Mutoh VJ-1604 half of black gone after damper change

[ElJay]

Printer ran flawlessly until I changed out all dampers, then it ran fine for a little while, now even after numerous "Little Charges" and "Strong" cleanings I still can't get clean test prints on half of the black. Lately it's been throwing wiper sensor errors as well...New Maintainence Station needed?

 

[romichoux]

before to be place, damper have to be clean and fill with cleaning Solvent for this printer. if one of you damper is discharged try to fill it with solvent and try to do a strong cleaning.

for the wiper, have you change you wiper with by an outlet one? sometimes outlet wiper are more rigid and you can get sensor error.

 

[ElJay]

I changed out the damper on the offending color channel for a new one and cleaned everything throughly...Problem still persists. I'm also thinking the clicking and grinding noises I hear during a cleaning cycle (louder than normal) might indicate that the MS needs changing..

 

[FatCat]

Look at your dampers and see if any are not quite as full as the others. Typically they should all be about the same height/fullness across all the colors. If those are OK, then you need to look for air bubbles in your black lines. Perhaps there is a slight leak near one of the fittings or one of the O-rings is squashed or bad after you re-assembled?

If all of those check out OK, only then would I suspect the MS.

 

[ElJay]

Dampers are all about half full as they should be. No air bubbles in ink lines that I can see. Drop out seems to happen in roughly the same spot each time. Print head looks clean.

 

[ElJay]

So...After poking around on the internet and looking through various threads here, I've come up with a few possible senarios:

1)Wiper not cleaning heads well...If this was the case I'd have dropout across all colors, not just half of black, correct?

2)Pump going bad and not forcing enough ink through the heads...Not likely, because I'd see a gradual degradation of quality and not a sudden dropout, and again not just in one color.

3)Capping station not making a good seal over the head.

4)Bad damper or clogs/air in lines...Damper changed, seals all look good, no leaks, no air bubbles visible.

As stated earlier, I was getting wiper sensor error messages a week or so ago...That problem has gone away on it's own somehow.

Wiper, capping station, printhead, and surrounding areas all cleaned throughly.

All was good until I changed the dampers.

 

[ElJay]

Just to be clear, the offender is second from the RIGHT on the print. Ink channels are in reverse order on the head so the issue lies with the second one from the LEFT..Correct?

I apologize if I'm rambling, but I'd really like to get this issue fixed without calling a flaky "tech" who 9 times out of 10 can't be bothered to show up or doesn't know what the problem is any more than I do.

 

[Robert M]

Maint station

I think the printer is telling you what needs to be done. When the pump or cap fail the system does not prime the head and you get drop out. Changing out the maint assy should fix you up

 

[FatCat]

I think the printer is telling you what needs to be done. When the pump or cap fail the system does not prime the head and you get drop out. Changing out the maint assy should fix you up

Agreed.

Have you ever replaced the MS on this 1604?
If so, how long ago?
If not, then this is likely the cause of your woes.

 

[ElJay]

Now the other black channel is starting to go and there are air bubbles visible in lines....WTF???

This printer doesn't see really heavy use but I think it's been at least two years since the MS was replaced.

 

[thmooch]

Bad O-Ring in the damper you changed, allowing air to back up into line? Cracked line where it meets the Brass fittings?

 

[ElJay]

So now that I'm getting failure in BOTH black channels and air bubbles are now visible in the ink lines, can I safely assume that the MS needs replacing?

 

[Jeff South Florida]

The maint. station might need replacing but I do not think that is the cause. The wiper is having an issue sliding forward and back. This is usually a build up of ink i have had ink get on the gears. When it sits overnight and thickens up, the slider can not get through it. After the first time it errors out it will usually work. The black issue is another story. My initial thoughts were that the nipple might be broken. I would check that. If the air is getting in there and you have not run a cleaning, the ink will pull back toward the subtank. Once it gets to the Y spliter the other channel is affected.

 

[FatCat]

So now that I'm getting failure in BOTH black channels and air bubbles are now visible in the ink lines, can I safely assume that the MS needs replacing?

This is a dead giveaway that air is somehow getting into the lines. I highly doubt the MS has anything to do with this. Typically, you have a loose fitting/not tightened correctly, an O-ring that has twisted/smashed/not seated correctly, or you have a crack in your air line(s) somewhere. Yes, the nipples on the manifold could be cracked as well, but I would look at the easy suspects first.

Since you just replaced the dampers my money is on the O-rings or the fittings. Take one of your lines loose and inspect the O-ring to ensure it isn't twisted or smashed and make sure you're getting a good seal where the line meets the damper.

 

[ElJay]

Removed dampers and checked fittings.
Cleaned brass fittings and O rings.
Trimmed off the ends of the ink lines for a clean fit.
Check connections, manifold nipples not cracked, brass fittings nice and snug, O rings not squashed/twisted.
Ran through an entire cartridge or black ink trying to get heads/dampers to fill.
Lines still full of air.
Printer is now telling me to change the black cartridge even though there's ink still in it.
Admitting defeat and calling a tech on Monday.
S**t.

 

[Stealth Ryder]

This is a dead giveaway that air is somehow getting into the lines. I highly doubt the MS has anything to do with this. Typically, you have a loose fitting/not tightened correctly, an O-ring that has twisted/smashed/not seated correctly, or you have a crack in your air line(s) somewhere. Yes, the nipples on the manifold could be cracked as well, but I would look at the easy suspects first.

Since you just replaced the dampers my money is on the O-rings or the fittings. Take one of your lines loose and inspect the O-ring to ensure it isn't twisted or smashed and make sure you're getting a good seal where the line meets the damper.

You have listened and learned FatCat... I absolutely Agree...

 

[thmooch]

Possible bad Ink Cart? If air still in the line, its coming from one end or the other. Swap Black Cart. Get to where you can see line coming out from Cart(might have to do some minor disassembly of printer), run cleaning cycle, watch to see if air is getting in there.

 

[ElJay]

New Maintenance Assembly installed, new O-rings, ink lines clear.

AND IT STILL WON'T PRINT BLACK

There is zero ink in the lines and it keeps telling me to change out the black cart when it's still half full.

Been through TWO sets of dampers in the black lines (and they ain't cheap).

The next thing I'm gonig to attempt is pull ink thru the dampers with a syringe...Maybe there's just too much air in the lines

??????????

 

[Jeff South Florida]

Pull the ink to fill the dampers. Then put the head back on the maint sttn. Find the clear hoses under the cap and pull hall a syringe through. Then release the head from station and continue pulling to clear the lines. Now put the head back and try printing. If no ink flows when you pull, then the ms is no good.

 

[SlightlyChilled]

pulling ink back would have been my frist move.. That way the pumps not fighting the air in the lines. Let us know how you make out