Mutoh Falcon Jr Issues

[snakewraps]

Hey guys. We have a Mutoh Falcon Outdoor Jr that has been working almost flawlessly for the last couple of years. The other day the yellow ink was cross contaminated with magenta, after using one of the new Mutoh ink cartridges. I flushed the lines and did a head soak on both print heads. Now when doing nozzle checks, head alignment prints, or any other prints, all I can get is the mess in the attached pictures. The print always begins off of the media and ends off of the media. Both fuses on the main board are good. I have good suction on both waste tubes. The capping station appears to be good and not plugged up. Any ideas?

 

[artbot]

those patterns are most commonly a data issue. bad head or loose data cable.

 

[Stealth Ryder]

those patterns are most commonly a data issue. bad head or loose data cable.

Yup, Bad Print Head...

 

[snakewraps]

We changed out both color and black print heads, as well as the capping station. Now when running a nozzle check I get this. Any other ideas?

 

[Ghost Prophet]

We changed out both color and black print heads, as well as the capping station. Now when running a nozzle check I get this. Any other ideas?

You changed print heads and the problem got better but not completely fixed? Leads me to believe you have some bad/dirty ribbon cables... or worse a fried board.

 

[snakewraps]

Leads me to believe you have some bad/dirty ribbon cables... or worse a fried board.

I'm ordering in some new cables to test those. Any way to test the board? And is there anywhere to get a replacement board if it is bad?

 

[Finishline Signs]

Here's someone on the forum selling Falcon Jr. parts, PM him to see if he can help you with a motherboard.

 

[Ghost Prophet]

I flushed the lines and did a head soak on both print heads.

What were your exact steps? Did you take the heads out to do the soak or something??

Such a simple process SHOULD NOT result in such a huge problem. To damage any of your green boards you usually have to physically touch a component with your hands or a magnetic screwdriver while there is still a charge of electricity in the unit... and even then you can hurt it with an ESD (electro static discharge) if you are not properly grounded. Problems could also be caused by using an ungrounded breaker, surge protector, or a number of other in-door electrical issues, such as your building getting struck by lightning (it has happened). >.<

To my knowledge there are 4 main green boards in the Jr... Control board (where all the buttons are), Carriage board (what the ribbons connect to from your print heads), and the motherboard is very securely fastened and protected under the heater control board. Your problem most likely exists with the carriage board. Consult your service manual for the proper name for replacement part if for some reason my memory of part names is off. The Mutoh service department (1-800-996-8864 ext 5) will understand all of these terms and can give you a part number if you need one... They might even be able to supply you with the part, I don't know.

 

[Ghost Prophet]

Oh side note to a problem you didn't ask for help with...

Your colors cross contaminated because the new Mutoh inks cause your capping station pads to swell up. Robert M on this forum mentioned something about ordering a different brand ink, but another solution seems to be removing 1 layer of the padding or replacing it completely with a metal mesh, which can possibly damage your print heads if you do it yourself (not saying you can't do it yourself, someone on this forum already has).