Konica Minolta Bizhub c654e - K developer (?) issues

[Outlander Kyle]

Two weeks ago my K developer blew about 20% earlier than expected.
when removed, the dev unit seemed nearly empty. I didn't think much of it as I do a lot of high coverage printing and replaced the dev unit and only the dev unit.

The next day I printed a few thousand pages and by the end of the day the dev unit seemed tanked. not having extra new parts on hand i switched out an older dev unit and started checking the table numbers. They were very high for the K units and I did an initialization + stabilization and they went down from 700-800 to about 500 and the print quality seemed good.

I ordered new parts and ran the machine like that for several thousand more copies with no sign of deterioration. today I started getting signs again (spotty prints from K and only K), and checking the table numbers, they became quite high. I switched out the transfer belt with another used and noticed an immediate boost in quality, but still partially degraded and still high table numbers. finished up what I had to do and now contemplating what to do next:

having read the forums about this issue I plan on replacing the transfer belt, k dev, k drum all together... but have read checking the HV board is standard.

The question is, is it likely that the HV board is having issues? or are transfer belts known to have this effect when old? I think it just about hit its life expectancy so it doesn't pain me to replace it all at once- but if i don't check the HV board then is it just going to persist? HV board stuff just kind of confuses me. but at the same time don't want to blow $1000 on parts just to kill them immediately

Thanks for any insight.

[femaster]

Re: Konica Minolta Bizhub c654e - K developer (?) issues

We tend to run our parts until they causes problems, because that's the way management wants it. Because of this, when we encounter a dev unit that has drained, especially prematurely, I have our techs replace the dev unit and drum at the same time if the drum hasn't been changed recently. I find that more often than not, just replacing the dev unit leads to the new one also getting sucked dry. If we replace both at the same time, the issue almost never reoccurs.

[KMFLT3CH]

Re: Konica Minolta Bizhub c654e - K developer (?) issues

We tend to run our parts until they causes problems, because that's the way management wants it. Because of this, when we encounter a dev unit that has drained, especially prematurely, I have our techs replace the dev unit and drum at the same time if the drum hasn't been changed recently. I find that more often than not, just replacing the dev unit leads to the new one also getting sucked dry. If we replace both at the same time, the issue almost never reoccurs.

Sounds like the typical KM Direct mentality, run those consumables into the ground. I agree with what you said and want to add this: make sure you replace or at least vacuum out the toner filter. A clogged filter will drain a dev unit in no time. I don't have too many of these 4e machines left in my area but when I did I would see dozens of calls for poor print quality...IU or K dev unit depleted due to the toner filter having never been replaced or cleaned. Both the toner filter and the ozone filter are included with a new K drum on this machine. I imagine most techs just reset the count and go on with their day.

OP, check out these two articles:

Premature Failure of IU or Dev.pdf
Developer loss.pdf

[patrickjlc]

Re: Konica Minolta Bizhub c654e - K developer (?) issues

Two weeks ago my K developer blew about 20% earlier than expected.
when removed, the dev unit seemed nearly empty. I didn't think much of it as I do a lot of high coverage printing and replaced the dev unit and only the dev unit.

The next day I printed a few thousand pages and by the end of the day the dev unit seemed tanked. not having extra new parts on hand i switched out an older dev unit and started checking the table numbers. They were very high for the K units and I did an initialization + stabilization and they went down from 700-800 to about 500 and the print quality seemed good.

I ordered new parts and ran the machine like that for several thousand more copies with no sign of deterioration. today I started getting signs again (spotty prints from K and only K), and checking the table numbers, they became quite high. I switched out the transfer belt with another used and noticed an immediate boost in quality, but still partially degraded and still high table numbers. finished up what I had to do and now contemplating what to do next:

having read the forums about this issue I plan on replacing the transfer belt, k dev, k drum all together... but have read checking the HV board is standard.

The question is, is it likely that the HV board is having issues? or are transfer belts known to have this effect when old? I think it just about hit its life expectancy so it doesn't pain me to replace it all at once- but if i don't check the HV board then is it just going to persist? HV board stuff just kind of confuses me. but at the same time don't want to blow $1000 on parts just to kill them immediately

Thanks for any insight.

Does the developer feels empty? Compared by weight to say the C, M, or Y? Stick a magnetic screwdriver into the waste toner box and see if the is metallic powder attached.
If yes, start ordering a HV board, transfer belt, and the rest of the components.



Sent from my motorola one 5G UW using Tapatalk

[Outlander Kyle]

Re: Konica Minolta Bizhub c654e - K developer (?) issues

Does the developer feels empty? Compared by weight to say the C, M, or Y? Stick a magnetic screwdriver into the waste toner box and see if the is metallic powder attached.
If yes, start ordering a HV board, transfer belt, and the rest of the components.



Sent from my motorola one 5G UW using Tapatalk

I will run this test on the waste box.

thanks everyone- this gives me some confidence moving forward - will let ya'll know the results.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Konica Minolta Bizhub c654e - K developer (?) issues

Is it genuine tone? Can you even get genuine toner? =^..^=

[Outlander Kyle]

Re: Konica Minolta Bizhub c654e - K developer (?) issues

Is it genuine tone? Can you even get genuine toner? =^..^=

Yes, always and only.
its starting to become easier

[REGSIS]

Re: Konica Minolta Bizhub c654e - K developer (?) issues

Yes, always and only.
its starting to become easier

Only drum can drain developer from dev unit.
I had one K drum recently on 50% life done this.
I first replaced DevK because it had 500k and not the drum which was at 50%. At first output was OK but next day it started to pull out developer again.

Replace K drum, ozone and toner filter.