What was your biggest oopsy on a call??

[gwaddle]

Had one Thursday - another tech called me to help diagnose an MPC4500 that had streaks and trash on copies, and was leaving the transfer belt dirty and trashed the transfer roller. Production systems are my specialty, but I've been around long enough to be useful as a second set of eyeballs on just about anything.

We made some test prints from the printer service mode, and in this case I knew the PCUs were just gone enough to be causing the problem, but not be obviously bad. Typical - dirty charge rollers. We swapped out the drum units, checked the transfer belt and replaced the transfer roller. Test it out... exact same problem - streaky image and void areas.

Ok what did we miss? Has to be in the transfer because its in all colors, right? Nope - transfer is perfect. So is the fuser. So are the developers. So is everything.

After about the 3rd time we broke it down my buddy puts his head down and says, "I feel so stupid."

He was using the "before" test print to make test copies, and I wasn't paying attention because I'd thought he was still making prints, not copies. Goes to show how all of us can have a bone head moment every once in a while - this guy has been fixing copiers for almost 30 years.

Gotta love brain farts. We all have them. I have to admit, I've done the same thing several times over the years.

[Shadow1]

Gotta love brain farts. We all have them. I have to admit, I've done the same thing several times over the years.

Yup - pulled some big ones in my time, but its a whole lot funnier when someone else does it.

[ptrflrs]

besides the platen glass i broke and a few fuser lamps i've broken the most embarrassing moment was when i squatted down legs apart in front of a machine to reach behind lower drawers and my pants tore at the crotch. it wasn't a small tear either it was a large gash, imagine looking down as u squat to see your underwear/junk hanging out a bit and i had to just walk out passing several men and ladies that probably saw some or part of that. embarrassing.

[ptrflrs]

Today, not my worst I think, but maybe some one here can help bail me out. Ricoh MPC2500 had a service code for the fuser, no big deal. Get there take out fuser remove thermo switches (accidentally drop them twice) remove thermistor wipe it down put it all together, fire it up...Different fuser code related to thermistor connector. Now my age(or hair color) starts to show, go into service mode to clear the service code, go to SP5 go to SP5801( instead of SP5810, aaugh) clear scs (sc=service code in my brain at the time). Re-boot copier I get the same code. (STUPID ME!) go back into SP mode5801 clear engine,DOH. Fire it up again and get the same service code, dissassemble fuser and tighten connector for thermistor, reassemble fire it up, no more service code, but... Re-enter info on birth certificate now color registration is off and I can't get the machine to recalibrate, it says that it can't. It might be my worst now that I have read what I wrote.

I have been close to doing that several times, type 5801 then I catch myself and think one of these days... Don't tell anyone but i sometimes call customers and talk them through this (5810) on the phone just to get them going until i get there. i think some of those errors are power related because i often go to check the thermistors and they r clean and i know from other b/w ricohs like the mp5500 mp600 series they are prone to these errors. even the color printers like 410, 411 get those thermistor errors when the power goes out.

[DAG COPIERS & COMPUTERS]

Woo..ow ! That was awfully embarrassing, I hope you later resorted to stocking your wardrobe with LEVI STRAUSS jeans only.

[mrwho]

Happened something similar to me - luckily it was just after finishing my job and packing up to leave. I shook hands with the person responsible for the machine, and as I bent over to pick up my tool case, I felt my jeans ripping up on my left butt cheeck. It made no noise, but since I was probably completely pale, I was asked "what's wrong?" "My pants just ripped a new hole - where can I buy new ones?".

As chance would have it, there was a clothing store nearby, and I was able to hang my laptop-style toolcase behind me to hide the tragedy as I walked there.

[DAG COPIERS & COMPUTERS]

Biggest oopsy on a call?

And now my own version of the story. The year was 2005, sometime in mid August. I had earlier in the morning crossed over ,to the neighboring country of DR CONGO, on a motor cycle ,being " driven" by a friend ,with me at the backseat. I succesfully repaired an NP6330 canon & a RISOGRAPH 4200 digital duplicator at the catholic mission station in Mahagi town, some 12kms away from the border crossings. After receiving my payment we jumped on the bike and crossed the border back into our country. we had stopped at nearby restaurant in order to have refreshment. Just as I raised my right leg to disembark from the bike we heard that noise Tra...aaaah ! from my back. My trouser threads had given way. My friend realized the mess i was in, and was quick to tell me, " don't get up, just sit where you are and I drop you straight at your hotel". The rest as they say is now History

[Black lung]

I dont think Ive ever had a really big oopsy call like some of these that have been posted (thanks for the laughs). I think we have all broken a lamp or two and maybe trashed a drum along the way.

I remember a long time ago I was working on a Sharp and I did something to short a triac. It made a pretty loud electrical pop, split apart, and this really cool little golf ball sized mushroom cloud came up over the copier from the back side. Very embarrassing, you shoulda seen the customers face.

One time I needed a trash can and the customer had one of those cans that looked like a tall skinny R2D2. Has the little flap that says push on it. Well this one was actually just a tall skinny cover over a tall skinny trash can inside of it. So I lifted off the outside cover and was using the inner trash can over by the copier (much easier to use this way without that flap). I looked up and someone was just dumping a big wet bag of coffee grounds into the cover with the flap that says push on it.

Soon as he left I had to go over and clean up all the coffee grounds off the bare floor.

[ptrflrs]

Woo..ow ! That was awfully embarrassing, I hope you later resorted to stocking your wardrobe with LEVI STRAUSS jeans only.

I wish any of the tech jobs i've had would have allowed me to wear jeans, every employer asks for slacks or other kinds of trousers. Those black canvas jean-cut dickies is as close as i get to jeans. I do carry a backpack with a change of clothes and plenty of extra socks for when it rains and you have to go through puddles. If the company you work for treats you like low-life mechanics they should at least let you wear jeans imho, am i right?

[JR2ALTA]

I wish any of the tech jobs i've had would have allowed me to wear jeans, every employer asks for slacks or other kinds of trousers. Those black canvas jean-cut dickies is as close as i get to jeans. I do carry a backpack with a change of clothes and plenty of extra socks for when it rains and you have to go through puddles. If the company you work for treats you like low-life mechanics they should at least let you wear jeans imho, am i right?

Yes, I've always thought copier techs should wear a "mechanic's blue" Dickies getup. With the company logo stitched on the shirt.

It would convey competence, like the Geek Squad has their 1950's NASA garb, white short-sleeve shirt w/ black tie.

[ptrflrs]

Yes, I've always thought copier techs should wear a "mechanic's blue" Dickies getup. With the company logo stitched on the shirt.

It would convey competence, like the Geek Squad has their 1950's NASA garb, white short-sleeve shirt w/ black tie.

yeah, i get the concept and thats fine. i mean i don't want to go overboard and do suspender overalls or anything like that

[slybot]

DO NOT under any circumstances attempt to vacuum up a fart!

Here's the scenario: Chinese for lunch, and I am beginning to understand sublimation - the physical process by which a solid transforms directly into a gas.

I'm vacuuming out an MP3500 that was in its normal state of existence - absolutely filthy - and I feel this one rumbling around in my gut and headed for the exit like a freight train.

As usual, I'm sitting on my vacuum while working, so I figure the sound will get drowned out, and if I tip the hose in the right direction the rest will get sucked up and never heard from again. Hey, why not - it works for toner, right? WRONG!

First of all, if you ever try to fart while sitting on top of a 3M vacuum things get kinda squished together and rearranged, so you end up ripping the world's loudest squeaker. Think of an air horn attached to a jet engine - easily heard over the loudest vac. Of course this is enough to frighten anyone and when I jumped the tone changed, so not only does everyone within a 50 mile radius know I farted, but they think I'm playing with it. If I could have died right then, I would have... gladly... and played "Taps" for myself on the a$$ trumpet. My only consolation was there were very few people in the area.

Worse than the noise were the vapors. Pray a hostile army never gets hold of anything like this - our surrender would be immediate. I don't know why on earth I ever thought something like that would get trapped in the filter except that it was mean enough to have teeth.

A normal fart will spread out slightly, rise to the roof, and get sucked into the A/C returns to go visit someone else - A Vacuum cleaner, on the other hand, makes a very efficient air blender. Blasting that beast through my vac pissed it off, whipped it into a froth, and sprayed a heavy coat of funk all over the room.

The other people in the area cracked a few jokes, but didn't make too big of a deal about it. After that performance somebody has to say something about "the elephant in the room" ;-)

I finished the call as fast as I could before any other disasters could happen and though I could put the whole incident - er - behind me... until my next call when I discovered part of the beast did get trapped in the filter after all.

After I finally got over the humiliation and told the story I got zinged again:

"You know, you got lucky."
"How so??"
"Farts are flammable, and the motor could be an ignition source"
"I think I would have been luckier if it blew me up," But then I started getting mental pictures of my vacuum blasting off and flying around the room like a fart powered 747

that is so %^&$%^ funny. i have tears in my eyes now. ROTFLMAO

[slybot]

cant remember if i have posted this one or not; went to a customers m/c at the casino here in town to do a small panasonic (cant remember the model) years ago. cleaned it out and everything and hit the trans/sep corona assy with flammable cleaner. waited for a couple of minutes and fired the machine up thinking it had all evaporated. loud WHOOMPH and fireball jumps out of machine (clamshell, so you can picture it) and leaves a small 'campfire' in the base which i had to blow out. senior person of staff (the machine was in his office and he was doing an interview at the time) both were looking at me with starteled looks on the faces. 'thought it had all evaproated' was my reply to the looks

[DAG COPIERS & COMPUTERS]

Ee..eeh! slybot. your stories make me both laugh and wonder. Now, you finish the story up! What happened to the panasonic in the end?

[Black lung]

Just remembered one. Once again Im not positive on the models (getting old). When the Sharps went from 726 to the new style 740 we were Olliveti dealers. Im thinking the equivalent machine to the 740 was the 1500 (?). Anyway we had a two day school at a Holiday Inn.

If you know the machines the paper passes through a toaster oven for fusing. Later models the upper part of the oven popped open automatically when you opened the door to remove a misfeed, not these. When you had a jam there was a set of bamboo tongs to pull it out of the fusing section.

Well I was farting around with my machine and got the paper stuck in there really good, and when I finally grabbed a hold of it with the tongs it was scorched and actually caught fire. In over 33 years in the business now that is the only time Ive seen an actual flame due to a paper jam in a copier. I dropped the flaming paper on the green shag carpet and melted a small patch before I stomped it out.

So being at a Holiday Inn doesnt always make you smarter =)