3 Ways How to Fix Ender 3 Negative Temperature

Getting negative temperatures on your Ender 3 can be a big problem since that can keep you from being able to make any prints. That’s why I wrote this article, to teach you how to fix Ender 3 negative temperature.

Keep reading for more information.

How to Fix Negative Temperature in 3D Printer – Ender 3

Here’s how to fix negative temperature readings on your Ender 3:

1. Check the thermistor is securely connected
2. Replace the thermistor if it’s damaged
3. Replace the board

1. Check the Thermistor is Securely Connected

One way to fix the Ender 3 going to negative temperatures is to check your thermistor. You’ll need to check if there are any loose wires and if the thermistor is disconnected.

When the thermistor is disconnected or with an open circuit, your Ender 3 will usually read -14°C on either the nozzle or the heated bed, as one user found out.

It’s also important to preheat your printer and check if the hot end temperature increases. If it functions normally, that just means your mainboard can’t read temperatures that are too low, but still works fine.

The Ender 3 features two thermistors, one in the hot end and one in the bed. If the nozzle is reading -14°C you should check the hot end thermistor. In case it is your heated bed that’s reading a negative temperature, you should check the bed thermistor.

You can use a multimeter to check the electrical resistance of the thermistor you think is going bad. The Ender 3 features a 100k NTC type thermistor, which means that at room temperature it should read 90k to 100k ohms.

One user was able to detect his problem within minutes after using a multimeter to test his thermistor when his Ender 3 was reaching negative temperatures.

You can purchase a multimeter over at Amazon, such as the AstroAI Multimeter 2000 Counts Digital Multimeter which has great reviews and is available for a great price.

Users also recommend another method for checking if the problem is with your thermistor. You can try swapping the connections for the hot end and bed thermistors and check if the fault remains where it was.

If it does, then the thermistor and cable are good but the board input may have gone bad. We will cover how to replace your board later in the article.

It’s important to make sure you have your thermistor connected to the right place. One user mistakenly connected his bed thermistor to his fan header and almost fried his mainboard.

Another user really suggests checking all the thermistor’s connections and giving everything not glued in a little push to make sure they’re well seated.

One 3D printing hobbyist was getting negative temperatures on his Ender 5 after accidentally pinching the thermistor cables with the retaining screw. After unscrewing the retaining screw a bit, he was able to fix his issue.

2. Replace the Thermistor if it’s Damaged

Another possible fix for your Ender 3 only showing negative temperatures is to replace your thermistor.  That may be necessary if you noticed your thermistor’s gone bad after following the previous step of the article.

Thankfully, thermistors are cheap and can be easily replaced if they start malfunctioning, which can cause your printer to reach these negative temperatures. One user who was getting -14°C readings on his nozzle was able to fix his issue after replacing his hot end thermistor.

Another user that was also experiencing the same issue tried changing his motherboard before noticing that what was causing the negative temperature was a broken thermistor.

Be careful not to tighten the thermistor screw too much when replacing it because that may cause your board to not load the menu, as one user found out the hard way.

You can purchase some new thermistors, such as the 5 Pcs Creality 3D Printer NTC Thermistor 100K, over at Amazon for great prices.

Users recommend the Creality thermistor as they are made of high-quality materials and feature an easy installation.

Check out the video below for detailed instructions on how to replace your 3D printer thermistor.

3. Replace the Board

If your thermistor is not the issue, then you should consider replacing your mainboard to fix your Ender 3 going to negative temperatures. Users suggest replacing the board if you are still getting negative temperatures, even after making sure your thermistor is fully working.

That’s because shorting the hot end can be a common user mistake, and it’s usually fatal to the mainboard. One user experienced that after his daughter cleaned the hot end of his printer and accidentally shoved something into the two thick hot end leads, shorting it out.

He only managed to fix his issue after replacing both his thermistor and his mainboard.

Many 3D printing hobbyists recommend getting the BIGTREETECH SKR Mini E3 V3.0 Control Board in case you need to replace your board.

This is one of the most popular boards you can get as it is a silent board that will improve your printer’s performance.

It is highly suggested by users as it will make the prints a lot quieter and there are no longer any printing pauses, as there were with the previous 8-bit board. This will vastly improve print quality.

They also noted that the installation is simple and quite straightforward.

Check out the video below for detailed instructions on how to replace your Ender 3 board. 

Users who followed the video said it was a well-made video that really helped them out.