Ricoh 3245C toner loading problem - black

[mntech]

Hello,

I have been working on a ricoh 3245c, which the customer claims the machine keeps trying to load black toner, then comes to a toner end condition. If the customer opens the toner door, and takes out the cartridge, it is still very full, they shake it, put it back in, and the toner loads and they continue printing. I guess this is happening to them many times throughout the day.

They are using OEM toner, i have vacuumed out the tubes for the black thinking maybe the toner has clumped up in the tubing, cleaned ID sensor, also i have replaced the black development unit, with no improvement. The attraction pump appears to be working as the toner tube is receiving toner throughout, and if i push the slide on the attraction pump, toner falls out.

Can anybody help me determine what is wrong? I am thinking about replacing the attraction pump and clutch for the pump. The dev clutch is working when i cheat the door, and the copies/prints don't get light. Also all SP's dealing with toner supply are set at default values, coverages are not super heavy.

Also some more info that might help-- they mostly do b&w printing, but run a good amount of color as well, the machine is in an office where dozens of people use it, none of the colors are causing problems, the customer claims it doesn't even make 50 prints before it says the toner is empty( but I've tried running 100+ two days in a row without being able to replicate the issue), and the machine has about 150k black and 120k color clicks.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[Jomama46]

Change the pump

[E Winter]

We had some faulty pumps on this and the previous machines as well. OF course you can try to install another black dev unit first and run some toner refresh cycles first to see how the pump performs.

[teebee1234]

what about the pump that puffs air into the cartridge to allow smooth flow (near the toner cartridges)? You can try an output check and feel if it's pumping or a kinked/blocked hose. If it's not working, the toner will compact at the nozzle and block flow.

[gidon]

I got same problem on aficio 2228c.

[mntech]

Replacing the pump took care of the issue, those are a major pain in the butt to replace...

[kozanecki]

Hello,I have been working on a ricoh 3245c, which the customer claims the machine keeps trying to load black toner, then comes to a toner end condition. If the customer opens the toner door, and takes out the cartridge, it is still very full, they shake it, put it back in, and the toner loads and they continue printing. I guess this is happening to them many times throughout the day.They are using OEM toner, i have vacuumed out the tubes for the black thinking maybe the toner has clumped up in the tubing, cleaned ID sensor, also i have replaced the black development unit, with no improvement. The attraction pump appears to be working as the toner tube is receiving toner throughout, and if i push the slide on the attraction pump, toner falls out.Can anybody help me determine what is wrong? I am thinking about replacing the attraction pump and clutch for the pump. The dev clutch is working when i cheat the door, and the copies/prints don't get light. Also all SP's dealing with toner supply are set at default values, coverages are not super heavy.Also some more info that might help-- they mostly do b&w printing, but run a good amount of color as well, the machine is in an office where dozens of people use it, none of the colors are causing problems, the customer claims it doesn't even make 50 prints before it says the toner is empty( but I've tried running 100+ two days in a row without being able to replicate the issue), and the machine has about 150k black and 120k color clicks.Any help would be appreciated.Thanks.

i know this tread is old but maybe it will help you ricoh designed this system and it works like that there are 4 toner motors -clutches i call it and they suck the tonerthere is two air pumps that blow the air into the tubing