I’ve got an A1 that will not print without the extruder clicking and prints very rough initial layers. I did all of the troubleshooting steps that I could find as far as checking for clogs, and debris from the AMS tubes down to the nozzle with no success. I broke down and bought a whole new extruder and nozzle, installed them and still the problem persists. I’ve checked the tension on the belts, tried different filament from different AMS slots and with no AMS and cannot get a successful print. The unit with extrude filament just fine with no clicking outside of the build plate and even does a great outline, but as soon as it starts to fill in the first layer, it starts clicking and it’s like it’s trying to print sandpaper. Once it gets past the first couple layers, it seems to start to print all right, and will stop clicking, but the first layer especially is the absolute worst. What can I do? The pictures attached are of the start of the print, compared to the end.
That looks like it’s too close to the bed, and can’t extrude that thin (causing a backup and clicking). Double check the bed and leveling.
What would I be looking for? I’ve done a full calibration and bed leveling.
Might check the nozzle and confirm it’s clipped in properly and or there aren’t any loose screws holding the clip assembly. Doubt this is the issue but it’s possible, if the nozzle is loose or not clipped in properly it won’t be able to do proper bed leveling.
Just went through and made sure everything was tight, and everything is solid as a rock, and in place properly. I even unscrewed everything from the hot end assembly, and re-tightened it, but it was already pretty tight.
I got this exact same problem. So I did a full calibration and it seemed to solve the issue for one print except I ran into a bed adhesion issue that ruined that print. So I went to reprint again and the original problem happened again. Something seems out of place but I’m not sure what I should try 1st to troubleshoot. Did you ever find what was causing the issue?
I would post a pic showing my issue but I don’t know how to upload a jpg.
Oh yeah, I’ve a full calibration and still have the same issue. Still haven’t figured it out, but I’m currently working with bamboo support to see if they can figure it out.
It looks like a hot end heating element might be loose, (the 4 screws) or could be something inside the gears. did you try opening up your printer head?
looks like you have the same issue I did
https://forum.bambulab.com/t/a1-clicking-on-print-not-on-filament-load-test-extrude/210830
I eventually traced is to loose bolts behind the heater per this YT
+1 for me. Finally solved my A1 extruder clicking problem. Last time, I swapped out the whole extruder which was a PITA. That YT ‘tighten these screws’ YT solution did it for my A1. Remove three screws, flip it over and its all right there. I had somehow lost 2 screws with the third backed out a number of turns as well. Fortunately, I was able to find replacement screws in my hoard of spare parts 
Update: I just received some M2x5mm screws from BL. Here they are to compare. The M2 head is 3.8mm tall, taller than the oem ones on my November 2024 A1 Mini. But they work OK so I replaced them all with a bit of Locktite. I’m guessing that the BT2-5 might work but I thought the machine screw thread on the M2x5 was a better “like for like” replacement. I’m wondering if BL changed screws in the A1 and later A1 Mini’s.
I’m not having the issue on the last 6 prints I did today. Here’s what I did.
I removed the hot end and reset it in there snug making sure it was properly seated.
I washed the print plate with dish soap. And I did another full calibration. Now I’m not sure if removing and replacing the hot end was the issue or not. But the 1st layer was extruding better. As for the other issue I was having were my print wasn’t sticking to the bed. Washing the plate might have solved that problem. Prior to that I was only using alcohol to clean the bed before a print and until recently that worked ok for me. I’ve done 5 gridfinity grids today and they all came out good with no issues. So I’m hoping things go smoothly from here on out.
So it looks like the only screws that I did not check where the four little screws on the back of the hot end assembly. One screw was actually completely missing, and the other three were loose. Thankfully, I had the old hot end assembly that I just replaced on one of my other printers, and I was able to take one of the screws off of that and replace it, and got a perfect print
Yep, those were the only screws that I did not check/tighten down, and one of them was actually missing. 100% fixed the problem.
I’m thinking that we should see about getting this advice added to the BL Wiki on the search term A1 clicking. I’ll ask the question.