XR640 Intermittent false low ink

[mac_man_luke]

Hello all

We have a 7-8 year old XR640 thats been a great work horse (and continues to be!)
Over the last few years its increasingly been falsely alarming for low ink randomly
Most of the time it will just beep and then clear before you can even read the screen
but lately its be coming more common and normally have to pull the cart and re-seat it.
Seems to happen more when idle than actually printing
Most commonly seems to be slots 1 and 8 (cyan and cleaning)

I have tried blowing out the sensors etc but never really seem to make any difference

Any suggestions?

thanks!

 

[cornholio]

Are you using original ink cartridges?

 

[mac_man_luke]

yea always genuine other than the cleaning cart a few times (no difference to the behaviour)
Currently the cyan is brand new and playing up. Low ink flag is definitely inside the cart.

 

[damonCA21]

The cart docks have a sensor / switch in them that sends the alert if the ink is low. It could be this is sticking or failing so probably worth replacing to see if that fixes it. I had a similar problem a few years ago and it was down to the sensors not working properly. In the end even reseating the carts didn't make a difference.

 

[damonCA21]

There is a used cartridge dock for sale on ebay with the switch on it, could be worth getting. It says its for the SP but pretty sure its the same as XC as they use the same carts

ROLAND PRINTER SP300 SP540 SP300V SP540V SP300i SP540i VP INK CARTRIDGE DOCK | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ROLAND PRINTER SP300 SP540 SP300V SP540V SP300i SP540i VP INK CARTRIDGE DOCK at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[ChaseO]

Man, I have fought this problem for years, but from what I can tell, its more random than you describe as for which cart is acting up. It pretty much has done it since new. The only thing I don't like is the "dry" lines it puts in my prints. I have no solution, but will be watching for when you find one.

 

[mac_man_luke]

Man, I have fought this problem for years, but from what I can tell, its more random than you describe as for which cart is acting up. It pretty much has done it since new. The only thing I don't like is the "dry" lines it puts in my prints. I have no solution, but will be watching for when you find one.

Haha yea id say ours has done it for most of its life, just finally getting worse. Previously there was not really any pattern but lately it has really been those 2 carts which have been playing up

 

[mac_man_luke]

There is a used cartridge dock for sale on ebay with the switch on it, could be worth getting. It says its for the SP but pretty sure its the same as XC as they use the same carts

ROLAND PRINTER SP300 SP540 SP300V SP540V SP300i SP540i VP INK CARTRIDGE DOCK | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ROLAND PRINTER SP300 SP540 SP300V SP540V SP300i SP540i VP INK CARTRIDGE DOCK at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Yea might have to give it a go, is XR the same as XC/SP?

 

[damonCA21]

Yea might have to give it a go, is XR the same as XC/SP?

Hi yes, I double checked the part numbers after I posted the link to make sure and its the same dock they used on the XR as the XC / SP and quite a few of the other printer models.
Mine started off just false reporting every now and again, and reseating the cart would normally fix it. It was annoying but only happened maybe once every few weeks so not a major issue.
Then it got more and more often until in the end it was halting in the middle of print jobs. It was only ever the magenta cart that was a problem, but when I replaced the dock and switch a few years ago it has been fine ever since.

 

[mac_man_luke]

Interestingly looking at that dock compared with mine - ones on my machine have a small piece of clear hose/plastic on the switch arm which in theory would make tolerances tighter - maybe too tight?

 

[damonCA21]

Interestingly looking at that dock compared with mine - ones on my machine have a small piece of clear hose/plastic on the switch arm which in theory would make tolerances tighter - maybe too tight?

Not sure, the part numbers for the docks are the same for the XR and SP so they should be indentical as far as the main unit and switch is concerned. Maybe the hose was added at manufacturing for some reason as it doesn't show up on the parts diagram for the XR ( see attached pic from the service manual ) ? I imagine you can either use the replacement dock as is, or move the hose onto the new switch if needed.
The other thought is did a tech add it to try and fix the problem with the ink reporting by trying to make the switch operate sooner?

The image of the dock on the service manual looks the same as the one on ebay and the switch identical
They both use exactly the same cartridges so I can't see any reason why it wouldn't fit in fine and operate the switch properly. I did have a quick look and can't find any details of a different dock used on the XR

 

[mac_man_luke]

Would have had to be factory add on as the only service its ever had from techs was the initial setup - do my own servicing
Im considering trying it without the piece of hose to see if it makes any difference. Might need to find some long pliers or something to avoid having to dismantle the whole thing multiple times

 

[damonCA21]

Worth trying first just in case it fixes it. At least you know the replacement ones are on ebay should you need them.
I just had a quick look on my SP and there is no hose, just the bare switch arm. Weird though as all I can see it doing is making the switch engage sooner than it normally would so would warn you the ink is getting low when you have more of it in the cart