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Ink Fill??

midnightmadman

New Member
I did a head soak and cleaning on my DX5. I'm pretty confident its good to go. The issue im having is now that its back in, I'm not getting anything at all to print out of it. I also cleaned out the black plastic piece between the head and the dampers. That was a bit clogged too... and is now clear. I am assuming its because its dry and there is no vacuum? I tried multiple strong cleanings but nothing comes through. I also tried a syringe to pull ink and I get air.
Do I need to do an ink fill? is there a way to do this without going through the longstore and cleaning cart. steps??
Any help is appreciated! Thank you
 

FatCat

New Member
If you have attached a syringe to the bottom of the cap top and are pulling air then you have a leak somewhere. (Typically the fittings that go to the dampers are to blame, but make sure that the dampers are snapped in place on top of the manifold as well.)
 

premiercolour

Merchant Member
Thanks
I did get some in the board on the print head
Are you saying the fuse is on the print head or your saying the fuse on the main board inside the machine ?

Main board inside the machine. Check the head cables too. Cross leads will burn the fuse. Usually, you don't want to use the head cable twice. Without taking care the issues of burning fuse, new fuse will be burned again. I would clean the ink drops, make sure cable is good. Proceed to change fuse.
 

midnightmadman

New Member
So I am able to pull ink through at this point except black
The black lines above the dampers keep getting air in them
I took the two lines off above the dampers and pulled black out and removed all air but then soon after I connect them the air appears back in the line maybe around 8” of air
Is this something other than the head not taking ink through ?
 

FatCat

New Member
If there is air above the damper then it's most likely leaking somewhere around the damper. Either the fitting to the damper (make sure O-rings aren't crushed or twisted) or there could be a bad fit from the damper to the manifold, OR possibly a cracked manifold at the black.
 

midnightmadman

New Member
So I am able to pull ink through at this point except black
The black lines above the dampers keep getting air in them
I took the two lines off above the dampers and pulled black out and removed all air but then soon after I connect them the air appears back in the line maybe around 8” of air
Is this something other than the head not taking ink through ?
Thanks
Is there a plAce to pull ink from after the dampers?
 

midnightmadman

New Member
Update. So from what I can tell the head nozzles seemed clear when I cleaned it. I am able to pull all colors now with a syringe. But when I print I am getting a lot of blank nozzles and also none at all from Magenta. I saw a lot of magenta ink come through the line at fist when I started pulling and then all colors seemed to flow. Is there some reason I can pull all colors but they arent firing from the head???
 

jriley

New Member
I did a head soak and cleaning on my DX5. I'm pretty confident its good to go. The issue im having is now that its back in, I'm not getting anything at all to print out of it. I also cleaned out the black plastic piece between the head and the dampers. That was a bit clogged too... and is now clear. I am assuming its because its dry and there is no vacuum? I tried multiple strong cleanings but nothing comes through. I also tried a syringe to pull ink and I get air.
Do I need to do an ink fill? is there a way to do this without going through the longstore and cleaning cart. steps??
Any help is appreciated! Thank you

What model printer? When you say you did a head soak, do you mean that you put some eco-sol cleaning solution in the cap (or on a lint-free cloth) and parked the head on the cap for a long time? When you say "now that it's back in," does this mean you took the print head out? What's the "black plastic piece" that was clogged, but is now clear (can you send picture)? If you draw on an ink line with your syringe, but the plunger springs back after you pull, there's a clog. If you're able to freely draw on the line, but no ink enters the syringe, there's a leak. If you are able to draw ink into your syringe, but it's bubbly, there's a leak. If you can smoothly draw and ink flows into the syringe, you're good to go.

It's very simple to figure out where the leak is coming from . You've got the connectors and o-rings, L Tubes, Y Splits, and main ink lines. You can start by drawing on each line individually. If there's no leak from the connectors all the way back to the cartridges, then your problem is between the dampers and the waste tank.

Have you replaced your dampers/maintenance station recently? Running cleanings won't help much if these parts have been eliminated as the cause/contributing to the problem.

To answer the last question, you will need to run an ink fill or "Charge" after you evacuated the ink from the lines. Did you empty the ink from the lines? If not, there's no reason to run a charge. However, a Little Charge might be necessary if you need to pull more ink than a Long Cleaning provides. Also, you can initiate a charge without running a Longstore.

What's the background on this printer? What was going on with it before you started doing all of this?

I did get some in the board on the print head

Powering on without completely cleaning up the mess can permanently damage the head.

I’ve got the head printing but the colors are not looking good at all
Maybe still some solution in the head ??

A picture of your Nozzle Check would help. What do you mean by the colors "aren't looking good." Why would there be solution in the head--did you run a Longstore?

So I am able to pull ink through at this point except black
The black lines above the dampers keep getting air in them
I took the two lines off above the dampers and pulled black out and removed all air but then soon after I connect them the air appears back in the line maybe around 8” of air
Is this something other than the head not taking ink through ?

If the lines above the dampers keep getting air in them, then you need to determine where the leak is--you can't go any further until you fix that part. Replace the damper connectors, o rings, L tubes, Y split, and/or main line depending on what you find. This is the first priority.


Update. So from what I can tell the head nozzles seemed clear when I cleaned it. I am able to pull all colors now with a syringe. But when I print I am getting a lot of blank nozzles and also none at all from Magenta. I saw a lot of magenta ink come through the line at fist when I started pulling and then all colors seemed to flow. Is there some reason I can pull all colors but they arent firing from the head???

If you're pulling ink from below the cap and you're seeing Magenta, in your syringe, but when you run a Nozzle Check, you're not seeing ANY Magenta, then I believe it's likely that your head is failed and will need to be replaced. Though it's possible there's a cable/fuse problem, I typically don't see just one color channel dropout when that's the case (has someone else seen that before?)

Also, be wary of pulling to hard from below the cap, the suction an put stress on the surface of the head and damage it.
 

midnightmadman

New Member
What model printer? When you say you did a head soak, do you mean that you put some eco-sol cleaning solution in the cap (or on a lint-free cloth) and parked the head on the cap for a long time? When you say "now that it's back in," does this mean you took the print head out? What's the "black plastic piece" that was clogged, but is now clear (can you send picture)? If you draw on an ink line with your syringe, but the plunger springs back after you pull, there's a clog. If you're able to freely draw on the line, but no ink enters the syringe, there's a leak. If you are able to draw ink into your syringe, but it's bubbly, there's a leak. If you can smoothly draw and ink flows into the syringe, you're good to go.

It's very simple to figure out where the leak is coming from . You've got the connectors and o-rings, L Tubes, Y Splits, and main ink lines. You can start by drawing on each line individually. If there's no leak from the connectors all the way back to the cartridges, then your problem is between the dampers and the waste tank.

Have you replaced your dampers/maintenance station recently? Running cleanings won't help much if these parts have been eliminated as the cause/contributing to the problem.

To answer the last question, you will need to run an ink fill or "Charge" after you evacuated the ink from the lines. Did you empty the ink from the lines? If not, there's no reason to run a charge. However, a Little Charge might be necessary if you need to pull more ink than a Long Cleaning provides. Also, you can initiate a charge without running a Longstore.

What's the background on this printer? What was going on with it before you started doing all of this?



Powering on without completely cleaning up the mess can permanently damage the head.



A picture of your Nozzle Check would help. What do you mean by the colors "aren't looking good." Why would there be solution in the head--did you run a Longstore?



If the lines above the dampers keep getting air in them, then you need to determine where the leak is--you can't go any further until you fix that part. Replace the damper connectors, o rings, L tubes, Y split, and/or main line depending on what you find. This is the first priority.




If you're pulling ink from below the cap and you're seeing Magenta, in your syringe, but when you run a Nozzle Check, you're not seeing ANY Magenta, then I believe it's likely that your head is failed and will need to be replaced. Though it's possible there's a cable/fuse problem, I typically don't see just one color channel dropout when that's the case (has someone else seen that before?)

Also, be wary of pulling to hard from below the cap, the suction an put stress on the surface of the head and damage it.
What model printer? When you say you did a head soak, do you mean that you put some eco-sol cleaning solution in the cap (or on a lint-free cloth) and parked the head on the cap for a long time? When you say "now that it's back in," does this mean you took the print head out? What's the "black plastic piece" that was clogged, but is now clear (can you send picture)? If you draw on an ink line with your syringe, but the plunger springs back after you pull, there's a clog. If you're able to freely draw on the line, but no ink enters the syringe, there's a leak. If you are able to draw ink into your syringe, but it's bubbly, there's a leak. If you can smoothly draw and ink flows into the syringe, you're good to go.

It's very simple to figure out where the leak is coming from . You've got the connectors and o-rings, L Tubes, Y Splits, and main ink lines. You can start by drawing on each line individually. If there's no leak from the connectors all the way back to the cartridges, then your problem is between the dampers and the waste tank.

Have you replaced your dampers/maintenance station recently? Running cleanings won't help much if these parts have been eliminated as the cause/contributing to the problem.

To answer the last question, you will need to run an ink fill or "Charge" after you evacuated the ink from the lines. Did you empty the ink from the lines? If not, there's no reason to run a charge. However, a Little Charge might be necessary if you need to pull more ink than a Long Cleaning provides. Also, you can initiate a charge without running a Longstore.

What's the background on this printer? What was going on with it before you started doing all of this?



Powering on without completely cleaning up the mess can permanently damage the head.



A picture of your Nozzle Check would help. What do you mean by the colors "aren't looking good." Why would there be solution in the head--did you run a Longstore?



If the lines above the dampers keep getting air in them, then you need to determine where the leak is--you can't go any further until you fix that part. Replace the damper connectors, o rings, L tubes, Y split, and/or main line depending on what you find. This is the first priority.




If you're pulling ink from below the cap and you're seeing Magenta, in your syringe, but when you run a Nozzle Check, you're not seeing ANY Magenta, then I believe it's likely that your head is failed and will need to be replaced. Though it's possible there's a cable/fuse problem, I typically don't see just one color channel dropout when that's the case (has someone else seen that before?)

Also, be wary of pulling to hard from below the cap, the suction an put stress on the surface of the head and damage it.
Here’s where I am at
I did a head cleaning
Removed the head and soaked it in with only the bottom of the head small container
It was clogged previously and am now able to push through lightly with a syringe for every port and can see fluid come out of the head
I have it together and all dampers are full and ink lines full
I replaced the black and cyan dampers because those lines were getting air backing up in them
I can pull all colors from under the capping station.(from what I can tell)
When I print I’m getting strange colors
I’ve run a few different color blocks to see and I have attached what is on the rip and what is coming out onto the vinyl
I’m not sure what’s going on but seems that the head has a problem maybe electrical??
 

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Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
I haven't seen a nozzle check in this thread. If there was one I bet it would be missing most of the magenta, cyan and black. If the dampers have ink in them and there ware no air bubbles in the lines, either the maintenance station is not working properly or the head is majorly clogged. It could also be damaged internally. But the reason your colors are so messed up is because the nozzles aren't firing and since the lines have ink in them and no air, it has to either be in the head or maintenance station causing ink flow issues. Put your magenta damper in the yellow spot and vice versa. If the magenta prints in the yellow channel, and the yellow won't print from the magenta channel, the head is probably clogged or broken. If the yellow continues to fire fine and magenta still don't fire, something is wrong above the head.
 

midnightmadman

New Member
Thanks. Can you explain how the maintenance station could cause this?
Also yes the nozzle check is poor like you stated
No magenta at all either
 

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
Thanks. Can you explain how the maintenance station could cause this?
Also yes the nozzle check is poor like you stated
No magenta at all either

It's all about how the damper and maintenance station work together to keep ink flowing to the head. The damper's job is to keep ink flowing to the head during printing, to filter the ink, and to keep the ink from dropping out of the head while idle. Think about how when you were a kid and you put a straw into a glass of water, used your finger to close off one end of a straw, dipped it in a glass of water and then pulled it out and the water stayed in the straw seemingly defying gravity. That's how a damper works essentially. It keeps the ink supply ready to go on top of the head. The maintenance station overpowers the damper and pulls ink through the head. Once ink is in the head, every time a nozzle fires and uses some ink, the damper crushes. When the damper crushes a piece of spring steel resists the crush which expands the damper and pulls new ink supply down from the cartridge.

Long story short: The damper can only keep ink flowing to the head if there is ink already in the nozzle channels. When the maintenance station fails to pull ink down once in a while the damper continues to do it's 3rd job of not allowing ink to just fall out of the head when idle. Over time this will mean the nozzle channels will run out of ink, the damper will hold the ink in it's reservoir like it's supposed to, and the maintenance station will fail to pull more ink down causing inconsistent nozzle checks.
 

midnightmadman

New Member
Thanks. Can you explain how the maintenance station could cause this?
Also yes the nozzle check is poor like you stated
No magenta at all either
Wow thank you
This is the best explanation I’ve gotten on how it works. How does the actual maintenance station pull the ink from the dampers ? That’s the part I’m confused about and maybe could solve the puzzle
 

midnightmadman

New Member
I do have A good seal on the capping station , as I can pull ink the way I should from underneath
What else could be wrong with the MS ?
 
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