Please help me...scan motor errors!!!

[okeesignguy]

[video=youtube;21HtgDbO5q4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21HtgDbO5q4&feature=youtu.be[/video]


I recently posted that I was changing the scan motor in my SP 540v...the reason I changed it was the old one was that it was so worn out that the gear (armature) was wobbling...

My printer is about 8 yrs old so I was ready and had a spare and figured that changing it would end my problem and I would move on with life...WRONG!

I have a service manual and did it all to spec and when I got to the "aging" point it was doing fine for a few minutes and then it happened...the dreaded "Scan Motor Error"....Aarrgg!!!

I shut it down and re started it and it came right back to normal with the readout saying 52.5 etc...
I thought "ok"...let's try again...of course, same thing happened...

I then realized that it did have a little drag when moving the carraiges by hand so I figured that it might be sensing the drag and throwing the code so I started taking it apart, removing all of the covers as well as the encoder strip so as not to damage it...
FYI (I recently changed the encoder strip as well as the strip sensor)

I commenced to cleaning the rail as well as "guides" on both sides of both carriages...I call them guides because I don't no the correct name for them...if you imagine the carraige as a rail "plow" it would be the part that actually makes contact with the rail and "plows" along it,eventually accumulating all the old oil "gook" on both ends of the carriage...
I hope I explained that well enough for you to get what I mean...

So...anyway...I cleaned the "gook" really good with alcohol and swabs and finally used 3 in 1 oil on the rail and moved the carriages back and forth several times until the carriages kind of "glided" very nicely and smoothly...a HUGE improvement...

I carefully reinstalled the encoder strip and did the set up for it successfully and figured that I was "good to go"...
I then fired up a print and it started printed better than it has in years...SMOOOOTH as could be, gliding back and forth as nicely as a dream...
FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES! Then...SCAN MOTOR ERROR... WTF!?!

I am at my wits end...the problem is compounded by me living over 2 hrs from the nearest service folks and they get several hundred dollars just to come look at it and it goes up from there...
One thing I am considering is the wear on the large white gear from the wobbling pinion gear...??? If it has altered the teeth and then a non-wobbling motor was installed, would that cause anything like friction etc that might be causing my problem...possibly...???

PLEASE HELP ME....I would VERY much appreciate it

 

[madsign25]

First that video is for old motor?

What the scan motor error code number have no one ?


-Make sure that the ENCODER SCALE doesn't make contact with the ENCODER MODULE and also
ENCODER SCALE is between the slit of the ENCODER MODULE.

-In service menu do linear encoder calibration.
-Check that motor set OK not losed.
-Check the wire cable that have not damaged point.
-In left side of printer there pulley which wire cable around it check that not broken or losen sure it's cycle smooth.
-Sure that carriage move in whole printer width if you take off the wire cable from carriage mybe you need to reset .

 

[okeesignguy]

First that video is for old motor?

What the scan motor error code number have no one ?


-Make sure that the ENCODER SCALE doesn't make contact with the ENCODER MODULE and also
ENCODER SCALE is between the slit of the ENCODER MODULE.

-In service menu do linear encoder calibration.
-Check that motor set OK not losed.
-Check the wire cable that have not damaged point.
-In left side of printer there pulley which wire cable around it check that not broken or losen sure it's cycle smooth.
-Sure that carriage move in whole printer width if you take off the wire cable from carriage mybe you need to reset .

Yes...that is the old motor...

Haven't got the code with me but I think it was 0110...???

Definetly between the EMod slit and pretty sure not touching it either...

Did E calibration...passed

"Check that motor set OK not losed"...??????

I recently also replaced the cable and guides and I checked it...

Pully seems nice and I also 3 in 1 oiled the bearing...

Carraige movement is very smooth and reaches both ends..."reset"???

Do the cables go bad...?
Could it be electronic and not mechanical...???
Thanx for your help!

 

[madsign25]

In service manual check chapter carriage wire tension adjustment .

If your scan motor was in your store for years in bad condition mybe it's damaged, although the old motor look so bad but you have no scan motor error with it try back it and see if pass error .last if you sure of all your mechanical I think that your problem in motor or board.

 

[okeesignguy]

Yesterday I tore all the covers off and really spent some time cleaning, lubing, adjusting etc...
Especially concentrated on the cutting carriage and making sure that it glided nicely...
Removed it and cleaned the steel "block" that actually rides on the bar...it was pretty gummed up...
When I put it all back together I could get it to do limit initialize and enviro match etc but would not print...SCAN MOTOR ERROR...AAARRRGGG!!!
Then...try after try after try...turning it on would do nothing but the error...over and over and over...

As I thought about it I came to the conclusion that it must be the motor, even tho the motor is barely used...
So I pulled the end cap off of the old motor to see what is in there....ever done that? I wish I had taken pics but I didn't...
On the bottom end of the motor shaft there is a plastic disc...like a hat...that spins with the armature...
There is also a sensor that reads it...it is very much like an encoder strip and the sensor that reads that...
It's kinda like a brake rotor and caliper in a car...

So I removed the "good" motor from the printer and removed it's end cap...
It appeared to be a little dirty so I cleaned it with alcohol and removed the sensor and cleaned it too just as you would an encoder strip and it's sensor...It was very easy...

Put the motor back on and fired it up with fingers crossed and wahla!!! Fired right up just like new!
With anticipation and not a ton of confidence I started a small print...it worked!
Then another small job...then another small job...about six little things in a row...no problems!!!
So the I got brave and printed a 4ft X 7ft banner...holding my breath as I watched it print, just waiting for the dreaded error message...it went on and successfully completed it and it looked awesome!

By then it was about 6:30 last night and I had been there all day so I came home...
Now...trust me...I am FULLY AWARE that I could go in Monday morning and it could fail upon start up...but this is where I am now...
IF this works...and I mean IF this works then unless motor bearings are shot as in the video of the old motor then I will always be suspect of a dirty motor sensor...
I have seen reports on this forum about the first motor lasting years and then replacement motors only lasting a year or so...a yr is not long enough to burn up bearings and I am now wondering how often it MIGHT be dirty motor encoder and sensor...???

Either way I will report what happens from here tomorrow....

Thanx ya'll !

 

[okeesignguy]

Well...I didn't report what happened because I wanted to make sure that the news stayed good
It has been a week since my printer refused to do anything except give Scan Motor errors and I took the scan motor apart and cleaned it...
When I did that it started printing as tho nothing had ever happened and has been printing flawlessly all week...
Now, keep in mind that we are a pretty busy shop so the thing has printed well over 100 feet this week...maybe 200...(I don't keep track)
I was almost to the point of paying the ridiculous amount of money for a tech to come here and probably install a new motor...that would have cost me about $1000...
I have to wonder how many others have simply forked over the loot and changed out their motor instead of just cleaning theirs...???
If your bearings are shot like mine were in the other motor...ya, it needs to be replaced HOWEVER if that is not the case, pop off that cover and clean the encoder and sensor just as you would an encoder strip and it's sensor...
Maybe I'm wrong but I think that I may have discovered something here that is invaluable to all of us...

 

[MrSalumi]

Well...I didn't report what happened because I wanted to make sure that the news stayed good
It has been a week since my printer refused to do anything except give Scan Motor errors and I took the scan motor apart and cleaned it...
When I did that it started printing as tho nothing had ever happened and has been printing flawlessly all week...
Now, keep in mind that we are a pretty busy shop so the thing has printed well over 100 feet this week...maybe 200...(I don't keep track)
I was almost to the point of paying the ridiculous amount of money for a tech to come here and probably install a new motor...that would have cost me about $1000...
I have to wonder how many others have simply forked over the loot and changed out their motor instead of just cleaning theirs...???
If your bearings are shot like mine were in the other motor...ya, it needs to be replaced HOWEVER if that is not the case, pop off that cover and clean the encoder and sensor just as you would an encoder strip and it's sensor...
Maybe I'm wrong but I think that I may have discovered something here that is invaluable to all of us...

Nice work!! I am glad that it worked out for you and that you shared it with us all. I'll copy this write up and throw it in the stack of writeups for our roland.

 

[okeesignguy]

Nice work!! I am glad that it worked out for you and that you shared it with us all. I'll copy this write up and throw it in the stack of writeups for our roland.

Frankly I am surprised that more people are not interested in this as it isn't anything that I ever ran into when searching for answers for the scan motor errors and as far as I know most people just change the motor out without question and probably just toss the "old" motor in the trash...to me, this was a discovery...to others, I guess not...that's ok...they can just throw those"old" motors my way