L260 caraige rail clean and oil problems

[michael freeman]

My L260 tells me two to three times a day to clean and lube the rail after I have already cleaned and lubed it. I have even tried just to add extra lube to see if that works. I am using HP lubricant that is made for the printer. I have also noticed that the carriage seams to be rough when printing. When you put your hand on the printer is feels like the carriage is (very lightly) hitting small bumps when going back and forth while printing. Has anybody else had this problem? Any suggestion on who to use to fix the problem?

 

[papabud]

sounds like the carriage itself is dirty. the machine is picking up the resistance and telling you to clean it.

 

[michael freeman]

Is there a way to clean it?

 

[greysquirrel]

There are orange pads on left and right side of carriage at rail...make sure they are oiled...actually the right side should have an oiler...make sure the reservoir is full.

if the bushings on the carriage are shot...they may make replacement parts...

if the rail has been compromised it's an anchor...carriage rails are not order able.

 

[GP_Oz]

"rails"
Have you cleaned and oiled both rails..and all the way to the end not just what you see in the window.

 

[eahicks]

YES don't forger the top rail....I didn't clean it as much as the bottom and when we took the cover off to fix something else, that top rail WAS NASTY. It seems to gets more crap on it than the bottom one.

 

[Bly]

The belt might need replacing.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Also it may be time for new felts... the felt pads are recommended to be replaced yearly or roughly 30k sq ft is what I was always told.

 

[michael freeman]

Thanks for the info. By the looks of it the top rail hasn't been cleaned in a long time. I cleaned it and it is running a little smother. Hopefully the next cleaning will clear everything up.

 

[ddarlak]

it never seems to clear up, ultimate cleaning, replace pads, still it comes up with error way to frequently...

 

[dypinc]

Do you have the latest firmware on your printers? Seems to me there were some firmware that made the sensors for rail cleaning way to sensitive and were constantly giving this message. Something to check on.

 

[GP_Oz]

87:03 is a "reported" friction issue and generally it is that

The top rail can build up enough vegimite to stop the carriage (86:01) in its tracks.

What you can do is just reboot printer, it does the SAX test on start up.
You can try removing the side felts and cleaning up the junk and test without them on (put back later)

You can check for play in the bearings but seeing how much up and down movement there is when you try to lift carriage up n down from either side - ie. like rocking a boat in between your left and right hands.

Run your finger nail from the top of the lower rail and down towards platen, it should be smooth - if it feels like a nail file... you are going to have a bad time.

visually inspect belt

It is possible the motor is aging

 

[michael freeman]

Yes firmware is updated. Thanks for all the advice. I will check the rail in a little while.

 

[michael freeman]

I'm going to try and get a tech out here to look at it. (on hold with HP now, LOL)I will keep you posted on the outcome.

 

[Split76]

buy the whole carriage and change it by yourself. You can download the service manual from net. We changed 2 carriages and 5 x bushings before the carriage rod was too worn out.
New carriage has bushings and felts already installed and costs under 500$. If you go that road, change the belt too..
Here's a pic from my graveyard

Happy owner of l360 nowadays

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

You said rail not rails as someone else has stated. I used to get this issue on the L25500 for the longest time. Had a similiar issue to the above and cleaned the top rail really good. I mean 6-8 rounds of Wipe Clean, Oil, Move Carriage, Wipe Clean, Oil, Move Carriage, Everytime I moved the carriage I would leave it resting in a different spot. If you have never cleaned it it will take awhile to close.