SP300 Magenta Not printing still

[geckophoto]

I still have not figured out my problem. My magenta ink does not print a good nozzle check, but with some cleaning and even manual cleaning I get it to be acceptable. BUT when I go to run a print the magenta ink drops out to maybe 20% of the nozzles printing. I have a new ink in the machine, new damper too. I feel that it is not getting the ink to the print head like the other colors. Hate to just go install a new head then see the issue continues as I do a good cleaning and I get say 95%+ of the nozzles working.

Could it maybe be the ribbon cable? I"ve pulled the magenta in/out of the machine to make sure it is seated correctly. Do I take the head off and try to give a soak? Is there a pump for the magenta line that may be broken? Like I said it does an acceptable nozzle check then as I print withing about 2 minutes the magenta drops out. Any help/tip appreciated. I'll post pics of my next nozzle check.

 

[garyroy]

Try replacing the cap tops, but only with originals, not knock offs.
The edges around the tops might not be sealing correctly.

 

[robert griffith]

Check the O ring in the line .

 

[Jim Hill]

Check the O ring in the line .

It sounds to me like somewhere between the ink cartridge and the printing process you have a slight air leak which can produce the effects you are having.

First question is are your dampers new and are they OEM or after market? I have seen brand new after market dampers that did not work!

Try starting at the dampers and first cut off a very small section of the tubing right where it connects to the damper and once you have done that install a new rubber O-rink on the tubing if you have a New spare brass nut use that instead of the old one.

Install the brass nut and make sure it sits correctly and is on tight. Next, follow the line-up to the cap tops and again make sure it is on correctly.

I would install New OEM cap tops and then make sure when you manually raise the capping station that it is sitting correctly where the heads meet the cap tops so that there is no space in between the two.

Now try pulling ink through the line at the Y fitting before the ink pump, connect your syringe and pull very slowly to see if you feel any residence or if the ink flows. You can also remove the tubing before the Y-fitting and pull ink from there. I once had a cracked Y fitting that caused a great deal of problems.

The slightest air leak anywhere in these lines will cause you the kind of problems you are having.

Another part that might be causing your problems is a hairline crack in the manifold.

Finding an air leak is time-consuming even for an experienced tech sometimes.

Jim

 

[Solventinkjet]

Good advice from everyone above. Another good way to test this out it to simply do a damper swap. Put the magenta damper in the yellow position and vice versa and then run a cleaning cycle. Print a nozzle check and see what happens.

If the magenta prints fine in the yellow position and yellow stops firing perfectly in the magenta position, it's most likely a head.

If the magenta continues to not fire well in the new position, it's probably a ink flow issue on the magenta line (air leak).

If the colors don't switch positions after the cleaning, you probably have a bad cap top and/or clog in the maintenance lines.