<p>I recently got a MakerBot Replicator 2 from somebody. When I got it, it was not in a working state. The problem is that the LCD screen does not turn on. When turning the printer on, the 5&nbsp;V and 24&nbsp;V lights light up and the little lights from the BotSteps (this is how MakerBot calls their Pololu style stepper drivers) also turn on. Furthermore, the LED lighting at the top of the machine also lights up. But, nothing else happens. I am not able to turn on the LCD screen. When connecting the printer to a computer, the printer does show up in Makerbot Desktop though. I have tried to update the firmware but there is still no change (it could be that I did it wrong as I have never owned a Makerbot machine). The Makerbot Desktop did say that the upload was successful and that the current version of firmware is the latest version: 7.6. I read <a href="http://bilbycnc.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/3000036447-machine-on-but-screen-blank-replicator-2-and-2x-" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> that it could be the BotSteps (motor drivers). So, I took those out and tried powering on the 3D printer but the LCD screen still did not light up, so it is probably not those either.</p>

<p>Could it be the LCD screen? Or is it the Mightyboard? Or something else?</p>

<hr>

<p><em>What have I done already?</em></p>

<p>I checked the cable of the LCD screen and the screen itself but it looks like it is in a good/decent state (no real big scratches or anything). </p>

<p>This is a picture of the screen without the SD card in it:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/PucjS.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Picture of LCD Screen without SD card"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/PucjS.jpg" alt="Picture of LCD Screen without SD card" title="Picture of LCD Screen without SD card"></a></p>

<p>Here is a picture of the LCD screen with the SD card:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/5fFiz.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer" title="Picture of LCD screen with SD card"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/5fFiz.jpg" alt="Picture of LCD screen with SD card" title="Picture of LCD screen with SD card"></a></p>

<p><em>Link to video demonstration:</em></p>

<p><a href="https://youtu.be/Pd3OWGY-akU" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Video of the LCD screen</a></p>

<hr>

<p><strong>Update 8/22</strong></p>

<p>I have decided to just throw out the Makerbot Hardware/software altogether. I am currently busy on getting it setup with Marlin. I am doing this because this will gave me many more options. Ordering a new lcd screen from Makerbot is really expensive (from that money you can buy almost all of the components that I will be using now). Also, I can update it with a heated bed and auto bed leveling sensor later. I am thinking about maybe creating an Instructable/Medium blog post or something, is anyone interested?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-11T22:35:32.723Z
The screen is where I'd go, but before you replace it outright, there has to be a way to test it. Does the backlight on it light up?
Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-11T22:50:16.137Z
I took the screen out of the case and there were 2 little red lights on. Another thing I noticed was that when taking the sd card out, the screen was a little bit lit (grayish). But, when putting the sd card back in, the screen would turn completely off again. Is there something wrong with the sd card reader? Does this indicate I have to replace the lcd screen and the sd card?
Rosalie W
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-15T15:29:02.963Z
@RosalieW That sounds there could be a loose electrical connection to the screen. Is there a connector you can re-connect with the power off? Also, check the state of the cable, if there is one, for cracks and abrasions.
Andrew Morton
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-16T07:01:56.847Z
I don't know what your electronic skills are, but I would hook up the LCD module to a Arduino Uno to see if it works. With and without the flat cable.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-20T17:10:13.373Z
@RosalieW After seeing the video, it looks like something in the SD card or the SD  card socket is shorting something out. Have you tried a different SD card? If you look inside the socket, does anything seem out of place?
Andrew Morton
<firmware><makerbot><makerbot-replicator2><lcd-screen>
Makerbot Replicator 2 LCD screen not turning on
Rosalie W
# Makerbot Replicator 2 LCD screen not turning on

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-07-11)

I recently got a MakerBot Replicator 2 from somebody. When I got it, it was not in a working state. The problem is that the LCD screen does not turn on. When turning the printer on, the 5 V and 24 V lights light up and the little lights from the BotSteps (this is how MakerBot calls their Pololu style stepper drivers) also turn on. Furthermore, the LED lighting at the top of the machine also lights up. But, nothing else happens. I am not able to turn on the LCD screen. When connecting the printer to a computer, the printer does show up in Makerbot Desktop though. I have tried to update the firmware but there is still no change (it could be that I did it wrong as I have never owned a Makerbot machine). The Makerbot Desktop did say that the upload was successful and that the current version of firmware is the latest version: 7.6. I read [here](http://bilbycnc.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/3000036447-machine-on-but-screen-blank-replicator-2-and-2x-) that it could be the BotSteps (motor drivers). So, I took those out and tried powering on the 3D printer but the LCD screen still did not light up, so it is probably not those either.

Could it be the LCD screen? Or is it the Mightyboard? Or something else?

---

*What have I done already?*

I checked the cable of the LCD screen and the screen itself but it looks like it is in a good/decent state (no real big scratches or anything).

This is a picture of the screen without the SD card in it:

[![Picture of LCD Screen without SD card](https://i.sstatic.net/PucjS.jpg "Picture of LCD Screen without SD card")](https://i.sstatic.net/PucjS.jpg "Picture of LCD Screen without SD card")

Here is a picture of the LCD screen with the SD card:

[![Picture of LCD screen with SD card](https://i.sstatic.net/5fFiz.jpg "Picture of LCD screen with SD card")](https://i.sstatic.net/5fFiz.jpg "Picture of LCD screen with SD card")

*Link to video demonstration:*

[Video of the LCD screen](https://youtu.be/Pd3OWGY-akU)

---

**Update 8/22**

I have decided to just throw out the Makerbot Hardware/software altogether. I am currently busy on getting it setup with Marlin. I am doing this because this will gave me many more options. Ordering a new lcd screen from Makerbot is really expensive (from that money you can buy almost all of the components that I will be using now). Also, I can update it with a heated bed and auto bed leveling sensor later. I am thinking about maybe creating an Instructable/Medium blog post or something, is anyone interested?

**Tags:** firmware, makerbot, makerbot-replicator2, lcd-screen

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The screen is where I'd go, but before you replace it outright, there has to be a way to test it. Does the backlight on it light up?  
> **username_0**: I took the screen out of the case and there were 2 little red lights on. Another thing I noticed was that when taking the sd card out, the screen was a little bit lit (grayish). But, when putting the sd card back in, the screen would turn completely off again. Is there something wrong with the sd card reader? Does this indicate I have to replace the lcd screen and the sd card?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 That sounds there could be a loose electrical connection to the screen. Is there a connector you can re-connect with the power off? Also, check the state of the cable, if there is one, for cracks and abrasions.  
> **username_3**: I don't know what your electronic skills are, but I would hook up the LCD module to a Arduino Uno to see if it works. With and without the flat cable.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 After seeing the video, it looks like something in the SD card or the SD  card socket is shorting something out. Have you tried a different SD card? If you look inside the socket, does anything seem out of place?  

---

## 0 answers

