Ricih Aficio 2045 locked on add toner screen

[Will]

Have a Ricoh Aficio 2045 that is locked on toner add screen, can't clear it. Very hard to tell if the toner bottle ever turns. Able to
get into service mode and run a forced toner add and sounds like its turning cause I hear a clicking noise, but not sure. Bottle seems to be
graping and locking in place and no there is no cap stuck in holder from previous bottles. Is there a way around to force a copy to run
and clear the toner add screen??? Looking for advise on how to see if toner bottle turns and if not what to check.

[Gift]

I know that this can happen if you change the toner very fast or open the door for just a few seconds - in this case the machine doesn't believe that you've installed a new bottle and won't try loading toner. So take some time and keep the door open for ~1 minute (30 seconds should be enough but hey...).

Faulty doorswitches can also cause trouble like this. I think the toner supply mechanism isn't the cause IF (!!!) the machine 1.) doesn't try to recover and 2.) doesn't display something like "please wait - loading toner".

[Llama God]

Strip and vac out the hopper. Whilst you're in there, check that the little paddles in the hopper are still there.

Is the dev unit entrance full of toner?

[Will]

I know that this can happen if you change the toner very fast or open the door for just a few seconds - in this case the machine doesn't believe that you've installed a new bottle and won't try loading toner. So take some time and keep the door open for ~1 minute (30 seconds should be enough but hey...).

Faulty doorswitches can also cause trouble like this. I think the toner supply mechanism isn't the cause IF (!!!) the machine 1.) doesn't try to recover and 2.) doesn't display something like "please wait - loading toner".

Of course it says "please wait - loading toner" when you open and close the front door. I guess I didn't clarify that, which all the more reason I think it
is a faulty toner supply mechanism, but what.?

[Llama God]

check that the little paddles in the hopper are still there.

I'd type it again if I could be bothered.

[Will]

Strip and vac out the hopper. Whilst you're in there, check that the little paddles in the hopper are still there.

Is the dev unit entrance full of toner?

No there is no toner in the entrance of the developer unit, which makes me think it isn't adding toner when it cycles when you open and close the
front door, even though it says "please wait loading toner".

[Llama God]

paddles

So, about these paddles...

[Llama God]

Paddles.jpg

Now with pretty pictures.

[Gift]

LOL

Of course it says "please wait - loading toner" when you open and close the front door. I guess I didn't clarify that, which all the more reason I think it
is a faulty toner supply mechanism, but what.?

You say of course but I've seen this kind of issues various times

Then you should go with the hint provided by Llama God. If the mylars (located INSIDE the hoppper) are bad/non existent you'll get exactly the symptome you've described plus lot's of toner inside the hopper usually leading to spilling the hopper area at some point if the level is rising inside the hopper but no toner output thanks to faulty mylars. You might also check if the bottle turns - simply remove the front door, cheat the door switch, maybe remove the brown cover behind the front door - then you should see if the bottle is turning. You can also try testing via output check without the hopper/toner installed but that's not trustworthy enough since the motor might stuck only if it has to turn the bottle.

[Llama God]

LOL



You say of course but I've seen this kind of issues various times

Then you should go with the hint provided by Llama God. If the mylars (located INSIDE the hoppper) are bad/non existent you'll get exactly the symptome you've described plus lot's of toner inside the hopper usually leading to spilling the hopper area at some point if the level is rising inside the hopper but no toner output thanks to faulty mylars. You might also check if the bottle turns - simply remove the front door, cheat the door switch, maybe remove the brown cover behind the front door - then you should see if the bottle is turning. You can also try testing via output check without the hopper/toner installed but that's not trustworthy enough since the motor might stuck only if it has to turn the bottle.

Given a torch and eyes you can see the bottle turning with the door cheated. Just. Put a mark on the bottle with a Sharpie to make it easier to see that it's turning. If you don't have a Sharpie, any old marker will do, of course.

Did I mention the paddles?