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issues upgrading firmware

artbot

New Member
@jane if i had a win-win ntek flatbed, i would go to sleep on it each night. i have pushed the mimaki to far trying to use it for flatbed work. i have to get two sample pieces ready for the biggest tradeshow in my industry (metrocon). with one week, it looks very bad. the printer is way out of warranty (about six years old).

@ironchef so these numbers are after each print? but the print looks fine? have you upgraded the firmware or reinstalled. i'd start there. i'm assuming that the tech entering in some parameters would have already done that. there are a couple jv3's (mine included) that are acting very oddly.

i'm going to circuit test every line on all my data ribbons. if those ribbons come up fine, then i have no possible explanation for what cause my printer to smoke so many parts in 10 minutes. it was fine up until a certain point, then bleh....
 

ruckusman

New Member
Brief decription of what I did when I had error 07 on all four heads (8 channels)

When I powered it up, I got the error 07 ******** for all eight heads.

It happened just as it made the first move whilst initialising and the main cables pivot slightly.

I had suspected those cables/contacts previously.

So I trimmed 0.5mm from the end of each of the 5 main cables, then cleaned the contacts with Isopropyl alcohol and 2000 grade wet and dry so they sparkle.

I then placed them conduction side down and flattened the back surface with the handle of a small screwdriver.

I also adjusted each of the 40 pin contacts for all 5 cables to ensure proper contact.

I did this by inserting the leg of an old transistor I had and levering it down ever so gently.

On re-assembly, no more error 07.

BTW I work on a glass surface with electronics as it's electrically insulated

peace out
 

artbot

New Member
@rucksman i may have something similar but i'm not sure i'm smart enough to entirely understand. you were replacing the large data cables that run from the main board to the slider? and when when the carriage jogs left, it torques the cables a bit. ... but i didn't have error 07 all the way across. i had left channel head #3, both channels head #4. not to mention, blown sliders. the only thing i can imagine may have caused an issue is i rerouted my super long mutoh data cables differently. but they look pristine. no frays, no burnt spots, and were all solidly plugged in. all facing correctly. does the damage in the pics of the two slider boards look to the the same issue twice? the damage is on entirely different portions of the boards.

UPDATE:

i'm considering scrapping this printer unless there is some obscure power supply explanation... or something. haven't circuit tested the data ribbons yet. if they come up fine then i am completely stumped. 24 pins x2 ends = 48 pins x 8 ribbons 384 connections. is that ocd?
 
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ruckusman

New Member
No I wasn't replacing the large data cables, though I was considering it.

Abandon the idea of testing the cables for continuity - I had thought that possibly there could be broken conductors where they are folded back on themselves near the head unit.

They are more robust than that, they aren't the weak point.

The end connnections at the slider are vulnerable.

Every time the carriage changes direction, the cables are as you described, torqued.
I hypothesised that this would wear both the cable ends as well as the connectors on the sliders.

So that was why I trimmed 0.5mm, cleaned all of the ends and reflattened the conductors to eliminate the wear from the slider connectors.

I also bent the slider connectors down very slightly to account for, and remedy wear.

Now I cured the head 07 errors with that work, but lost all output not long afterwards.
I checked for the 42 volts which drives the piezo crystalsand only had 6 volts.

The main board power issues I've now got are the result of the magenta head blowing on the 42 volt line at the head - which I think damaged the main board.
Something that was ultimately my fault D'OH.

I've had the power transistors and a few other power components for the main board for some time - just a bit too frustrated to finish installing them lately.

peace out
 

artbot

New Member
@ruckusman that is ingenious and depressing. at this point i have to decide to keep going or not. the ghost printing issue.... i told my boss a month ago. this will either cost $100 and five minutes to fix or four weeks and $4000. i haven't spent $4000 or spent the four weeks, yet. but i'm getting there.
 

artbot

New Member
UPDATE:

upon packing up my two fried slider boards. i notice the back of the original one off the machine is "sticky?". i did not notice this. it seemed i would have. was it sticky when it blew? or did i lay it on a solvent soaked paper towel after it blew? it seems to be butyl carbitol. quite a lot of it. i'm going to look for what's going on. very odd. not saying the "dual board failure" can be explained just yet. but maybe?
 

inkmed

New Member
Had talk with our techinicians about your problems again.

When prints long band, it is problems of head cable, long cable from main board to slider board and slider board. As your picture, there are burn spots on both two slider board, it is likely the cause of problems.
So, it is better test printer with a prefect slider board.

For the start of problem, all printer head blank. May caused by one printer head burn out. When one printer head burn out, main board may stop all printer head voltage to protect themselves.

I am not technician, just talk with our technicians about your problem. Good luck.

Adam Yang from Inkmed
 

ruckusman

New Member
artbot - don't despair, my issues is specific as I had a drop of dilute ammonia based cleaning fluid shorted out my head. My fault for not checking everything thoroughly.

In all likelihood as your main board was given the all clear by Kent, I'd take that reassurance as gospel.

Anyway, be calm, think peaceful thoughts and clean up the ends of the cables and adjust the connector slots for the main cables.

That's one potential issue that you can eliminate completely.

peace out
 

MikePro

New Member
o man, heck of a read here. i'll dive-in, as well, but lotta catchin' up to do on my end.

noted: i've gotten "error 07" messages before, after installing new printheads. but a quick re-connection of the cables cleared it right up so I must have just had them seated improperly or in the wrong sequence.

i assume, before diving-in to all this mess, that you tried hard cleaning of the printheads? I've had y-current errors that left the printer sitting "open" all night, and came back in the a.m. to 0% testprints with repeated 0% testprints after multiple soaking/cleanings. My last-ditch, was to use 95% acetone + 5% butyl mix ('ish, i just slung a STRONG concoction together) for a 1hr nozzlewash, followed by a strong cleaning, and it WORKED!

otherwise, i'll keep catching up on the read and see what else I have to chime-in this afternoon.
 

artbot

New Member
unfortunately this isn't a clean/clogged issue. the printer across all channels just ceases to print all at once.
 

MikePro

New Member
osnap, i remember that thread now.... thought you had it "fixed", lol. This is making me not want to ever power-down my printer...ever! :)

haven't finished reading yet, but since the boards checked-out then maybe you're in need of new sensor cables? particularly, the rear encoder strip sensor?
I have no clue for sure, without carving into my printer, what would happen if the connection is severed during a print... but maybe some random sensor cable-connections are randomly pulling themselves apart during the motion of the carriage?
 

artbot

New Member
i've checked out the rear paper sensor (not during movement). wouldn't the printer stop advancing media and error? i don't know because i hacked my printer to not look for or measure media. encoder sensor has been changed out, no difference. with the loaner slider board it didn't do the ghost print (yet) but still swung wide left. i figure it was a matter of time unless it just a coincidental issue.
 

SightLine

║▌║█║▌│║▌║▌█
If the rear media sensor opens during printing it will immediately stop and say "no sheet" :Big Laugh on the display.
 

MikePro

New Member
If the rear media sensor opens during printing it will immediately stop and say "no sheet" :Big Laugh on the display.
nah, i'm talking the rear sensor on the carriage that detects the position on the encoder strip.
buut if artbot's swapped that out, then i'll keep rattlin' out random ideas as they pop-up while runnin' my printer today.
 

ruckusman

New Member
Artbot, I've finally figured out why mine stopped printing and can give you a way to diagnose yours if you're interested.

It's one voltage measurement with the machine powered on, which you do once it has stopped outputting ink.

peace out
 

artbot

New Member
i got the repaired slider board in from macmedia the other day. i have been too slammed to look at the jv3. sounds like some mad scientistry. i'll pm you my email address so you can explain.
 

ruckusman

New Member
It's not mad scientist territory

I replaced my power transistors to still have no output and 6 volts where there should be 42 volts.

I've got 42 volts at a voltage regulator and this was dropping to 6 volts at fuse 4 (another blown power transistor with another component causing this - parts on the way).
Fuse 4, a PTC self resetting fuse, was where the voltage was dropping down to 6.
Actually theres quite a few on the board, they look like yellow lollypops.

These fuses guard against over-current situations. Then once the issue is fixed/resolved they reset.

So on your main board, when it's printing correctly, you should have 42 volts at both legs of fuse 4.

Now my theory is something amongst the power transistors is faulting out, likely due to temperature, thus overloading fuse 4, which radically increases it's resistance, dropping the voltage.
Once that happens, ink output stops.

So to test this, set it printing, check voltage at fuse 4, should be 42 volts on both legs.

Once it stops outputting ink, leave it printing and check the voltage at fuse 4 again, the upper leg will have 42 volts, the lower leg will have much less if any voltage.

You only need a cheap multi-meter for this and use any of the TP (touch points to ground) for the common/ground lead, I just pop my lead into the loop and let it hang, that way you only have to concentrate on one lead.

Check the lower leg of fuse 4 for voltage, less than 42, the issue is amongst the power transistors.
If the upper leg has less than 42 volts, the failing component is back towards the upper left corner and possibly the voltage regulator attached to the heatsink.

How long before it starts printing correctly again for you?

peace out
 
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