Gestetnet DSm745 / Ricoh 3045 "Poofing" toner on copies...

[Foo]

Yeah, Yeah I know what do I mean by poofing...well on random copies I am getting toner impacting and spreading out on the copies.
1/4 inch black snow balls dotting the customers copies at tax time ain't a good thing.

So the tech stuff:
The machine has 1.4 million copies on it. I started working with this machine 2 years ago and it usually only gets run during tax season.
And with that it only ends up with 50/60K put on it per season. Then they shut the office down until the next year.
This is the first non-nuisance call I had to deal with in 2 years on it so I would not call it a "Problem Machine".
It was, several years ago, the main machine at this company and now they barely use it and then store it away for the slow months.

1st service call 2 weeks ago:
I remove and disassemble the drum assy. and clean it like new. Remove and inspect the developer. No glaring issues jumped out at me while inspecting
the developer. Mag roll had plenty of toner fluffed up on it and it wasn't dropping or falling off. The toner did not seem to be in excess on the mag roll.
After a careful clean up the machine worked as it should.

2 Weeks later...
Same issues are back again...time to spend some money on it.
Question I have is where to start. Before me, the last service company did not keep any service records on the machine and I have no idea where things are in
it's normal PM cycle.

Here's what I'm thinking.
Rebuild the drum assy. and possibly replace the auger as well (toner drops?).
Also because the drops on the paper could be from bad developer I think I'll replace the developer material with some fresh Type 26 and see what happens.
I'm guessing this is the last season for this machine and we won't be spending "too" much money on it to keep it running.

The question I have is am I making the correct call as far as the dropping of toner on copies problem goes.
I really haven't had this issue come up with this type of Ricoh because in my area we are flooded with Ricoh 2027 - 3350 type machines and fewer of the 35/35ppm machines.

Thanks
Jeff

[sandmanmac]

First. With 1.4 million on the meter, I'd replace the PCU rather than rebuild it -especially if you're considering using non-oem parts.
I'd say that's definitely where most of the trouble lies. Although you cleaned the PCU, it sounds like the cleaning station probably has some obstruction -maybe built up paper dust preventing it from clearing properly, and it's "spilling' over the seal. otherwise, the seal is just bad (after 1.4 Million!).
Replace PCU, Dev, transfer belt and blade at minimum.

[Shadow1]

Step 1 on any machine using B296 (type 26) developer with CQ problems is to change developer and scrub the mag roller clean - the poofing is a classic symptom, and this developer material NEVER goes to PM

[TonerMunkeh]

3045's don't use type 26, they use B079 developer. I don't know them by type numbers so does type 26 equate to B079 or B296?

[iRepair]

If you have spot of toner falling on copies, you might want to check if the waste toner is full and leaking.

If full, empty and clean it.

[JustManuals]

This Parts & Service Manual can now be purchased for $12.77 and downloaded immediately after payment from:


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[Shadow1]

3045's don't use type 26, they use B079 developer.

...Now you're going to make me go look that up. I never worked on 3045's as a Ricoh I always had it under Lanier's model number, but if it's B079 developer, then it's not the problem - I seen those machines go 700k and nobody changed it (I was backing up another tech while he was out on vaca - solids sucked, but the customer didn't care, so he never fixed it)

If that's the case it's probably more likely toner dribbling down into the paper feed from somewhere - does it splatter more often from tray 1? If so, check to see if toner has spilled into the frame under the developer. As mentioned, waste overflow is another good culprit. Another thing to check is if somebody put the wrong toner into the machine...

...but it all depends on what developer is supposed to be in there. I see Paul has his usual spam posted, so I'm going to say you need a manual anyway, and I'm too lazy to look it up for you tonight. It's Beer:30

[SargeNZ]

My parts handbook says "B079 9640 - Developer (Type 26)"

A new PCU is B198 2203, Dev unit B213 3010

[Debs1964]

Sounds like waste toner could be full and overflowing to me

[cdog530]

My money is on toner making its way down to the paper tray and falling on the paper creating that nice "poofing" effect. If the drum is clean and development unit is holding its toner then the transfer unit could very well be spilling out and causing the problem. After that many copies you would be surprised how deep the toner can sneak around in a machine.
-C