Filament not loading (XL) | Prusa Knowledge Base

If the filament is not loaded into the extruder, yet the printer is trying to pull the filament inside, there might be a hardware problem in some of the extruder components: we will examine the causes and fixes in this article.

Retry procedure

After an attempt at loading filament, the printer will prompt a screen, where it is asked if the filament color is correct. If the filament is not oozing from the nozzle at this stage, push the filament towards the extruder, and after that, select "retry".

Idler tension screws

The extruder includes two idler tension screws, to set the correct distance between the drive gear and the two driven gears. These are set to the optimal position at the factory. In case of an intervention on that component, it will be necessary to adjust the idler tension screws to their optimal position: the tips of the screws must be aligned with the front surface of the Idler Nut. After that, close the Idler Block.

Clogged hotend

Follow the instructions on the dedicated article on how to spot and fix a clogged hotend.

Are you still having issues? Contact our support team and let them know that you tried to fix the issue with these instructions. We will take it from there.

2 comments

beboyle

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3 months ago

Wanted to add another thing to check before the hotend. See that plastic bar that the red filament passes through? There is a guide hole there that is between the drive wheel and the end of the nozzle (that metal rod you can see at the bottom). I had a clog right there that I only found after replacing the nozzle. I had to remove the hotend and press a length of filament up through that slot to pop a tiny bit of stuck filament out of that hole. It was completely preventing the extruder from feeding filament into the nozzle. I don't know why the extruder couldn't just ram it through but it would not.

EOL

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7 months ago

Add the following:- identify the two idler tension screws in a picture or figure- identify the drive gear and the two driven gears in a picture or figure- define and show "optimal position" - figure showing what this means: "the tips of the screws must be aligned with the front surface of the Idler Nut.- how to open idler nut area- how to close idler nut areaWithout this info, they are words with no meaning or reference.