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dead jv33

eyecandy

New Member
Hey guys. I'm really nervous that something bad and costly is wrong with my Mimaki JV33-130. I was printing a bunch of jobs and decided to stop the printer in the middle of a print and messed up by pressing the power button. The printer stopped and turned off but I could hear a fan in the back near the boards still running and then followed by a long steady peep sound. finally quit and made no noise. I then tried to turn back on and nothing. The green light is on and not blinking but will not turn on at all. Tried turning power switch off and unplugging then plugged back up and turned main power back on and nothing. The green light on the button in the front comes on and stays on. ...... I have so many jobs backing up and I have hit a brick wall. The tech from the place I bought it from is stumped as well. Any suggestions out there?
 

artbot

New Member
the proper way to power down for resetting and maintenance is to turn off from the front, turn off the back, unplug, press the front button four times slowly. that is the only way to discharge the capacitors. when doing this you will sometimes see the front button light up once or twice even though it is plugged in. that is the latent static built up in the machine. not that this will cure your printer but i've seen it "repair" haywire printer behavior in the past.

anytime you hear the fan run but nothing else... green light only with silence beware and do not keep turning on the printer. it is usually bad news. blown fuses on the main board. repairable, but it would be a four day minimum to get that fixed stat.
 

eyecandy

New Member
How can I see if the fuse is blown? I have tried to get someone out here for a week now and no luck. The 4th of July is the reason they say or don't answer. Is there a service manual I can download somewhere? I have a dead Mimaki jv-33 and am losing money everyday! I'm getting NO HELP from my supplier! I see no fuses on the main board...only 2 fuses on the power supply board..1 clear and the other white. The clear looks fine and the white looks white. I would think if the white one was blown it would be burnt color. Maybe if I had a service manual or maintenance manual I could find out for myself since NOBODY around here wants to make a buck and come out and look at this thing for me. I'm sorry that I am losing my patience but I paid a lot for this machine and now I feel helpless. My customers are waiting but also are getting impatient! I have already lost over $3000. worth of signs for the 4th of July for my BBQ restaurants. They had to get the signs made somewhere else. I have another NEW customer that is ready to open a new restaurant and I may loose his business for good because I cant finish his signs. He cant wait for me any longer to get this thing fixed....he has to open this weekend! I’M SCREWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS MIMAKI!!!!!!!!!
 

iSign

New Member
I have a JV3, and have not learned very much about high level maintenance, because the sign business is already enough to learn & I just try to have good support people in place... so, as a result, I'm not going to be of much help on the tech end... BUT, if the people you bought it from were your first line of defense in the tech support department, and they don't have a tech scheduling your site visit at the first opportunity... then you clearly need a new tech support ally, and I would make finding one a top priority.

Priority number two would be a wholesale printer. We have several merchants sponsoring this site, as well as several sign shops in your region who might suggest one... sure, you won't make as much profit, but is you were immediately subbing out all the work you haven't been able to print this past week... your clients continue to see you as a guy who get's their job done, and when they need another job, or anyone they know needs a sign related job... they still think of you... so get lines up with a wholesale guy right now & quit letting your customers call your competition... then fix your printer... fixing it first made sense a week ago,... but facing the fact that it ain't happening fast... I'd switch my priorities now...

As for the tech support, I'm guessing you are not using Advantage Sign Supply, because they are my inkjet vendor, and I think they are incredibly good... so that's why I suspect you dealt with someone else... if so, try them out... maybe switch your media purchases over there & qualify for their gold membership service priority..

anyway, good luck... I feel for you! I would hate that to happen to me!
 

eyecandy

New Member
Thanks iSign. The only problem with wholesaling out the work is that here in Birmingham there is back stabbers. I've been in business for 16 years and when I started, there were only a handful of sign companies around. Most everyone hand painted as did I. Some cut vinyl as did I. Now that anyone can buy a cutter and a printer, there are pages after pages in the phone book of sign/banner shops. None can hand paint but all print or cut vinyl. What I'm getting to is this....I have subbed out jobs before and it's such a dog eat dog world out there that everyone wants to get their foot in the door. I've had customers that I've had for years tell me that the company will (accidentally)<--right! call them directly and say "your labels are ready!" and try to deliver them themselves. Then say "why don't you just get all your signs/banners done through us?" BACK STABBERS!. I know the game! I've seem it first hand. Everyone is trying to get new customers(Mine). They will offer them the lowest prices..almost giving them away...just to get the job. Then once their foot is in the door, It's on. My customers are loyal to me and tell me everything. They will tell me who and when it happens and it makes me sick. I've never stepped on anyone's toes. I think that's because when I started there were only a handful of us hand painters and we all respected each other. It was like territories. We often worked together on large projects. Never tried to take each others customers. Now nobody cares.

BUT! I have contacted 2 companies that I trust to see if they could help out. Only to be pushed to the back of the waiting list. Their own jobs will always go before someone else's. (MAKING ME SQUIRM).

Thanks for your help. I know I might sound bitter but it's hard right now. Alot of companies are going belly up. I feel for them! Not as much work around as it used to be. I do have work. Sometimes I feel blessed and very thankful for still having work. BUT I have work very hard for what I have and all the customers that I have built up for over 16 years now. I've done it all. Worked my butt off! Been covered in paint. Stayed up for days to get jobs done for customers that Have to have their signs done by a deadline. Worked thru weekends after weekends. I do not have a hour sign. I get calls late at night and on sat. and sun. OLD SCHOOL handpainters will understand. Do what you have to do to get the job done. I love field work.

As for now, I have hand painted a few signs that I would have printed. Crazy but felt good to paint them. It gives you pride.

Anyway if anyone knows anything about the Mimaki problem i'm having, please help me. Otherwise I will keep looking for a Service manual myself and try to fix this thing myself. Maybe next week a tech will be back from vacation to help.
 

Signmart

New Member
All I have is an Operations Manual. I thought I had another disk but I can't find it right now, but I'll keep looking.
 

eyecandy

New Member
That's all I have as well. I called Mimaki and they tell me that only Techs can download the service manual or maintenance manuals. SUCKS! I'm on an island!
 

eyecandy

New Member
I'm heading to Atlanta to pick up a power board/ power supply. I hope it works. I'll update when I get back. THROWING DARTS NOW!!!!!!!
 

eyecandy

New Member
True Jesse. I just cant understand why It's been 9 days and I still can't get a Tech out to my shop. I can only get advice over the phone and this is what I've been told to try. iT's CrAzY!
 

eyecandy

New Member
power supply is fine. oNLy thing left i believe is the main board. If the main board is messed up just because I turned it off while printing, I'm going to be pissed for a $3000 screw-up
 

artbot

New Member
you could send the board to mac media for a repair? don't know if the machine is under warranty....
 

eyecandy

New Member
Thanks paintball man. Artbot~Not under warranty.
A tech came out Wed. Took out my main board. Put in a new main board and started it up while holding down the Function and remote keys in the front and it came on. When he took his fingers off the buttons ~ fried the main board. He then removed that board and installed another main board. Plugged it up and turned on main switch without holding the buttons down...~ smoke and sparks on the main board ~FRIED ANOTHER ONE! He then took my main board back with him along with the other two fried boards. Called me yesterday and told me that I needed a new main board(LOL) ($1450). Then said he "thought" I needed a new head($2000) and a new slider board($250). Plus the price to install all parts. I'm already out over a thousand just to get him out here from out~of~town/power supply/Bla. Now i'm looking at another $4370 if I'm lucky, and as of right now my luck has been BAD! So now I'm looking at well over $5000.
Not to mention in a few more days it will be 3 weeks down.
 

artbot

New Member
you obviously need a new main board... but i wouldn't plug that sucker in until finding that short. perhaps, the board might leave clues to what fried it? have the tech photograph some high res pics of what smoked. that dx5 head, i've seen for $500ish. makes me jealous, using four dx4's. as for this whole repair, it's going to take someone that doesn't throw parts at the machine. and why does he have your main board? what tha...? something's very wrong here.
 

Pat Whatley

New Member
why does he have your main board? what tha...? something's very wrong here.
Sounds liek the tech screwed up, fried your board and two of his own, and skipped out with the evidence.



back to what Doug said....find someone to sub your work out to. It doesn't have to be somebody in Birmingham, there are probably 30 wholesale suppliers within one day shipping of you.

Good luck getting your printer fixed.
 

PaintBallMan

New Member
In the final of the history, the tech not made the printer work, the tech burned 2 new pcbs, the tech not saw the power supply pcb, not saw the keyboard pcb.
How a man will change the main board without see if the fuses be open.
Take care.
 

eyecandy

New Member
My mainboard was already fried. And the reason he took it was to see if he could repair it. Came back with a "NO" ~ can't. As for the boards he brought, that is his problem. I just don't see why he wants to come back with a new mainboard, Printhead, and slider board. How do we know if it even needs a head. Mimaki Co. out of Atlanta says that a bad Head can pull to much power and fry a mainboard. I just want to know how do we know this is the problem before we switch them out. I just don't want them to take my head, that is 2 years old and printed perfect before this happened, and replace it with a new one without me even knowing if mine was bad. They could take mine, clean it and sell it. My mind is fried~!
 

artbot

New Member
if you go with the same tech, tell him to bring a proxy head for further diagnosis. if you don't use them, you'll need to acquire a proxy head (most repair tech/print suppliers have them laying around). i once bought a proxy dx4 head from a tech for $100 and it cleared up after a soak! ...or post a thread on the jv33 yahoo, and here asking for a mechanically bad, electronically good head (one that doesn't throw error 07's for jv3). that head can be plugged in, and just dangle $100 to provide the needed voltage for it to boot.

as for the repairing the board, i'd first get that board back. and send both it and your slider board to a board repair company like mac media. he's very reputable. sent him my slider board once, came back as "fine". which it was.

also,

pm me your email address and i can send you a ebon catalog, they have dx4 "original" for $1300 and dx5 "modified" for $500 minimum 2pcs. don't know the difference, both solvent resistant.
 
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