Tips for Techs

[minimerlin]

Here is a tip for anybody who gets to work on shredders. Unlike a copier board, that is usually put together in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to plug in the wrong wire to the connector, a shredder will have a whole row of 2 prong connectors and all the wires are the same color. Draw yourself a map before unplugging anything. I blew a $2400 shredder to learn that.

Also, a lot of shredders that have oil tanks, have the tanks wired to the door switch. Machine will not run, and says the door is open, it may just be low on oil.

I tend to just take a few pictures with my PDA camera, also useful if you are about to strip down a drive system for the first time.

[fixthecopier]

I keep a digital camera with me, however almost all of the military buildings I work do not allow cameras or phones. I have had a photo save my ass a couple of times in the shop. I am afraid I will forget one day and pull my camera out in the wrong place, and , well, you may not hear from me for a while.

With that in mind, I could start a thread about the most embarrassed you have ever been on a service call.

Every section of the military has a "Command Center". This is usually a large room with giant flat screen tv 's on the wall and rows of computers and red phones. I had gone to one to look at a shredder. Outside the door was a table where you were supposed to leave your phone before walking in. I put my phone there and went in to check the shredder. There was nothing going on and only 4 or 5 people in the room. When I left, I forgot to pick up my phone and did not notice til I got home. I went back next morning and reclaimed my phone. Later that week my shop called and said I did not write down the serial number on my ticket for the shredder. I called the point of contact and had him meet me at the Command Center so I could get it. I was just going in for a minute and decided to keep my phone in my pocket. When he opened the door, the room was full of people and 3 of these giant screens were on, each one showing another command center at another base, all full of people, as they were having some huge meeting. I hesitated to walk in, but the sergeant said it was o.k., the meeting was not classified, just be quiet. As I walked through, I must have been at the exact center of the room when my phone started to ring! People at 3 other bases and the room I was in, all said or yelled "WHO THE HELL HAS A PHONE IN HERE?" I have this blurred memory of me grabbing my back pocket where the phone was and shrieking like a little girl as I ran for the door. I think I made up a serial number to close out the call, as I would not go back in.

[rthonpm]

Here's one I learned the hard way: don't always trust the model on the front of the machine. Check the labal on the back or frame with the model and serial number. I ended up eating an LD 232c controller ordered down because someone put a 232c sticker on an LD 228c, which uses a different board.

[jonhiker]

A sharpie can save the day.
Also, patience is very important. The most important call is the one you are on. We've all been in the situation with several calls waiting, some are down, etc.. mistakes happen when you lose focus on the machine in front of you.
Your fellow techs are a good resource.

[dickierock]

camera phone to take picture of connections on main boards you are not familiar with before stripping down,

tipex useful for marking units when swapping units/boards around for quick fault finding,also to mark rollers/motors to check if they have moved when you cant visually see yourself,

a fuser rebulid will take 15 minutes if you take your time,it'll take twenty if you rush..

gluegun,bradawl,assorted screws n clips,theres nothing that cant be fixed!!

[TonerMunkeh]

a fuser rebulid will take 15 minutes if you take your time,it'll take twenty if you rush...

Argh not with an MPC3500 fuser!

I found a good one the other day, rubber cleaner is very good for cleaning MP4000 mag rollers.

[Claudio]

Empty vacuum filter at least once before replacing it (saves money).
In your car stock, carry extra invoices, and technical supplies in you car in case you run out of something out in the field.
Always word your final invoice in such a manner that covers all issues with a machine and a recall is less likely (so if a customer wants to bring you back to their office, they will have to pay for your time).
If you rip one at the customers office, quickly open a bottle of Rubber Rejuvinator (I finally found a use for that stuff).

[OceCarl]

when swapping boards mark the original with a sharpie. also mark unused connectors with a red sharpie. rainex winshield washer fluid works great on copier class. can usually get it for 99cents a gallon at walmart.

[bilyahn]

Clear nail polish to repair smaller drums that develop a bias leak due to wear. This works really well on the smaller Sharp units. Just cover the bare spot that occur on the edge of the drum (outside of the print area) with nail polish let dry and your drum is good until PM time.

[mjunkaged]

One-way bearings/shafts: You can fix them by buffing lenghtwise around the shaft at the spot where the one-way bearing rides. 9 times out of 10 this will fix the problem WITHOUT replacing the one-way OR the shaft! VERY handy.