Taskalfa 7003i not recognizing toner properly

[jcg54]

The machine is currently at 1,092,208 total life count. I've done 2 separate MK's on it. One at I believe around 500k due to damage to the drum in the form of those little dots that come from the drum cover guide pieces. Another was done last june around 900K which I think was due to an issue on the fuser? but also the machine was super dirty and it couldve been those dots again, I cant really recall but I can look up my notes if needed later.

In September of 2024 it was having an issue where it went from 27% toner to 0% (users were instructed to reinsert the toner) then back up to 25% and it kept doing that down to 15% and then when it showed 0% again the users put in a brand new toner, then the next day it would go back to 0% again. At this point I went onsite to take a look. Cleaned out the machine and swapped out the Inner Toner Unit (the part that moves toner around that has to come off to get to the DV and DK) to test if that was the issue. When that didnt solve the issue I called the support line and was instructed to swap out the DV. The Issue went away after I changed the DV and I thought the problem was behind me.

Well About 3 days ago the 24th, the machine was reporting that toner should be changed soon, and then the toner was empty followed immediately by a couple "Waste toner box almost full" and then the event "Toner has been replaced" Shows in the logs. Following this the logs showlogs.png
and then it kept repeating that for the next couple days. Meanwhile the toner level graph shows 98% then 0% then back up to 30% and down again.
All of this to ask if anybody else has done anything differently or if I need to swap the DV again? or just clean it out AGAIN or something else entirely.

[Ropariva]

Going by the serial number change in the pic you added, it looks like a new toner went in and you immediately started having issues. Logically I’d try another toner rather than blame some other component.

[BBM]

if you ran a sky shot is it solid black across the page ?

[jcg54]

Going by the serial number change in the pic you added, it looks like a new toner went in and you immediately started having issues. Logically I’d try another toner rather than blame some other component.

Yeah, I should've grabbed a larger selection of logs. I will get that in a little while and post it. The issue was occurring with the previous toner as it emptied and then it continued with the new toner.

[jcg54]

Going by the serial number change in the pic you added, it looks like a new toner went in and you immediately started having issues. Logically I’d try another toner rather than blame some other component.

Ok so here are slightly better logs. Are you saying that I have just run into a similar issue with the toner two separate times? And this time it might just be a bad toner bottle?
Well I am already waiting on a new toner shipped to arrive either today or tomorrow. So I guess I can wait until that happens and just cross my fingers that its just a broken toner.

Screenshot 2025-01-28 084853.png
Screenshot 2025-01-28 085101.png
And here's the log from the previous time that I had the issue in September.
Screenshot 2025-01-28 090058.png

[PrintWhisperer]

You would do better to post the Event Log-Toner Log which captures only the replacements and leaves out the spam. Plus you have some additional data in the A/B/C coding.

There are a few different areas controlling this logic which can be checked and tuned for proper operation. That being said, swapping around toner containers will always be problematic and should be avoided.

Toner usage is of course a mathematical calculation by the machine based on how much it thinks it uses with each page and subtracting it from the (RFID) reported quantity in a new container. Hi-speed frames like the 7003 also have a hopper that monitors toner level.

You need to determine what the toner sensor and supply sensor outputs are in U155 to see if they are normal and tune the levels in U156 as well as change the empty message timing in U136 so that more toner is used before the customer is prompted and that the expected yield is reached at that time.

Once you have everything straightened out then tell the customer that when the machine says the TK is empty, consider it empty regardless of what it 'feels' like is left😉

[jcg54]

Ok I think I understand what you are saying there. Although the issue didn't appear to be with changing the toner at the wrong time. The machine was reporting the toner was empty 45 minutes after it was put in the machine, so to me that said something was wrong. From what Ropariva said, the bottle was faulty and not the machine. The user received a new bottle today, replaced it, and so far the machine is running ok again although we got an email saying the machine is now making a whirring sound. So I will go check out the machine and see what is happening.
As for the post, it seems that it was a false alarm of sorts and it was the bottle this time and the fact that it looked like the previous issue that I had was a coincidence. Thanks for the help ☺

[KYO_OEM]

FYI,
there are 2 ways for detecting toner low/ empty.
One, like Printwhisperer explained/ based on RFID
the second one called engine sensed toner low/ empty
e.g. (not real values)
Toner needed >> Toner adding start by engine command for toner motor

system is counting the turns from the motor (system know exactly how many toner would added by each turn)

if the value from toner sensor does not reach the expected target after a while toner nearby empty message is coming up

1 turn = 1 milligramm = 0,01V

20 turns = 20mg = 0,2V/ 50 turns = 50mg = 0,5V

expected are 1V

If toner level (1V) can`t be recovered, system will not look for the RFID data anymore, system will show "Toner empty/ Replace Toner"

see enclosed explanation

[jcg54]

That honestly sounds like what has been happening with alot of the desk model Ecosys machines we have. Toner showing it has like 20% and then the next day its at 0

[PrintWhisperer]

IDK how that table of links is embedded in my prior post, but it wasn't intentional😣

Thanks KYO_OEM for the insight on the Toner Message logic. It is only assumed from observation that when toner remains in the cartridge and the message is displayed that there is another mechanism in play as these systems are not completely described in the documentation.

The important take away is that one needs to check the Toner Sensor (and Supply Sensor if applicable) to determine if they are mis-adjusted, faulty, or not being fed due to a failure of toner flow.