Creality Ender 3 Controller / MainBoard v4.2.2 Died

One day my Ender 3 printer stopped working - Screen powered on but was blank, failed, dead. I plugged into the serial port to see if there were any messages but none :-(

The controller mainboard is the original v4.2.2 with the GDxxxxx processor. I unsoldered the BC24C16 EEPROM IC (U11) and it started up! but complaining about not seeing the EEPROM...

I ordered some AT24C16T IC's in the SOT23-5 package from AliExpress, soldered it in and now the printer is running again! :-)


I had already installed a new v4.2.7 controller mainboard to quickly get printing working again and yes, it's very quiet which is great for overnight prints - sort of a low mumbling sound now coming from the printer instead of the previous louder whizzing noise from the stepper motors with the v4.2.2 board. I also reduced the speed of the controller fan (added a series resistor) to make the machine even quieter.

After a few prints, I saw salmon-skin type marks on the outside faces, very similar when I was using the v4.2.2 mainboard before the four TL-Smoothers were installed. I removed all of the TL-Smoother's and the edges are much better and the printer is even quieter!!