Ok go figure!!!! JV3160SP

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So I thought I lost me cyan head. I decided to pull it and really check it out, there was not a scratch on it. So i soaked it and installed it and to my suprise it came back. Earlier in the day I installed a new capping station also. So here is the "go figure" part. I start a print and now my Magenta head start losing ink so I put in new dampners and change out the o rings on the brass nut ,and all of the sudden after a couple cleans to try and bring the ink back, its gone. Dry, no ink did I just have bad luck and something go out?

 

[artbot]

your capping station may not be set as high as the last one. did you shim it or leave out some shims? can you hear any air leaks if you pull a vacuum at the drain line end? if you don't have good contact you will hear a hiss. i actually have my station raised a razor blades thickness on the right (my yellow and cyan never make as solid of contact as the black and magenta).

 

[genericname]

Failing that, could be a dead pump. Even though a single pump deals with two inks, the gates or housing on only one side can break, making the pump just spin its wheels with no pressure on the hose.

If you've eliminated Artbot's suggestion as a possible problem, take a look at the pumps while in operation. Do you see ink being drawn? Are there points on the main pump housing that seem to move or pop out as it operates?

 

[MikePro]

try a "fillupink" on the magenta. watch your capping station, and the line below it, for ink pulling through like it should.
if its a bad seat on the capping station, you should hear a faint hiss and see bubbles passing through the waste line.

 

[artbot]

if you want to prove if the pumps are working, you can do pump tube swaps. ...just put the pump line from a good color on to the captop line of the color that isn't working. see if it pulls color. also, dump some solvent down the caps while a partner pulls a vacuum at the waste line end. if you get resistance, you have a clog. the thing is clogs in pumps don't jump around. whatever the case, you should be able to diagnose and fix the issue cheaply and quickly with some isolation.

aa

 

[Dave Rowland]

i have seen some bad caps... but when bought with official capping station they are good.

have noted eveness of heads across capping before, that sort of thing.

Middle certainly got a leak (check with syringe)

 

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Ok so thanks for the tips and Im bad at responding..... So here is were I am. Still have no magenata so I was looking at the capping station which is brand new. I noticed there was ink around the top of the cap or right below the rubber boot. So I pulled the line from the pump and there is no suction on the line. I checked with a syringe and It pull air straight through. So I called tubelite who we purchased the capping station from and talked to thier tech and he have came to the conclusion that the capping station is sucking air (faulty)? I did do a full cap adjustment on the station per your guys request before this too. I also did check the pump. I just pulled both lines and the black had suction on my finger but the magenta didnt ....... I will also do the line swap like you suggested and get back with you guys. Thanks for the tips and help!

 

[artbot]

faulty can simply mean that the length of spring in that one cap is a bit wimpier than the rest. if so you can just pull apart the capping station and stretch out the spring a bit to put some more energy into the spring. i've done this with success.

first make sure though that you are hitting the head on target. paint the cap top's edge with ink. park the head on the station to allow the ink to transfer onto the bottom of the head. now pull the carriage over to the left and with a flashlight look at the bottom of the head. make sure the cap top's rim is printed into the center of the bottom of the head.

also there can be a leak where the cap tops line plugs in going to the pump. when hooking up the pumps, you might have pulled on that union a bit and it's leaking, also check the unions going to the pump. ...but only after you've done a pump tube swap and have isolated that the capping station is fine but the pumps are not pulling.

 

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Ok installed a new capping station that tubelite sent over. I realigned the capping station and I checked the caps to make sure thier capping like you suggested. I also switched lines on the pump and still no magenta? Do you have any idea where to go from here? I really appreciate your help, we are a small family shop and in deep trouble with this issue....

 

[artbot]

if you put a working pump line in magenta and got the same result, don't worry about the pump side. have you proved to yourself that you can pull magenta from the drain line with this new capping station? manually pulling is stronger than pump. it can overcome viscosity and clogs that the pumps can not.

couple of things to do/look at:

put an alternate working damper/ink line(s) on the magenta manifold. just cross them. you are running CMYKx2 right? so put black there instead. pull black through the head (either fill up ink, or pull a vacuum at the magenta drain line). see if the black flows at that head position. if black pulls at that cap then you have some high viscosity magenta issue, clogged magenta lines.

if nothing happens. ...black won't pull.

turn off all the noise making things in the space. (a/c, computer fans, everything). pull a vacuum at the magenta drain line. if you hear a faint hiss or air leak sound, you don't have good contact.

check to see if the magenta head is seated at the same level as the other heads. push around on the cap to make sure it's not getting caught sideways. push the cap to make sure it has the same resistance. also, new capping stations often work worse than old ones. they are too rigid and don't seal well.

 

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OK! I got magenta to the head and its firing. I pulled it through with a syringe like you suggested and seems to be working.... Clog? Ok so through all this I have removed the cyan and megenta heads and prints are not looking good. How do I adjust the slant on the heads? I have it in the #Adjust and have gone through some of these. What do the four black screws for on the front of the head unit adjust? THANK YOU!

 

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So basically when I do a test print the magenta is printing over the black a little. I need to manually adjust the print head from left to right. Ive printed out all the test prints and Im just not sure where I adjust this and the head is also printing slanted. Thanks I reread my post before this one and didnt think I made sense...haha

 

[artbot]

don't worry about the color contamination. that will work it's way out. it sounds like you had a bit of vapor lock inside the head. a lot of jv3 owners have run the pump lines to the outside of the printer and then back to separate holes on the drain bottle or some other mod similar. this allows you to go to that color line as soon as there is any issue also inspect flow per line. it's an easy mod that only require chopping a 1x6 hole in the bottom of the panel and extend the drain lines a bit.

as far as adjustment. i am terrible with those adjustments. i don't often run color on my printer (do a lot of mono) so calibration is not much of an issue. i'd post a new thread asking the board about the adjustments.

 

[MikePro]

if your head prints test patterns rotated left/right, you need to manually adjust this by loosening the gold allen-screws holding the head manifold.
i've done this with my printer on, but its recommended that you power-down when you fiddle with the inner workings just in case so you don't zap the slider board.
(i use a 1' allen key, has a nice flex to get to the back screw)

make note of which direction you have to turn it, power-down, loosen both screws, shift slightly (there's spring loaded screws on the front to aid in slight tweaks), tighten screws slightly, power-on, test, repeat if needed, and give the screws a good tightening when you know you're test patterns are printing parallel again. left-right shifts are done via service-mode electronic alignment procedures.

be prepared to burn a LOT of material doing alignments, i recommend getting cheap glossy paper stock to save on some cash (or use the paper backing from your laminate rolls!$!$!$!). you really only need 36" width, even thought you may have a 48"+ printer.

 

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Ok so am I turning the black screw in front of the head unit? after I losen the 2 allen screws. Here is a pic of what it looks like right now. It looks like it just printing slanted.

 

[MikePro]

slant adjustment?
i'm unfamiliar with the procedure, however.

 

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Yeah in the maintenace manual it say to
losen the 2 tilt mounting screws and then turn the tilt adjusting screw according to the tilt direction....haha. After you do a print of ( from the pdf) #ADJUST-HEAD ADJUST-SLANT adjust-720 4 PASS. But nowhere does it say where that screw is in the pdf to adjust this.
Im wodering if its these screws? the four black ones.

 

[MikePro]

i think those might be what they're for, actually. I've just tweaked them in the past thinking they kicked the front end over like I desired to rotate but must have ended up fixing it like i should have, somehow
give it a go. it makes sense, and it couldn't hurt.