daughter boards and sockets?

Without digging in deeper it sounds like your motor driver is dead. If it's a stock board you need to replace the entire thing. If you don't already own a soldering iron and multi-meter then we can skip past the fantasy that you could replace a surface mount stepper driver yourself.

Good news is replacement boards are very cheap. There are great replacement options from both Creality and BigTreeTech. I would go with one of the drop in options, BTT will have E3 in the name. If you're feeling more adventurous and don't mind putting in more time and effort you can get a non-drop in board that has sockets instead of hard wired stepper drivers. That would allow you to drop in a replacement driver if this happens again. However it's going to take significantly more effort, especially on the software side, before you get your printer running again.

Also, my advice is if you're going to own a complex hobby electronics device like an Ender 3 you need to own your own multi meter.
- we can skip past the fantasy that you could replace a surface mount stepper driver yourself.
  
  The MBs on these cheap printers are usually so cheap it isn't worth the hassle, even if you have the skills and tools.
  
  I only brought it up because they brought up the soldering iron in their post. I could probably replace one of those surface mount drivers, but I also wouldn't. Not when you can buy a whole board for $20usd.
I've got an Ender 3 pro motherboard (not silent steppers) that you can have for shipping costs if you determine that's the issue. If you do, pn me your zip code and I'll let you know how much it would be.

~~I would test the ribbon cable to the extruder before replacing the mobo. That's a more common failure. Plug one of the other stepper cables into the extruder port and see if it moves. If it does, the mobo is good and the cable Is bad. ~~

Edit: I see you've done that.

You might still try reflashing the board just to make sure it isn't a software issue. But if you need one let me know.