New print head and Dampers = zero color vs300i

Pull ink from one of the tubes at the capping

 

You need to attach the big syringe I assume you have to the end of each color's waste line and siphon ink through until you see the damper and filled with ink. Are you doing all this without having the service manual in front of you?

 

How old is your Cap Top? Does flow ink into the waste bottle when doing powerful cleaning?

 

You need to call a tech out before you cause more damage and then really have to call a tech. If you don't charge the dampers properly you will get no ink flow or it will print and fade on each job. Your pump maybe bad or clogged also. It's almost a good thing in regards to electronics you are not getting much ink flow because if you get good ink flow but nothing fires then you usually have an electrical problem somewhere. These heads had pressure issues with them after some use also even if everything was fairly new.

 

Yes, cap the head and then pull from the waste line with a syringe. Tim Toad is just used to a multiple head machine but yours is a single head with single waste tube. Depending on how far back in the machine the ink has receded and how big the syringe is, it could take a few pulls to get it to bring ink down. You should have someone watch the ink lines and confirm the ink is moving through them towards the head when you pull. If you just pull air and the ink doesn't move in the lines, the cap top is most likely bad. If you pull ink through the head and it still doesn't print, the head fuse is blown.

 

The two tubes from the cap top connect to a Y connector that then connects to the pump. I usually connect the syringe to the Y connector where the pump normally does and pull from there. That way you pull from both at the same time. If can't connect to the Y connector with your syringe, you can just bend one of the tubes and tape it shut and pull from one of them. If you pull from one while the other isn't clogged it will just pull air from the other tube.

Low ink shouldn't cause ink flow issues but if a cartridge is actually empty and not flagging the machine properly, it can cause flow issues. It would be very rare that more than 1 cartridge did that at the same time let alone all of them. Since each line is independent until it reaches the cap top, even if one or more of the colors were having flow issues, you should still be able to get something printing. That;s why the cap top is probably bad. At least something should be coming through the new head by now. That's why manually pulling can be better to see what is happening.

Blown fuses aren't so bad these days actually. You pull the old one out and pop the new one in. The hard part is figuring out why it blew in the first place so you don't blow the new one as well.

 

one or 2 choke cleans should prime the head just fine no matter how much air is in the lines, etc... AS LONG AS EVERYTHING IS CORRECT.
Since you've said you have done a choke clean, I'm going to say you have other issues.
What area are you in that there are no techs??

 

If you've got new dampers in already, and since they work with the old head, put the new head back in. But if you sucked air with the syringe, you may have a bad cap top or something on the bottom of the head that is preventing a good tight seal. Make sure you get solid ink flow with no air when you syringe below the cap top or you'll likely have problems in short order with the new head.

Good Luck