VS-640 HELP - Ink Leaking from Head

[edensdesign]

Hi,

My VS-640 has light cyan ink dripping from the head. It is a consistent drip.

Ive replaced the cap top and wipers and did manual cleaning to confirm there is nothing causing the ink to drop like a wick draws fluid.

Im thinking it is the damper, but would only 1/2 of a damper go?

Ive searched and read that it could also be an air leak which breaks the vacuum on the ink lines and would allow it to flow out, but I have no issues on the test print which leads me back to thinking the damper isn't regulating and holding the ink the way it is supposed to.

Can I change just one damper? Does anyone have any experience with the 3rd party generic dampers on this print head? And again, this damper houses light cyan and yellow, but only cyan ink is dripping out. The test print is perfect, so I am at a loss as to why the ink is dripping freely from just one color.

Thoughts?

 

[Solventinkjet]

You are on the right track. Yes, the dampers in your machine are dual channel which means one side can go bad and not the other. Check the ink lines above the dampers for air. If there is any air at all in the lines, that is a sign of an air leak. Usually air leaks are caused by a bad o-ring/damper to ink line connection. It is possible that you have a bad ink cartridge as well. If there is no air in the lines, the damper could still just be failing and needs to be replaced. If a new damper doesn't fix the issue, I would start looking at the ink lines for breakage and/or bad connections. There is a slight possibility that the head has become damaged internally and is causing the issue but that is much more rare.

 

[rjssigns]

I've had a bad cartridge make the head drip. Tech said something about pressure in the cart itself. Cured it by removing and replacing it several times. Not real scientific, but the head stopped dripping.

 

[Roland Product Support]

Hey Edensdesign,

There's a variety of possible causes for this issue, even environmental static could contribute to this. So, there's no need for you to continue struggling with this issue. It's recommended that you contact Roland support and get help with this ASAP. We'll need you to complete our support submission form so we can create a support ticket for you. Go here to submit your info: https://www.rolanddga.com/support/product-support-form

We look forward to helping you and take care,

Roland Technical Support
Roland DGA Corp.
rn

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

We had this happen to our metallic channel. Ended up being a ruptured damper... and then a new head due to it leaking over the circuit board and frying it.
I do hope that you get it sorted the cheap way and not the way we ended up.

 

[edensdesign]

Does anyone have any tips for changing just one damper?

Back when I had a JV3 it was easy as they were all separate, but I don't want to have the ruptured or damaged damper to leak out when I remove it. I have the service manual. I would have my tech do it but he won't change just one and indicated if the ink leaks and fries the head that he is not liable. which makes sense but I have done plenty of maintenance on these and just want to try and resolve this one myself. Damper is only about 1 year old.

I did recently change the light cyan cartridge but it worked fine for about a week prior to the leak. I have another new light cyan cart. i just put it in to see if that resolved the issue, but are there other steps I need to take other than changing the cart and running a powerful cleaning?

Thanks again!