2nd and Final EP1080 Problem

[Frankie4Fingers]

Hi guys,

You guys did such a great job of identifying my cleaning blade problem that I thought you might be able to also help me with another problem on the Konica EP1080. This one has been ongoing for quite some time.

Basically what happens is that the copies always have a faded out section at the bottom of the page (that would be the end of the page that's nearer the front of the copier as it sits on the glass). It seems to happen whether the toner is full or near-empty, and the problem varies in intensity.

The attached photos show what happens. The first pic is of a copy taken immediately after I cleaned the cleaning blade (notice how the black areas I mentioned in the other thread are absent). The 3 black vertical lines were drawn by a marking pen to highlight the problem, you can see a faded band which is actually off the bottom of the page in this copy.

The second pic is of a copy taken about 10 copies later (you can see the cleaning blade problem reappearing with the 3 horizontal black bands). The faded white band has moved to the bottom of the page, where it normally is, although it's often quite worse than this.

Do you think this is also related to the cleaning blade (which I'm actually going to replace soon) or could something else be the cause?

I hope you guys can help me out again.

Cheers.

[copytechman]

I'd say that a whitish band moving around is usually either poor charging or possibly poor transfer. Dev voids can be that wide but tend to stay put where they are.. Tshooting aid, stop a copy when its under the drum, pull unit... is the image fully formed on the drum or not.. that should point you in the necessary direction (xfer or dev/drum chg etc).

Regards!
A.

[OutlawTorn]

I've had similar things happen on these models when the developer gets dirty with paper dust/dirt. Try removing the developing unit and slide a small bit of paper underneath the cover near the mag roller and just run it along the roller. Do this a couple of times and then try your copy. This has worked numerous times for me.


it could also be dirty optics, it could be worth your time giving them a clean.

[Hansoon]

Very likely crud under the doctor blade. Starter (developer) should be taken out and the developing unit cleaned. Replace starter after that or filter the old starter with a teasieve to sieve out the debris. When new starter do the F8 mode for calibration.

Hans

[minimerlin]

I agree..fault is most likely to be contamination of dev tank. Take out the drum then look at the dev brush on the mag roller, the low areas should match the poor image on the copy. I think you have not cleaned the dust collector on the image unit..it is fitted next to the black registration roller under the unit. ( Take off the black plastic guide to find it..as well as ATDC sensor) You will find a large amount of paper dust piled up ...some of that has got into the dev tank and is your cause of the problem. You will need to change the dev and to be sure to fully clean out the tank..DO NOT vacum it unless the ATDC sensor is removed first!

[Frankie4Fingers]

OK thanks very much guys, I'll give that a try. If I replace the developer, does it come in measured amounts so I put in the correct amount?

[copytechman]

Yes it comes in bags or bottles in the correct amount per machine (based on how you order it).. If you go ahead and change the dev you'll need to run the f8 adj (atdc adj) in service mode.. or you'll have other issues. I'd try cleaning the charger/grid/xfer wires first.. at least no adj's are req and they're not to bad to get to.

Regards!
A.

[Frankie4Fingers]

Thanks guys for your help, but I just ran into another problem now, so frustrating! Here's what's happened.

First of all, I replaced the cleaning blade with a new one (due to the problem from my other thread), no problems there.

Secondly, I tried to look into this contaminated developer business but I got a bit lost. I took the black cover off the bottom of the Imaging Unit, and then looked for the dust collector. I believe it was what I was looking at, I took off 2 screws holding a long metal blade with clear plastic strip on it, and underneath that was a long pressed steel component that fit into a long black plastic component. The metal part had slits in it so I image that was the dust collector. Is that correct minimerlin?

Anyhow it didn't seem to have any dust in it, it all looked OK so I put it all back together.

Also when you mentioned the dev brush on the mag roller, are you referring to the fuzz of toner and developer that's coating the magnetic roller? That looked pretty much OK, no weak spots as far as I could see. I tried running a piece of paper around there a few times as per Outlaw Torn's advice, stuck it all back together, put the unit into the machine to see the results, and shortly after the new problem struck!

A minute or two after switching on the machine, I got an error code C0520 error, which means high fusing temp, with Tech. Rep. Indicator (little spanner picture). The book says you can open the front door then close it to reset the Tech. Rep. indicator, which I did, but it wouldn't go away. Switched it off and on, unplugged it, tried everything, the indicator and error code wouldn't go away. I took out the Fusing Unit, and checked that the fuse there had not blown with a circuit tester and it was OK.

Can anyone suggest how I can reset the error and try it again, so I can see if it happens again?

Thanks agian for your help!!

[OutlawTorn]

There is a small reset switch in the back of the machine, you can reach it by reaching around just inside the back cover - there is a board there with a switch. It is rather difficult to find unfortunately!

To stop the code happening again, remove the cover off the fusing unit (two screws) and remove the fusing thermistor from the top (easy to see, one more screw) normally it just needs a clean. Bang it all together again and you should hopefully be ok.

[Frankie4Fingers]

Thanks for that info Outlaw Torn, I'll try to clean up the thermistor, that's the one that's actually touching the roller, right?

With the reset switch, which way does the board that it's mounted to face? Does it face the back of the machine or sideways?

[copytechman]

IIRC, it's on the back of the machine near the top of the main board, usually labeled trouble or something like it.. it has to be reset while the main body power is on (or it doesnt know ya hit it!) it is a small round switch much like the ones under the control panel numpad buttons.. (basically a microswitch).

Good luck and regards!..

A.

[minimerlin]

Frankie..I`m not sure what you removed..sounds like it was the bottom seal below the cleaning blade? The dust collector is a foam pad that rubs against the black shiny roller that is mounted into a paper guide (under the dev tank), look for the ends of the roller..you will see it is held into the guide by two brass colored bushes into two metal plates. If you unhook these plates the roller will separate from the guide...and the dust collector pad will be revealed! Look how the plates are located BEFORE you remove them!! If this dust collector has not been cleaned you will find quite i pile of dust!!

[Frankie4Fingers]

OK let's see if I got this right . . . the dev tank has a metal plate for a lid, is that right? And inside its got these bladed rollers that mix toner and developer?

The stuff I pulled off was under the magnetic roller and doctor blade, which is on the the opposite side of the drum to the cleaning blade.

I know the black roller you're talking about, it's only quite a small diameter. So the dust collector is in the plastic guide plate/black roller assembly is that right? I'll have to take another look there, what I pulled apart was on the imaging unit itself after the guide plate was removed, so I was probably looking at the wrong thing.

Thanks for that copytechman, I'll see if I can find it. So I take it that it faces the rear of the machine then?

[copytechman]

Right around the back of the machine, yup... again its been quite some time since I last saw one!

Regards!
A.

[Frankie4Fingers]

OK cool, thanks for that!