Grrr...what the suck?

[letterman7]

Once again my Falcon 2 has let me down for the third time this week. For some reason the heads keep clogging up - and everything, everything is new. I reset the capping station height and all that good stuff, and there are still issues. In an effort to clear the heads, I tried drawing a vacuum with the syringe through the capping station tube, and all I got was a sucking sound from the seal area. It looks virgin, no nicks or stray lint. I was able to do this before when I put the station in a few weeks ago along with the new color head...but now I can't draw a vacuum to save it's life.
Any ideas?

This machine will be available for sale soon...I'm getting tired of messing with it.

 

[Biker Scout]

Perhaps the print head never got fully seated back into the carriage? I'm dealing with a similar situation.

 

[sfr table hockey]

Not sure if the Mutoh is anything like a Roland capping station but this happend to me. On the capping station when the heads are moved from the capping station the capps drop and slide to the left. As you reset the heads the station raises up and to the right and resets. Now on the front right there is a small rectangular box that has 2 clear lines going into it. On that box there are 2 nibs that unless they are set tight against another flat piece on springs then there will be an open vaccume and thus no draw on the capping station. I had knocked off the flat piece that has the springs attached. That was where my air leak was. Just a stab in the dark so I doubt it will be the answer but you never know.

 

[Biker Scout]

Yeah, that little spring thing has been a suspect of mine as well.

 

[letterman7]

Yeah, checked that first (the little vacuum thingy). It seems to be seated ok; the sound is actually coming from the head/cap junction when the carraige is seated on the capping station. I wound up blowing that particular head (cyan) clean with solvent via a syringe through the damper nipple, but I still have to be able to re-prime the head. The p*sser of the whole thing is that the machine will work great for a week, sit a day or two, and all this mess starts up again. Older Falcons...never again!

 

[letterman7]

Slight update...fiddling with it a little this Saturday morning, and tried the syringe method to get the juices flowing again while the heads were over the capping station. Applying a very slight (well, maybe more than slight) downward pressure on the head carraige I was able to pull a vacuum - and ink through the heads. I did that twice, and each time I let go the head assembly the vacuum was broken. So...wtf?
Digging out the manual once again I searched for a way to either a) move the head assembly down a hair (which I deemed impossible, as the heads are screwed to the carriage) or b) raise the capping station. There was little to say in the manual except for 'setting home position and updating capping position' which seemed to be one in the same. So, updating the home position 3 times (I like to be thorough), I pushed the cleaning button once again, and lo and behold ink started through the lines. Not much, but it's there. And following a test print....all the colors seem to have come back to life...for the moment.
Now...I have never heard of the machine loosing it's capping position over time. Has anyone else faced this?

 

[randya]

Clean the timing fence and the sensor itself, especially down in the area far right when 'Home' position is.