Elegoo 3D printer troubleshooting
24 guides to fix Elegoo 3D printers: the symptom, the likely causes, how to check which one is yours and the step-by-step fix, with official sources from Elegoo.
Printers covered: Centauri Carbon 2, Saturn 4 Ultra 16K, Centauri Carbon, Neptune 4, Neptune 4 Pro, Centauri 2, Mars 5 Ultra, Neptune 3 Max, Neptune 3 Plus, Neptune 3 Pro, Neptune 4 Max, Neptune 4 Plus and 1 more.
Each guide summarises the official documentation and says whether usi3d has already verified it on a machine.
Adhesion and first layer (1 guide)
- Neptune 4: first layer too far or squashed after leveling, or the print head does not stop going down
On the Neptune 4 or 4 Pro, after automatic leveling the nozzle is too close to or too far from the bed and the first layer comes out wrong; you have to level every time…
Extrusion (4 guides)
- Centauri Carbon 2 with CANVAS: filament will not load or unload (errors 1241, 1242, 1251 or 1265)
With CANVAS (standard on the Combo), the Centauri Carbon 2 cannot bring the filament to the print head or pull it back: the slot light flashes red, the print pauses and…
- Centauri Carbon 2: no filament coming out, clogged nozzle or errors 1243, 1263 or 1264
The Centauri Carbon 2 does not extrude or under-extrudes, or stops with error 1243 (extrusion failed at the toolhead: check whether it is clogged) or with 1263 or 1264…
- Centauri Carbon: «Extrusion Abnormality» warning or no filament coming out
The Centauri Carbon stops with the «Extrusion Abnormality» warning or stops extruding through the nozzle even though filament is loaded.
- Elegoo CANVAS: the four lights flash red, the print pauses by itself or the printer does not recognise it
With CANVAS fitted to a Centauri Carbon or a Centauri 2 series printer, its four lights flash red at power-on, the print freezes or pauses at random points, the screen…
Print quality (1 guide)
- Neptune 4 and 4 Pro: plastic blob on the hotend (blob of death) or leaks around the nozzle
During printing the filament sticks to the nozzle and the hotend surface until it forms a blob, or plastic builds up around the nozzle before starting or when stopping.
Mechanics (5 guides)
- Centauri Carbon 2: leveling fails with error 704 or 605 (bed pressure sensors)
During auto leveling, the Centauri Carbon 2 stops with error 704 («Leveling failed») or 605 (pressure sensor data error); sometimes the nozzle probes the same spot again…
- Centauri Carbon 2: unusual noise or vibration when printing, moving or homing
The Centauri Carbon 2 makes an abnormal noise or vibrates while printing, during idle moves or while homing.
- Centauri Carbon: leveling error 502 (leveling sensor data collection error)
During automatic leveling on the Centauri Carbon, the nozzle probes the same spot again and again or keeps pressing down on the plate, and the screen shows code 502…
- Centauri Carbon: self-test stuck at «Input Shaping» or error 401 (accelerometer)
During the first-use self-test, or when calibrating Input Shaping manually, the Centauri Carbon screen stays stuck on the Input Shaping step and does not continue, or…
- Neptune 3 Pro: levelling does not work, the first layer is uneven or the nozzle keeps going down
On the Neptune 3 Pro (and the rest of the Neptune 3 series) the first layer is uneven or does not stick even after levelling, or when homing Z the nozzle keeps going…
Electronics (5 guides)
- Centauri Carbon 2: errors 101, 102, 103 or 104 (bed or print head not heating, or a thermistor fault)
The Centauri Carbon 2 stops with error 101 (check the heated bed and its wiring), 102 (heated bed temperature sensor disconnected), 103 (check the print head and its…
- Centauri Carbon 2: fan errors 701, 702, 703, 705 or 706
The Centauri Carbon 2 reports a faulty fan: 701 (mainboard fan), 702 (hotend heat break fan), 703 (part cooling fan), 705 (auxiliary fan) or 706 (chamber fan).
- Centauri Carbon 2: the touch screen does not turn on at power-on
When you switch the Centauri Carbon 2 on, the touch screen stays black and the printer does not start.
- Centauri Carbon: errors 101, 102, 103 or 104 (bed or printhead not heating, or a thermistor fault)
The Centauri Carbon stops with «Error Code: 101» (the heated bed did not heat up as expected), 102 (anomaly reading the bed NTC thermistor), 103 (the print head did not…
- Neptune 4: Klipper motor error («TMC stepper… reports error», «No trigger on x…»)
The Neptune 4 or 4 Pro screen (or Fluidd) shows a motor error at power-on, when homing or while printing, and the printer stops.
Connectivity and firmware (2 guides)
- Neptune 4: Klipper errors «Extrude below minimum temp», «Move exceeds maximum extrusion» or «MCU shutdown»
The screen or Fluidd on a Neptune 4 (4, 4 Pro, 4 Plus or 4 Max) shows «Please run 'SDCARD RESET FILE' or 'FIRMWARE RESTART' to resume» followed by «Extrude below minimum…
- Saturn 4 Ultra 16K: the camera shows nothing or the printer won't connect to Wi-Fi
On the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K the camera image does not show in ChituManager, the light above the camera does not come on, or the printer will not connect to Wi-Fi, drops…
Resin (5 guides)
- Saturn 4 Ultra 16K: cold resin or «Resin heating anomaly» message (heated resin tank)
In a cold room, the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K fails its prints: the base does not stick to the build plate or the supports come away from the model.
- Saturn 4 Ultra 16K: replacing the PFA film of the resin tank, or the tank leaks resin
The PFA film of the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K resin tank is whitened, scratched, damaged or aged, resin escapes from the tank and cured resin appears on the LCD, or prints come…
- Saturn 4 Ultra 16K: the LCD shows no image, a partial image, lines or dead pixels, and how to replace it
In the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K exposure test the LCD stays black, with the UV light on or off, shows only part of the image, has dead pixels, flickers or shows lines.
- Saturn 4 Ultra 16K: the print stays in the resin tank or comes off the build plate
On the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K the base of the print does not stick to the build plate, the print comes off and falls into the tank at some height or in the centre of the…
- Saturn 4 Ultra or Mars 5 Ultra: the UV light does not turn on (often due to the wrong power adapter)
After printing there is nothing cured on the build plate or in the resin tank, and in the exposure test the LCD shows the image but the UV light does not turn on.
Error codes and messages (1 guide)
- Saturn 4 Ultra 16K: the self-test fails (auto-leveling, mechanical sensor or resin tank not detected)
In the pre-print self-test, the Saturn 4 Ultra 16K stops with «Auto-leveling failed, please troubleshoot», with a mechanical sensor error or with a resin tank error…
Products that may help
Products from the usi3d shop that fit these guides, chosen for the fit and not for the commission. Check that they work with your printer before buying.
Symptoms in the Elegoo guides
- The printer shows an error code or message
- Temperature error (MINTEMP, MAXTEMP, thermal runaway)
- Unlevel or warped bed
- Homing or a sensor fails (endstop, levelling)
- Clogged nozzle or hotend
- Problems after a firmware update
- Uneven first layer (thin and thick areas)
- No filament comes out
- The multi-material system fails (does not load, cut or jams)
- Loose belts
- The hotend or the bed does not heat
- A fan does not spin or is noisy
- The resin print does not stick to the build plate
- The print sticks to the vat film (FEP)
- The LCD screen or UV light does not light up
- Does not stick to the bed
- Too little filament (under-extrusion)
- Blobs and zits on the surface
- Noise or rubbing when the axes move
- The printer does not turn on
- Does not connect to Wi-Fi or the app
- The resin print's supports fail
- Resin leak or torn film in the vat
Other brands
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