Ender 3 Pro magic smoke
Burnt mainboard replaced, printer rewired, bed levelled and tested
This Ender 3 Pro came in dead. The original Creality V1.1.x 8-bit board had burned through on the underside, next to the power and heater section. We replaced it with a new 32-bit silent board, rewired every connector, levelled the bed and ran a heat test before it went back to work.
3D model: burnt vs new board
The Ender 3 Pro mainboard, modelled from the repair video. The burn is on the underside of the old board, so the burnt view starts from below. Switch to the new board to compare. Drag to rotate, scroll or pinch to zoom.
Gallery
What we did
- Find the faultThe printer was dead. With the case opened under the bed, the old board showed a burn right through the PCB, charred on the underside next to the power section.
- Label every cableX, Y, Z and extruder motors, endstops, both thermistors, fans, hotend and bed heater, and the power input were marked before unplugging.
- Swap the boardThe old board came out (four screws). The new board went into the same case, every connector into its new header, and the power and heater wires clamped tight in the screw terminals.
- First power-onLCD ribbon connected, case closed, printer switched on. The menu works and both thermistors read room temperature.
- Heat testHotend to 200 °C and bed to 60 °C. Both climbed steadily and held temperature.
- Level the bedAxes homed, then each corner levelled with a sheet of paper and checked a second time.
| Machine | Creality Ender 3 Pro |
|---|---|
| Fault | Mainboard burned through, printer dead |
| Old board | Creality V1.1.x, 8-bit |
| New board | new 32-bit silent board |
| Fine tuning | Bed levelling, heat test |
| Heat test | Hotend 200 °C · bed 60 °C |
| Result | Printer working again |
Printer dead or smelling of smoke?
Send us a photo of the board or describe the fault. We replace and repair mainboards for Creality, Prusa, Bambu, Raise3D and other printers.
Bed levelling with paper
- Heat the bed first: it changes height as it warms up.
- Home all axes, then disable the steppers so the head moves by hand.
- At corners 1 to 4, slide a sheet of normal paper under the nozzle and turn the knob until it drags slightly.
- Go round a second time, then check the centre (5).
What you need
- Mainboard for Ender 3 / 3 Pro
- Hex keys
- Small screwdriver
- Tape to label cables
- Zip ties
- Sheet of paper
- Multimeter
Why boards burn
- Loose or oxidised screw terminals on the bed or power wires heat up
- High heated-bed current through the board MOSFET
- Damaged heater or thermistor wires shorting near the hotend
Unplug the printer from mains before opening the case. Do this at your own risk.