Lead up:

1. New BLTouch
2. New motherboard
3. New display
4. New extruder

1. Motherboard
2. New extruder

Yeah—high hopes. But at least the core parts are there.

So briefly—why these parts?

Before I get into the build — the prep

Right when I ordered the parts, I immediately started printing parts. I had done my research—or so I thought—and wanted to get this upgrade done as quickly as possible. (Spoiler: it’s still in the works.)

I did some research and “negotiating” with AI, and found a printable remix that looked perfect—mounts to Enders, provides a holder for the part fan, and includes adapter pieces for my larger fan (for extruder cooling).

I spent days printing, cleaning, and prepping. Then the parts arrive, I’m excited, and I go.

Want the TL;DR? Don’t break down your printer before test fitting…

I start with the motherboard (it arrived first).

I started strong. The original wiring was done by my brother—not awful, but… very functional. So I carefully identified and labeled everything. I didn’t want to fully unwire things yet, and I knew the new wiring would be short—meaning I’d have to reuse (splice and crimp) existing cables.

So far so good.

I label, tear it down, find some YouTube videos, and get everything wired—including the new display.

And I get…

Nothing.Well—the display flashes, then either gets stuck or shows nothing.

This was infuriating.

I go over the install (never closed the enclosure—don’t do that until it works).Check connections. Make sure nothing’s mixed up.Check the display.

Then I panic—are the parts faulty?

After some Googling, Redditing, and YouTubing, I learn I need to modify firmware. Apparently the new board should come with something bootable (even if useless), and at the time I thought mine was defective.

So:

Find premade firmware → flash → nothingFind another → flash → nothing

rage = 1
for i in make_array(duration_before_critical_rage):
    new_firmware = find.firmware(marlin)
    flash.ender(new_firmware)
    if success:
        return feel_joy
    else:
        rage += 1
        if rage > 10:
            print("expletive")

There had to be at least 20 loops of this.

Then I think: what if it’s the display?

I dig through the scrap pile, pull out the old display—and I get a picture. Not much functionality, but it works.

So now I know—it’s a display issue.

1. Check connections
2. Try new connections
3. Try other possible connections
4. Try mixing connections

Then back to Google/Reddit/AI…

Running theory: mismatched firmware on the display. (Joy.)

I grab another SD card (not micro this time), hunt down firmware, try to flash it…

Nothing.

At this point, I’m over the display.

Decision: get the printer running first—table the display.

Swap back to the old one.

It works.

Not fancy—but honestly? I’ll live.

Now I have a display—but it only boots.

I go back into firmware hell. Pre-made firmware is miserable to work with.

Then I catch something interesting:

I can compile my own.

This is where things finally shift.

I compile something basic. Strip out unnecessary configs (no interest in my printer thinking it’s a CNC).

And…

• Motion works
• Hotend heats

We have success.

I loosely assemble everything and move on to the extruder.

disassemble the old extruder, grab the new one…

…and it doesn’t fit.

The filament tensioner is off.

Turns out:

• I picked a mount with extra support (good idea)
• But my extruder is a V2
• The mount is for V1

Also—the holes don’t line up (likely because I’m on the Max model—less common, fewer parts available).

Sit. Stare. Fume. Sleep.

Next day:

I come back and brute-force it.

• Drill out mounting holes (thankfully overbuilt, lots of plastic to work with)
• Trim support with pliers
• Heat up dental picks and melt custom holes where I need them

It’s janky.

It works.

(Later I jumped into Fusion to design my own mount—still WIP. Could’ve used Tinkercad, but I want to learn something more serious.)

Right now though:

I just need it to print well enough to print better parts.

Solid.

• Found placement for BLTouch
• Figured out fan layout

I have a plan.

Time to wire.

Lesson number 2

I mentioned earlier I needed to extend cables.

So I grab pliers, snip—

SPARK.

Always. Always always always check if the printer is powered on.

Hotend and thermistor lines are live (24V / 12V).

I got lucky:

• Insulated grips
• Didn’t shock myself

But sparks and smoke? Very real.

Thankfully—nothing seems damaged.

Power off.

• Wire extruder
• Wire fan
• Wire thermistor
• Install BLTouch

Boots fine. Firmware recognizes it. OctoPrint connects.

Probe self-tests—nice. Solid metal pin too.

I’m optimistic.

Then:

• Probe moves wrong direction
• Homing fails
• BLTouch does… nothing

Back to:

Google → Reddit → AI → terminal commands

Sensor readings are… not right.

Then I notice:

The new cable is different.

I had reused the old one.

Try the new cable.

Nothing.

Back to old one → wiggle → works (mostly).

Google again:

• New cable = configurable pins
• Old cable = idiot-proof

(I can confirm: idiot-proof matters.)

I try rearranging pins…

Wrong config.

BLTouch smokes.

Cool.

Good thing I still have the old one.

Where things stand

Everything is wired and functional (mostly).

Next steps:

• Clean cables
• Close enclosures
• Print better hardware

Current limitation

I have:

• Working extruder
• No part cooling

Luckily:

• Printing PETG → tolerates low cooling
• Can compensate with slower speeds

Half the printer is still exposed—but zip-tied enough to function.