Versacamm Help Required. Cleaned Head Now Not Printing

[Speedsterbeast]

The Black/ Cyan head on my SP300V was printing fuzzy, (It's got the original heads and is over 6 years old) so as a last ditch effort I removed it and soaked it overnight. I reinstalled it, but now when I try and print black, the print is totally red only.
Some info:
I used a syringe to make sure the dampers are full.
The Head is dirty, so it looks to be moving ink when in a cleaning cycle.
I had a loose connection on the ribbon cable and read elsewhere that it could have blown an F1 or F2 Fuse. but I jumped them with a pair of plyers for a test print with no luck.
I'm assuming that it's a wiring issue now (although I still may need to replace the head anyway)

Any Suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[player]

Have you ever changed dampers?

 

[Speedsterbeast]

I have not replaced the dampers. And I will order some on Monday, but I would think it's unlikely that both the cyan and black dampers both failed when I removed and reinstalled the head

 

[player]

Do you have a meter to check the fuses?

 

[Speedsterbeast]

Yes. But I do not know much about that voodoo electricity stuff. It looks like the both have current on each end, except maybe I just shorted out the F3 Fuse- whatever that does

 

[player]

Yes. But I do not know much about that voodoo electricity stuff. It looks like the both have current on each end, except maybe I just shorted out the F3 Fuse- whatever that does

With the printer unplugged:

Turn your meter on and to an Ohms setting. Then touch the 2 probe ends together. It should show a change on the meter when apart and touched. (mine is 0 and 1). Touch one end of the fuse with one probe, the other fuse end with the other probe. If there is no change, then the fuse is blown. If the meter changes, usually to the same as when you touched the probe ends, then you have a good fuse.

 

[Speedsterbeast]

With the printer unplugged:

Turn your meter on and to an Ohms setting. Then touch the 2 probe ends together. It should show a change on the meter when apart and touched. (mine is 0 and 1). Touch one end of the fuse with one probe, the other fuse end with the other probe. If there is no change, then the fuse is blown. If the meter changes, usually to the same as when you touched the probe ends, then you have a good fuse.

In that case, the fuses are all still ok.
Thanks.
But still without black

 

[player]

In that case, the fuses are all still ok.
Thanks.
But still without black

The m/y head prints, so if you swap cables with red and black, this will tell you if it is the head or electrical
depending on what prints.

Be careful not to blow fuses doing this.

 

[Speedsterbeast]

The m/y head prints, so if you swap cables with red and black, this will tell you if it is the head or electrical
depending on what prints.

Be careful not to blow fuses doing this.

So I tried it, then it printed some black, but barely. just a few specs.
Test print only showed maybe a dozen or so nozzles firing.
Switched the cables back- no black at all.
So does this mean the head is shot AND I have wiring issues?
When this all started I only had fuzzy lines on my black prints.

 

[player]

So I tried it, then it printed some black, but barely. just a few specs.
Test print only showed maybe a dozen or so nozzles firing.
Switched the cables back- no black at all.
So does this mean the head is shot AND I have wiring issues?
When this all started I only had fuzzy lines on my black prints.

What did the M/Y head do? Did it print with the cables swapped? Did it print when swapped back?

Check fuses again with both powers off and unplugged.

It's easy to blow them messing around like this.

Do you have any jeweler's magnifying glasses? It would be good to inspect cable ends carefully.

I have read some have blown a transistor on the board.

 

[player]

How did you soak the head? Was there any cleaner on the board?

 

[Speedsterbeast]

What did the M/Y head do? Did it print with the cables swapped? Did it print when swapped back?

Check fuses again with both powers off and unplugged.

It's easy to blow them messing around like this.

Do you have any jeweler's magnifying glasses? It would be good to inspect cable ends carefully.

I have read some have blown a transistor on the board.

Yes, the M/Y printed with the cables swapped.
The fuses all showed current
The cable ends looked ok to me.

 

[Speedsterbeast]

How did you soak the head? Was there any cleaner on the board?

I soaked the head in cleaning solution, and I got some fluid on the board, but thought I dried it off quite well before re-installing.
When I switched the cables, some black came through though- but not a lot.
Really stumped.
I'm thinking of ordering a new head, dampers, and a manifold. Just hope that it's not for nothing.\
Although as I mentioned, I don't believe the heads owe me anything at this point in time, and the M/Y test print still shows what looks like perfect printing.

I appreciate your help Player.

 

[player]

So...

All fuses are good.

Both cables on the magenta/yellow head give a perfect test print. (?)

The black and blue are still not working...

Because the head printed slightly when you changed the cables, but the yellow and red gave 100% perfect test print (?) it may be there is something up with the connector at the head. I would really look into where the wires connect and be sure you are getting a good connection. I am thinking this because the black printed a bit with the other cable, yet both cables work fine with the other head. Maybe blow it out with compressed air.

The last things I would try is pulling carefully from the black/cyan cap with a syringe. If you pull too much you will cause a thin membrane to pop inside and the head will definitely be toast. Then you could try pushing cleaner through the top of the head, again this is a delicate operation.

I don't know about removing and installing the head. I personally would not remove the head to soak it. But that is hindsight.
You could have cracked the manifold that the damper sits on removing and reinstalling the damper. If you try sucking with the syringe check for air leak sounds if you can. Do the dampers have the usual amount of ink in the bladder? Is there any ink leaking around the damper?

Are you going to install the new head yourself? Make sure you put new dampers on the new head. No warranty without them from Roland. Make sure your new dampers include the little rubber O ring, and be sure they are OEM... Is there a good Roland tech in T Bay? I know a great one in Hamilton who is always willing to travel if you need one.

 

[Ragnabrok]

I'd be the closest service tech, in winnipeg. I've been to T-bay a few times.

 

[player]

How are we doing for troubleshooting? Anything you would suggest?

 

[Speedsterbeast]

I actually DID purge the manifold and head with cleaner with a syringe. The fluid squirted out the head quite easily- Again, this was just in desperation and I didn't expect a miracle- just hoped for one. If it printed lousy again, I would be ordering up a new head with confidence tomorrow, but now I'm worried I created another problem.
Maybe I just totally pooched the head, but when I switched the cables back to the correct way, there is no trace of black ink.
There is a little pooling of ink around the manifold where the dampers connect, so it's possible that there is a leak there. And I sucked ink through them and they appear to be as full as the Magenta & Yellow dampers.
Again, the fact that switching the cables gets a little black through, and putting them back to normal let zero ink through makes me think it's something electrical- and the head is shot too.

 

[Speedsterbeast]

I'll PM The Winnipeg Tech and see.
I'll keep updated for records sake.

 

[player]

Carefully clean the ink from around the damper and see if it comes back.

What does the printer history say the hours and head shots are? It's in service mode.

If it is a cracked carburetor I think that plastic part can be replaced.

Do you have lots of jobs stacked up or do you have time?

 

[Ragnabrok]

i responded in the PM, but i'll paraphrase here as well.

It fired a few specks of black ink, so electrical is probably good. Ink can get to, and stay in the dampers. If ink can make it to the head, but not through, its usually a cap or drain line issue. If 3rd party ink, it's probably hardened in the drain line causing a blockage. The cap seal itself could be dirty or damaged, or the alignment of the caps to the heads is off. Any one of those breaks the seal to the pump, and no ink can be pulled through the head.

Seperating the drain lines at the Y connector before the pump, you can hook a syringe to the drain lines of each cap, and give a pull to see if there is vacuum with a good seal, or a hiss of air from a bad one.