Prusa Error 13206: Print Head MAXTEMP, a Shorted Wire
LayerWalker is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you.
Prusa error 13206 means the print head thermistor reported above its maximum. A genuinely overheating nozzle climbs steadily; a shorted sensor jumps to maximum instantly. That difference is the diagnosis. Prusa’s guidance is to check the print head thermistor wiring, and on a moving head the failure is nearly always a chafed lead.
The print head cable bundle bends on every single layer. Over thousands of cycles the insulation wears where the bundle curves tightest, and the two thermistor cores touch. That reads as a short, and a short reads as maximum temperature.
Where to buy
Check in this order
- The thermistor lead at the head. Inspect where the loom enters the print head and at the tightest bend of its travel. Worn or shiny insulation is the tell.
- The connector at the board. Flux residue, moisture or a stray strand bridging two pins behaves exactly like a short in the cable.
- Was the nozzle actually hot? Once it is safe, check. A genuine overheat points at the heater MOSFET stuck on, which is a board-level fault and a different repair.
- Thermistor type in firmware. After a hotend swap or a firmware change, the wrong sensor type produces nonsense readings across the range.
Telling electrical from thermal
Watch the temperature graph if you can. A vertical jump to the maximum is electrical. A steady climb past the target is thermal, and that is the more serious case — closer to what 13204 thermal runaway is designed to catch. Either way, stop rather than treating it as a print-quality fault.
Related codes
13207 is the bed sensor reading below range, the opposite kind of wiring fault. What the sensor is measuring, and where it sits, is in hotend anatomy.
The same error reads 12206 on MINI, 31206 on CORE One, 35206 on CORE One L, 16206 on iX and 23206 on MK3.5.
Prusa Error 13206 FAQ
Is my hotend actually overheating?
Usually not. A shorted thermistor reads maximum immediately. If the block was genuinely hot to the point of damage, suspect the heater control on the board instead.
Why does it only happen during a print?
Because the fault is in a cable that only shorts in certain head positions. At rest during preheat the reading is fine; twenty layers in, it is not.
Can I repair a chafed thermistor lead?
You can splice and insulate it, but on a cable that flexes thousands of times per print a replacement lead is more reliable than a repair.
Does a hotend swap cause 13206?
It can, if the thermistor type in firmware no longer matches the sensor fitted. Check that setting before assuming a wiring fault.
LayerWalker
Print defect diagnosis, calibration procedures and parts that actually fit. Corrections welcome through the contact page.
