SP300 cleaning cycle/heads

[geckophoto]

So after a bit of not using my SP300, but running cleaning cycles my Magenta is dropping out, got dampers coming in a few days, replaced caps today. Nozzle test looked rough, did a maintenance cleaning, ran test again, looked bad. Did another cleaning cycle, looked a little bit better but I get some Magenta lines in my Yellow line area as shown. Ran another cleaning and it looks a lot better, not perfect but no magenta in yellow.

When I do a cleaning I have the cover off and took these pics as the print head moves left off the caps. Does this look normal with all the ink pooled up and then it drains down into the cap? Once the last movement is done the caps don't have this pooled up anymore.

First Pic with magenta in yellow lines is before maintenance cleaning.

Second Pic caps filled with inks and head is getting wiped to the left side.

Third Pic is head back over caps with ink drip hanging over caps.

Fourth pic is nozzle check after two cleaning cycles, magenta NOT in yellow area.


Also how can I test the pump to make sure the lines are not clogged up and it's pulling/suctioning the ink down and out of the caps? Could my pump be moving but not pulling the fluid, then the caps just gravity drain down to the waste tank?

 

[geckophoto]

Pic of cap showing they do drain the excess inks.

 

[Solventinkjet]

The ink pooling is normal and the fact that it pools and then get sucked down mean the pump is working. There is a slight possibility that it's working but not pulling hard enough but that if very rare. The pump is peristaltic so it can be in a "closed" state which keeps the ink in the cap but then when it cycles again it pull the excess ink down. You might flush the pump tubes and the Y connector that connects it to the cap tops with some cleaning solution and a syringe. Sometimes it can be partially clogged and cause flow issues that can cause cross contamination.

The ink drops from the head are what the wipers are for.

The cross contamination you are getting between the yellow and magenta signifies that either the cap top is not draining, which we know it is, or the yellow and/or magenta damper are failing. When a damper fails, it tends to create suction back up into the head. The suction pulls ink from the other channel that shares that cap top and it contaminates the color. I'd suspect that to be the case here. Even if the damper is new, if the o-ring that seals it with the ink line is bad it will pull suctions as well.

 

[geckophoto]

The ink pooling is normal and the fact that it pools and then get sucked down mean the pump is working. There is a slight possibility that it's working but not pulling hard enough but that if very rare. The pump is peristaltic so it can be in a "closed" state which keeps the ink in the cap but then when it cycles again it pull the excess ink down. You might flush the pump tubes and the Y connector that connects it to the cap tops with some cleaning solution and a syringe. Sometimes it can be partially clogged and cause flow issues that can cause cross contamination.

The ink drops from the head are what the wipers are for.

The cross contamination you are getting between the yellow and magenta signifies that either the cap top is not draining, which we know it is, or the yellow and/or magenta damper are failing. When a damper fails, it tends to create suction back up into the head. The suction pulls ink from the other channel that shares that cap top and it contaminates the color. I'd suspect that to be the case here. Even if the damper is new, if the o-ring that seals it with the ink line is bad it will pull suctions as well.

Ok waiting for new dampers to see it they help, starting with ez fixes first!