Falcon Outdoor no LM

[Steve C.]

I just replace the heads on my Falcon Outdoor 46 a few months ago. Had
problem with the LM not printing so replaced the damper and all was fine.
Now I'm getting a really bad nozzle check, especially the black is all over
the place and LM stopped printing again. I checked the damper and LM was
empty. I tried to draw ink into it with a syringe, but no ink will come in.
I checked and the cartridge is full. I'm pretty sure the problem with the
nozzles is that I'm not getting a good seal and they keep drying out, but
I need some help and advise with the LM not printing.

 

[randya]

Do a head soak, and immediately after clean the stainless steel rim around the head and the capping station.

While still 'wet' try and get a vacuum.
If no luck at this point, you are probably looking at a cap/maintenance station.

 

[Steve C.]

I'll try that...
The capping station is new, Replaced it at the same time I installed new
heads, about 3 mo. ago.... What about the dry damper?

 

[randya]

Are you pulling a good vacuum?
Do you see bubbles in the line?

Sounds like an air leak.

If the cap (or the head) gets hardened ink on it, it will affect the seal.

 

[Steve C.]

There did seem to be bubbles coming into the damper when I tried to fill it.
How do you find, or deal with an air leak?

 

[randya]

There are a number of connections all the back to the needle that inserts into the cartridge.

The first place to look is at the locations the bubbles are coming in.

At the damper connection, there should be a brass nut, an oring that goes over the tubing and seals against the damper.
Too loose and it will leak, too tight and you distort the oring and it will leak.

Wet it with a bit of cleaning solution if it has hardened.
I would probably replace it.


The other thing to look at is the condition of the tubing.
If it is distorted, you may need to cut a small section away to get fresh tubing.
Check for fit before cutting.

 

[Steve C.]

randy, Thanks much for you help with this. The bubbles I was seeing are
on the inside of the line, in the damper. I can't locate any air leaks, but I can
see the the clear tubing has no ink. It appears that the line has air in it all the
way from the damper to the cart. Only thing I can think to do now is put on
a new cart, maybe I have a bad one. I'll need to order one, so nothing I can
do 'tile Tuesday, I guess...thanks again!

 

[randya]

Steve,

You are very welcome.
I trust you are recovering well.
I received a set of your fonts, which are all very nice.
I've really used any yet, but see great potential.

I believe that bubbles in the damper are pretty common, this is one of the functions of the damper.

There are some carts out there with issues, so if you get any save them and get them replaced through where you purchased them. (If you have issues replacing them, contact Mutoh Customer Care).

If a new cart doesnt fix it, you may want to pull some covers and see if you can find a leak in the line (typically at connection points).

The point of contact between the machine and the cartridge is actually a needle.
It is rare that one of these gets cracked or broken, but it does happen.

Have a great weekend!