<p>Your power supply may not be able to provide enough current. Check it's output voltage, the input at the RAMPS and the supply voltage (both VMOT and VDD) on each driver.</p>

<p>If the supply is good, you can suspect the <a href="http://rigidtalk.com/wiki/index.php?title=Modifying_a_RAMPS_1.4_board#Remove_D1_Diode_and_both_Polyfuses" rel="nofollow noreferrer">polyfuses</a> on the RAMPS board. These are yellow rectangles, designed to protect against over-current. They age with stress, and typically fail to pass their full rated current (but you need to understand if there is a fault which damaged them). The <a href="http://rigidtalk.com/wiki/index.php?title=Modifying_a_RAMPS_1.4_board#Remove_D1_Diode_and_both_Polyfuses" rel="nofollow noreferrer">link</a> describes how to remove them.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-15T08:30:19.937Z
2018-03-15T08:30:19.937Z
Sean Houlihane
<p>I am rebuilding the electronics for an old Reprap with a RAMPS 1.4 setup. </p>

<p>If I plug in just the Arduino/RAMPS board into either 12&nbsp;V or USB then it starts up fine, I can see this when I have the screen plugged in. However, when I start to add driver boards, the screen begins to dim. After I have three boards plugged in the power starts to drop to the point that the Arduino powers off and restarts, even when the screen is not plugged in. I have had this problem with two sets of RAMPS boards and Arduinos and with a combination of 7 different driver boards plugged into different combinations of location.</p>

<p>Has anyone else had any similar issues or have an idea of what might be going on? Any ideas are welcome, I am just about at my wits end with this.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-08T12:04:14.450Z
I think this may be too general a question to be easy to answer here. If you really want to pursue this build, you will need to buy some test equipment, and learn how to use it.
Sean Houlihane
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-08T16:49:57.077Z
Lots of possible things.  What is the voltage of the stepper drivers (this can be controlled with the POT, and measured with a multimeter)?  Some Arduino boards may not be supplying power properly.  Is it a Mega?  What version?  What brand?
Jesse Williams
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-08T23:18:31.867Z
I am using Arduino Mega 2560s, both an OEM R3 and a knockoff. They both behave the same. The steppers drivers are Pololu 8825s all set to between 1.8 and 1.9V when calibrated using a 12V power supply. This voltage drops to ~1.4 when one is plugged into the RAMPS, and down to 1.2V with two plugged in.
DrDevice
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-09T23:22:14.747Z
Try to use at least 12V@10A, and adjust the drivers according current calculation.  I´m using ramps1.4 with no problems on 3 3D printer made on my own.
Fernando Baltazar
<ramps-1.4>
RAMPS 1.4 losing power with more than 3 drivers mounted
DrDevice
# RAMPS 1.4 losing power with more than 3 drivers mounted

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-08)

I am rebuilding the electronics for an old Reprap with a RAMPS 1.4 setup.

If I plug in just the Arduino/RAMPS board into either 12 V or USB then it starts up fine, I can see this when I have the screen plugged in. However, when I start to add driver boards, the screen begins to dim. After I have three boards plugged in the power starts to drop to the point that the Arduino powers off and restarts, even when the screen is not plugged in. I have had this problem with two sets of RAMPS boards and Arduinos and with a combination of 7 different driver boards plugged into different combinations of location.

Has anyone else had any similar issues or have an idea of what might be going on? Any ideas are welcome, I am just about at my wits end with this.

**Tags:** ramps-1.4

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think this may be too general a question to be easy to answer here. If you really want to pursue this build, you will need to buy some test equipment, and learn how to use it.  
> **username_2**: Lots of possible things.  What is the voltage of the stepper drivers (this can be controlled with the POT, and measured with a multimeter)?  Some Arduino boards may not be supplying power properly.  Is it a Mega?  What version?  What brand?  
> **username_0**: I am using Arduino Mega 2560s, both an OEM R3 and a knockoff. They both behave the same. The steppers drivers are Pololu 8825s all set to between 1.8 and 1.9V when calibrated using a 12V power supply. This voltage drops to ~1.4 when one is plugged into the RAMPS, and down to 1.2V with two plugged in.  
> **username_3**: Try to use at least 12V@10A, and adjust the drivers according current calculation.  I´m using ramps1.4 with no problems on 3 3D printer made on my own.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-03-15. Score: 4

Your power supply may not be able to provide enough current. Check it's output voltage, the input at the RAMPS and the supply voltage (both VMOT and VDD) on each driver.

If the supply is good, you can suspect the [polyfuses](http://rigidtalk.com/wiki/index.php?title=Modifying_a_RAMPS_1.4_board#Remove_D1_Diode_and_both_Polyfuses) on the RAMPS board. These are yellow rectangles, designed to protect against over-current. They age with stress, and typically fail to pass their full rated current (but you need to understand if there is a fault which damaged them). The [link](http://rigidtalk.com/wiki/index.php?title=Modifying_a_RAMPS_1.4_board#Remove_D1_Diode_and_both_Polyfuses) describes how to remove them.


---

