An auto-levelling probe that deploys but won't retract after homing is almost always a BLTouch with a bent or jammed push-pin, or the probe has entered an alarm state after a failed trigger. Sending a reset command (M280 P0 S160) and verifying M119 endstop status.
You start a print, the printer homes, the probe pin drops down to read the bed, and then it just stays there, stubbornly extended, while the nozzle threatens to drag it across the build plate. An auto-levelling probe that deploys but will not retract after homing is almost always a BLTouch with a bent or jammed push-pin, or a probe that has dropped into an alarm state after a failed trigger. Both are recoverable from the terminal without opening the toolhead.
A probe stuck down after homing usually means the BLTouch is in an alarm state or the push-pin is physically jammed. Send M280 P0 S160 to release the alarm and self-test, then confirm the pin moves and the board sees it with M119. No new probe needed in most cases.
The fastest fix is also the most common one. When a BLTouch fails a trigger, takes a knock, or loses its signal mid-cycle, it latches into an alarm state and the LED flashes red. While it is alarmed, it ignores normal deploy and retract commands, which is exactly why the pin sits there frozen.
Send M280 P0 S160 from your host software. This issues an alarm release followed by a self-test. The LED should stop flashing and settle to solid red, and the pin should cycle up and down on its own during the test. Once it is solid, send M280 P0 S90 to retract and M280 P0 S10 to deploy, confirming the pin obeys you again. If a single S160 does not clear it, power-cycle the printer and send it once more before assuming a hardware fault.
If the alarm release does not bring the pin back, look at the pin itself. Drop it manually and watch it lift. A push-pin that has been clipped by the nozzle or warped by heat drags in its housing and will not return under its own spring. A bent pin is a cheap replacement part rather than a whole-probe failure, and on a CR-Touch the metal pin survives knocks far better than the older plastic version.
Voltage logic is the other suspect. Some control boards read the BLTouch more reliably at 3.3V than at 5V, and a probe on the wrong logic level can deploy fine but stall on the retract command. The current generation of machines and spares in the 3D printer section at Evetech ship configured for the board they are built around, which sidesteps this on a new setup.
A pin that deploys and retracts but still fails the cycle has a signal problem. Run M119 to print the endstop report, push the pin up gently by hand, and run M119 again. The Z-probe entry should flip from open to triggered. If it never changes, the two-pin signal lead is loose or miswired, so reseat that connector and test once more. Keeping a spare probe and a connector kit in your bench drawer, the kind stocked in the printer accessories and spares, turns this from a lost evening into a two-minute swap.
It sends an alarm release command to the BLTouch followed by a self-test. This is the standard way to clear the latched error state that leaves the pin stuck down, and it is the first command to try whenever the LED is flashing red.
No. On most BLTouch and CR-Touch units the push-pin is a serviceable part. A CR-Touch uses a metal pin that resists bending far better than the older plastic design, so it is a sensible upgrade if you keep clipping the pin.
M119 reports whether the board sees the probe trigger. If the pin moves correctly but M119 never flips to triggered when you push it, the fault is in the signal lead or its connector, not the probe mechanism itself.
Yes. A BLTouch set to 5V logic on a board that prefers 3.3V can deploy but fail to retract cleanly. Switching the logic mode in firmware is worth trying before you replace the unit.
Make sure Z safe homing is enabled so the toolhead moves to the centre of the bed before the pin deploys, and that the old mechanical Z-endstop is unplugged. A pin caught at the edge of the frame is the usual reason it bends in the first place.
Tired of babysitting a temperamental probe? Compare machines that ship with a pre-wired auto-levelling sensor in the 3D printer range, and keep a spare pin and connector kit on hand from the accessories best sellers so a stuck probe never costs you a print again.
It sends an alarm release command to the BLTouch followed by a self-test. This is the standard way to clear the latched error state that leaves the pin stuck down, and it is the first command to try whenever the LED is flashing red.
No. On most BLTouch and CR-Touch units the push-pin is a serviceable part. A CR-Touch uses a metal pin that resists bending far better than the older plastic design, so it is a sensible upgrade if you keep clipping the pin.
M119 reports whether the board sees the probe trigger. If the pin moves correctly but M119 never flips to triggered when you push it, the fault is in the signal lead or its connector, not the probe mechanism itself.
Yes. A BLTouch set to 5V logic on a board that prefers 3.3V can deploy but fail to retract cleanly. Switching the logic mode in firmware is worth trying before you replace the unit.
Make sure Z safe homing is enabled so the toolhead moves to the centre of the bed before the pin deploys, and that the old mechanical Z-endstop is unplugged. A pin caught at the edge of the frame is the usual reason it bends in the first place.
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