Everything is running great, except for the fact that this naughty machine only pretends that she's printing ;) I mean it! It moves the carriage back and forth, seems like it's printing, but actually no heads are firing. And it is not because all of them are clogged hahaha! Nope!
Before it happened, there was one weird thing - you would run the nozzle check and the first stripe would be ok, then another would be just the black stripe all along the media. After some time, the second pass would not print at all. Later, no passes would print and that's what we have now - Seiko only pretends that she's printing (she, because "machine" in Polish is a "she", although "Seiko" is a "it", whereas "ColorPainter" is a "he" - yes, Polish is damn freaking hard to learn haha).
Sorry for being anonymous, but just wanted to tell you. Check the carriage cables from ain board to carriage... Those are weak part and your symptoms look like carriage cable problem..
Yes anonymous is right, especially check where the inside scsi cable (from mother board to the head) is attached with those tiny little platics things. That the second time we change the scsi cable wich has been damaged because of it. Do you hear a different noise comparing to the second seiko you own?
In fact, the new Seiko (actually Oce) which has come not so long ago, sounded louder from the start ;) As if it wasn't lubricated enough or something ;) But working smoothly nevertheless.
The old one - Seiko - has been making very loud noises while moving the carriage last week, before it all broke down. But that was dust on the gear and the engine belt. I just cleaned it and it was smooth and quiet again.
oh dear doesn't sound good. i would say if the heads are moving and nothing is happening, then one of the boards has gone pop. probably the crg board but fingers crossed it's not the main ipb1 board as that it a bit pricey.
Otrzymywane niektóre głowy na języku jak (ponieważ) mój ojciec jest polski. Może rozumieć więcej niż może mówić
hahaha, that was a nice attempt at Polish mate, thanks! :) but i will spare others from reading this incredibly difficult language here, tho i might message you in Polish in private ;) haha...
btw - this Seiko is still under warranty, so i think the price of the board doesn't concern me, huh? :)
the funny thing is that when the machine is cold and you start the nozzle check - the first part is ok, but the next movement of the carriage and it's already dead. so it might indeed be the ribbon cable (either broken or maybe the contacts got bent or whatever due to strain). it happened after running around 8 or 9 rolls of vinyl in a 24hr fashion.
the service person comes here tomorrow in the morning, we'll see.
yes, there are four flat string cords going from the carriage board, along the ink lines, to the mainboard. one of the string cords was broken on the edge - must have happened during some head crash or something. so this string cord was exchanged and it runs fine.
thanks a lot guys for great cooperation and hints on this one :)
joshie, pls check the small ties that hold the cables in situ. i've found that the plastic outer wears away and leaves the bare metal. this then files the cable coating away and boom...one dead printer. seiko now have small small plastic clips to replace these. get them fitted asap
well so my flat cables (4) are attached to the black segmented pipe-carrying flex belt using small black ties - about 4 or 5 of them. they are like a wire in a black coating - like the ties they use in packaging cables when you buy them in store or with some equipment. is that what you meant? :)
the connection shown onto the carriage board (pictured) do not really have a problem as they are supported by a small clamp. it's the cables that are situated along the catepillar track that cause all the problems and also where they go down into the printer chassis.
joshie, yes these are the cables ties i was talking about. it's probably best to get these metal ties removed as they wear away and eventaully cut the ffc cables apart. try and get the new seiko plastic clips, but if not try and source soem support yourself. these things are a real pain..
the other problematic area is where trhe 4x ffc cables go down into the chassis. there is a cut-out in the chassis base and this is never finished smoothly. this means that if there is any movement in the cables, agian they just rub away at the ffc cables and fail. all you need to do is to put soem insulating or electrical tape around the edges to soften the metal lip
ournigelmansell wrote: the connection shown onto the carriage board (pictured) do not really have a problem as they are supported by a small clamp. it's the cables that are situated along the catepillar track that cause all the problems and also where they go down into the printer chassis.
i agree. and i missed the word "caterpillar" - that's the word i was looking for :) thx.
ournigelmansell wrote: joshie, yes these are the cables ties i was talking about. it's probably best to get these metal ties removed as they wear away and eventaully cut the ffc cables apart. try and get the new seiko plastic clips, but if not try and source soem support yourself. these things are a real pain..
Yeah, i know. But i didn't know that there are new clips. Maybe i should see what's inside Oce. Btw, i will try to send you a photo of how nice the system is in Mutoh Toucan, if you don't know that. These guys have made it really wisely.
ournigelmansell wrote: the other problematic area is where trhe 4x ffc cables go down into the chassis. there is a cut-out in the chassis base and this is never finished smoothly. this means that if there is any movement in the cables, agian they just rub away at the ffc cables and fail. all you need to do is to put soem insulating or electrical tape around the edges to soften the metal lip
actually i have a big pieces of spongey rubber there :) it was already there since it was new :)
I have the same problem, but only after I have stopped a print half way and then try to print something else after. The simple fix (for us) is to turn the machine off and then back on again and do a nozzle check. All should be well in Seiko land again. I don't know if this is part of the cabling issue (our cables are all ok), but as I said it only happens when we terminate a print (usually by lifting the lid) and then the off-on method fixes the problem and gets it working again. Cheers
digital wrote: I have the same problem, but only after I have stopped a print half way and then try to print something else after. The simple fix (for us) is to turn the machine off and then back on again and do a nozzle check. All should be well in Seiko land again. I don't know if this is part of the cabling issue (our cables are all ok), but as I said it only happens when we terminate a print (usually by lifting the lid) and then the off-on method fixes the problem and gets it working again. Cheers
Well, that's interesting. But i would not recommend a lot of switching off and on, due to wasted ink. I hope that it doesn't happen to You often :)
