Question VJ1204 pump issue?

[CP Signs]

Hello. Having a little issue. Changed the maintenance station 2 weeks ago ( second one in 6 years, not bad ), printer worked great for the 2 weeks. Yesterday, went to print and barely had color down on media. So no problem I thought, seen it before... took the capping off, cleaned all the tubes, removed the gooey in the lines. Put it back together and went to do a cleaning and that's when I notice no ink was being sucked in the tubes down to waste tank. I put cleaning solution on the cap and the solution comes down the tubes. So I tried to take it apart again and put it back in case it wasn't sitting properly and not creating a suction. Did another cleaning and no inks down the tubes. I've read tons of posts here and some mention the F2 fuse? If so, where is the main board located? I've done maintenance on this machine for 6 years but never was in this situation. Thanks for any help

 

[Solventinkjet]

The fuse doesn't stop ink from flowing. It stops the head from firing so if it is bad the maintenance station will still pull ink through with no problem. You most likely just need a new cap top. They wear out and stop making a proper seal with the head. Also, make sure to clean any ink build up on the bottom of the head to make sure it's not breaking the seal with the cap top.

 

[CP Signs]

The fuse doesn't stop ink from flowing. It stops the head from firing so if it is bad the maintenance station will still pull ink through with no problem. You most likely just need a new cap top. They wear out and stop making a proper seal with the head. Also, make sure to clean any ink build up on the bottom of the head to make sure it's not breaking the seal with the cap top.

Thanks for the reply. Cap top is 2 weeks old. Worked for the 2 weeks, yesterday it worked all day and then stopped. Print head is soaking now. What troubles me is the last print was flawless and 10 minutes later it stopped. Thanks

 

[Solventinkjet]

I would cap the head, bend one of the waste tubes and tape it so it doesn't unbend and then hook a syringe up to the other tube and pull. If you pull and get no resistance and just suck air, either the cap top is not lined up correctly (which is near impossible), the cap top is bad or defective, or air is coming in from somewhere else. When you pull you should feel resistance and then ink flow quickly after. If you get a ton of resistance and not ink, there is a clog somewhere. Other than that, there isn't much else it could be other than possible a failing pump.

 

[CP Signs]

I would cap the head, bend one of the waste tubes and tape it so it doesn't unbend and then hook a syringe up to the other tube and pull. If you pull and get no resistance and just suck air, either the cap top is not lined up correctly (which is near impossible), the cap top is bad or defective, or air is coming in from somewhere else. When you pull you should feel resistance and then ink flow quickly after. If you get a ton of resistance and not ink, there is a clog somewhere. Other than that, there isn't much else it could be other than possible a failing pump.

Thanks. I will go and try this out.

 

[CP Signs]

I would cap the head, bend one of the waste tubes and tape it so it doesn't unbend and then hook a syringe up to the other tube and pull. If you pull and get no resistance and just suck air, either the cap top is not lined up correctly (which is near impossible), the cap top is bad or defective, or air is coming in from somewhere else. When you pull you should feel resistance and then ink flow quickly after. If you get a ton of resistance and not ink, there is a clog somewhere. Other than that, there isn't much else it could be other than possible a failing pump.

Alright. I bent and taped 1 tube, used my syringe... got a bit of resistance followed by lots of ink. I switched it and did the other tube and same result. Connected everything back together, did a cleaning and saw some ink come out of the tube.Did a second cleaning and no more ink!

 

[Solventinkjet]

Alright. I bent and taped 1 tube, used my syringe... got a bit of resistance followed by lots of ink. I switched it and did the other tube and same result. Connected everything back together, did a cleaning and saw some ink come out of the tube.Did a second cleaning and no more ink!

Unfortunately that seems to point to the pump not working. It sounds like the suction is working properly so the only thing left is the pump. If it's an after market one, a couple months back our supplier sent some that just plain didn't work. They looked the same and sounded like they were working but no ink would flow. We switched suppliers and everything went back to normal. Perhaps you got a bad one?

 

[CP Signs]

Unfortunately that seems to point to the pump not working. It sounds like the suction is working properly so the only thing left is the pump. If it's an after market one, a couple months back our supplier sent some that just plain didn't work. They looked the same and sounded like they were working but no ink would flow. We switched suppliers and everything went back to normal. Perhaps you got a bad one?

That's what I'm thinking. I just emailed the company. The new printer should be here in a week,,, but a week with no printing is deadly! Thanks for all the help.

 

[RG]

Did you check the 2 black tubes under the fixture that holds the cap top? These 2 tubes carry ink form the cap top to the pump. One or both could be plugged up. Also, take the fixture off ( there are only 2 screws holding it in place), and make sure that air flows freely through the air tube that's on the under side of this fixture. And, try filling your pump tubes with cleaning fluid, pinching them off at the bottom end, and let them soak over night.

 

[CP Signs]

Did you check the 2 black tubes under the fixture that holds the cap top? These 2 tubes carry ink form the cap top to the pump. One or both could be plugged up. Also, take the fixture off ( there are only 2 screws holding it in place), and make sure that air flows freely through the air tube that's on the under side of this fixture. And, try filling your pump tubes with cleaning fluid, pinching them off at the bottom end, and let them soak over night.

Hi. Thanks for the reply. Yes, all that was done. That's why we are thinking a bad pump,,, it's new.