kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

[SysNerd]

hello good day! (or night) this might sound weird. but i've been given a free kyocera taskalfa 3051ci. copier (technically 2. i got a broken 3050ci too) along with enough spare toner to last me years.


the unit has only done 132.000 total copies/prints in it's life. which is not alot for a unit made for 150k a month.

the unit was delivered in 2015. and is currently still on the original firmware. (i have obtained the update files. just not gone trough a update yet)


however the unit appears to have a issue with the paper cassete 2. it will detect paper size. but it will not detect amount left or load.. and it will never use from paper cassete 2.



if i exchange cassete 1's drawer with cassete 2. no change in operations. cassete 1 works perfectly. while number 2 will only detect paper size.


if i close drawer 1. i can hear some motors go off. and the screen will say "loading paper' none of this happens with drawer 2. no error nothing.



i've tried digging into the service manual along with the hidden 10871087 menu. but i've been unable to spot any tests relating to the paper cassetes or it's switches.


i've tried crawling into the cassete space and inspected the switches and optical switches. but they all appear to be looking spotless. which is to be expected for a machine used "this little"


i did notice drawer 2 extends out a tiny bit more than number 1. but they both will "latch' perfectly fine with a paper cassete installed.


please advice on what i could try to do to fix the drawers operation? i've attached some photos of the drawers. paper screen. and the inside of the copier.

photo_2024-03-14_20-22-09.jpgphoto_2024-03-14_20-22-11.jpgphoto_2024-03-14_20-22-12.jpg

[still]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

Set the paper trays to letter and ledger if using 11X17.

You can go into system menu and make the adjustments there.

There is also a paper empty switch on the feed unit..

Make sure the lift motor is lifting the paper

[blackcat4866]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

The paper does not look like it is loaded properly. My suggestion is to:
* remove all the paper from tray #2
* perform a U906 partial reset to clear out the lift error.
* load a small amount of paper and set the guides to the correct size.
* test print
* if everything is working fine re-load the rest of the paper.

Most likely what happened is that an enduser loaded A4 paper to the left side of the tray. It attempted to lift, errored out, then isolated that tray, so that the rest of the machine can function. Later on, A3 sized paper was loaded to the still not functional tray.
=^..^=

[SysNerd]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

The paper does not look like it is loaded properly. My suggestion is to:
* remove all the paper from tray #2
* perform a U906 partial reset to clear out the lift error.
* load a small amount of paper and set the guides to the correct size.
* test print
* if everything is working fine re-load the rest of the paper.

Most likely what happened is that an enduser loaded A4 paper to the left side of the tray. It attempted to lift, errored out, then isolated that tray, so that the rest of the machine can function. Later on, A3 sized paper was loaded to the still not functional tray.
=^..^=

running U906 made the tray get detected and the printer attempts to use it however it instantly paper-jams. with both A4 and A3 sized papers.

the first roller seems to work fine but it get's stuck at the 2nd roller. so i'd have to see how i can get to that mechanism and give the rollers a good clean perhaps.

i also haven't had luck by helping the paper yet either, it really wants to get stuck on that positon...

so it could be that something is slightly mis-aligned.

i dont see a easy way to get that mechanism removed though. so i'll have to dive in the service manual probably.

Screenshot 2024-03-15 031452.jpg

[blackcat4866]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

Those rollers look VERY worn. I'd start there with new rollers. =^..^=

[KYO_OEM]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

years ago (>10 years) i went to dealer for technical assistance because cass 2 wouldn`t loaded.
tech spend >4 h for repair, but he failed and owner asked for additional help.
I arrived at 11:00 am and finished work at 11:30 am.
Reason:
Blocked feed rollers!!
During removal from paper jam, the end customer took out paper in the wrong direction and feed roller stucked in upper position.
If Lift sensor 2 detect "ON", system will not turn the lift motor for the cassette base anymore, because upper position already reached.
Simple and easy.
Before onside visit i asked the tech if it would checked and he told me that it would done..
----no more comment----

Maybe this story can be helpfull
Feed Venus.JPG
If not, swap complete primary feed unit 2 against #1 for further checking

[jcg54]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

running U906 made the tray get detected and the printer attempts to use it however it instantly paper-jams. with both A4 and A3 sized papers.

the first roller seems to work fine but it get's stuck at the 2nd roller. so i'd have to see how i can get to that mechanism and give the rollers a good clean perhaps.

i also haven't had luck by helping the paper yet either, it really wants to get stuck on that positon...

so it could be that something is slightly mis-aligned.

i dont see a easy way to get that mechanism removed though. so i'll have to dive in the service manual probably.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]62031[/ATTACH]

Its a fairly involved process to fully remove the Paper feed unit, The manual even has a section specifically for just removing both trays to just get at the wheels to change them out. Have you gone to the paper settings menu to tell the machine what paper it has in its drawer? You should be able to set the trays to Auto[inch] or Auto[metric] Depending on where you are, That would allow the guides in the drawers to tell the machine what kind of paper is in the trays.

Additional note for future notice on your machine, If you start to get lines on the pages you should be able to open up the machine (there are quite a few screws) and get to where the drums are, You can slide the charge rollers out without removing the drums and just clean the charge rollers with water and a rag and then let them dry fully and extend the life of your machine. Especially since parts are going to get harder to find after this year for that model.

[SysNerd]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

Those rollers look VERY worn. I'd start there with new rollers. =^..^=

yeah good point. they looked better before i rubbed them with a slightly wet finger. but indeed.

maybe with some luck the 3050CI uses the same rollers and can be swapped with the 3051ci. i got the 3050ci stripped down a decent chunk and will be attempting to salvage good parts from it to keep my 3051ci running for a while.


but yes indeed the machine is *quite* involved to get into haha. i will be lifting it up onto it's wooden pedestal tonight so it's at a more comfortable level to be worked on




in terms of printing quality. it is not too bad. but has some slight streaking issues...

i've ran drum/developer refresh about 5 times and it improved a little but not fully gone yet.

it's not a huge deal on text prints. but it get's quite noticable on colors like magenta and cyan.

i suspect it's because of the dirt and grime that another forum member (@jcg54) suggested being a potential issue.

photo_2024-03-16_14-42-34.jpg

but i'd say that is not too bad so far. it's still a free device after all.

i'll slowly eliminate all issues where possible without having to spend too much on replacement parts :P


thanks for the advice so far. i will soon be trying to get to the Rollers and hopefully fix the paper feeding issues in tray 2. tray 1 luckily functions perfectly and had 0 jam's so far.

[SysNerd]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

1 small odd issue i did notice that is not mechanical... is it keeps "waking up" and going to sleep in a inifite cycle after being asleep for 60 minutes,


i can hear relay's click on. fans turn for a little. then relay clicks off. then 2 seconds later that cycle repeats. no screen lights up though. it's just doing it's thing?

i've tried turning off/on power saving settings but it appears to be still doing it. so for now i will just leave it unplugged when not in use.


though to be honest. the unit is currently located closely to a radiator though. so perhaps the powersupply is just mad about the slightly too high ambient temps.

[blackcat4866]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

The cyan and magenta developing spacers are bad. AFAIK the only way to get them is on a whole developing unit assembly. This was a common flaw on this series. =^..^=

[SysNerd]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

The cyan and magenta developing spacers are bad. AFAIK the only way to get them is on a whole developing unit assembly. This was a common flaw on this series. =^..^=

damn that kinda sucks. could this be in the realm of a "DIY" fix? or what would the replacement part number be? i noticed quite alot of 3051ci new old stock parts being on sale/for cheap locally. so maybe with some luck i can find parts?



perhaps.... what would the chances be that the 3050ci has the same mechanical parts inside as the 3051ci?

i know the 3051ci features a improved CPU along with the paper cassete drawers being completely different.

but taking a quick glance at the internals. it appears to be pretty similair if not just a more outdated "brain" with the same "body' as what the 3051ci has under the hood...


sadly i do not know how much run time the 3050ci had though. the previous owner took out the code DIMM rather than the HDD so it's essentially useless/bricked now. so it could be at 40.000 prints but could also be 450.000.... so it could end up with a more worn out part.

i did export the maintenance report and pasted down some of the interesting pieces i found. i think it never had a drum replacement. (or any replacement parts?) it's done 41k colored copies. so it's not that much run time on those spacers. could moving/relocating the printer have caused damage to the spacers? to be fair i did just shove it in the back of a hatchback. i got it out as gracefully as i could but it did make a smack here or there.


besides that. based on these usage numbers. what would be some attention spots i should focus on when i tear this thing down and give it a deep clean? what are some general recomendations? i've worked with basic printers before in the family. but never such *unit* as this one. loving the printing/scanning quality so far though.


Screenshot 2024-03-16 213725.jpgScreenshot 2024-03-16 213803.jpgScreenshot 2024-03-16 213823.jpg

[JR2ALTA]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

You'd make a very good copier tech! I wish you the best. Unfortunately, there are no "Home Depots" for copiers...it's hard to obtain parts and without a dealer discount, the endeavor will quickly exceed the value of the machine.

[blackcat4866]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

damn that kinda sucks. could this be in the realm of a "DIY" fix?

... perhaps.... what would the chances be that the 3050ci has the same mechanical parts inside as the 3051ci?

... so it's not that much run time on those spacers. could moving/relocating the printer have caused damage to the spacers? to be fair i did just shove it in the back of a hatchback. i got it out as gracefully as i could but it did make a smack here or there.

Sorry, no DIY fix. Those developing units are glued together. I have tried disassembling a few units, but just ended up with broken plastic. The other machine would use the same spacers, but there would be no way to re-assemble a usable unit. Odds are, the other machine might have exactly the same issue.

Kyocera is the only seller (or maybe a Kyocera dealer or eBay). They are only sold as assemblies.

No it's not about run time. Kyoceras modification was to install developing spacers from the higher speed/heavier duty Alphards.

No, mishandling would not make a difference. Either the plastic cracks or the aluminum shaft wears to the point where the spacers wobble. Either way, it was just a bad design.

The developing units are compatible between AlphardI and AlphardII. It would not cause any harm to swap in the spares to see if they are better.

... besides that. based on these usage numbers. what would be some attention spots i should focus on when i tear this thing down and give it a deep clean? what are some general recommendations? I've worked with basic printers before in the family. but never such *unit* as this one. loving the printing/scanning quality so far though.

The charge rollers are one of the weak areas on this series, but it's best to wait until it absolutely needs it before cleaning charge rollers. There is a 50/50 chance of the cleaning causing the rollers to short out, or just make the image worse.

Try printing these images, and I'll be able to offer more specific recommendations:

[SysNerd]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

Sorry, no DIY fix. Those developing units are glued together. I have tried disassembling a few units, but just ended up with broken plastic. The other machine would use the same spacers, but there would be no way to re-assemble a usable unit. Odds are, the other machine might have exactly the same issue.

Kyocera is the only seller (or maybe a Kyocera dealer or eBay). They are only sold as assemblies.

No it's not about run time. Kyoceras modification was to install developing spacers from the higher speed/heavier duty Alphards.

No, mishandling would not make a difference. Either the plastic cracks or the aluminum shaft wears to the point where the spacers wobble. Either way, it was just a bad design.

The developing units are compatible between AlphardI and AlphardII. It would not cause any harm to swap in the spares to see if they are better.



The charge rollers are one of the weak areas on this series, but it's best to wait until it absolutely needs it before cleaning charge rollers. There is a 50/50 chance of the cleaning causing the rollers to short out, or just make the image worse.

Try printing these images, and I'll be able to offer more specific recommendations:

i've taken pictures of the sheets. A3 and A4 both looked identical so i only took pics of the A3's Results. if you do also require the A4's let me know and i can snap some pics of that too.

i've uploaded them to imgur as i've noticed a slight degradation in quality when it get's inserted to a post.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet (NVM apparantly imgur changed something and it is trash quality now... i tried adding them to this post but i can't seem to be able to. and also fail in uploading them on a new post suddenly. probably just a sign that it is time for bed..)

to be honest it does not look too horrible for what it is.

the flatbed scanner looks perfect but the doc processor has some slight ripple like line's when processing a3's so i assume it's some dirt. but it's easy to access (also the 3050 appears to have a identical lid so perfect for testing)




also random side question since you do seem to know abit about these specific units.. what's up with that sata cable going from the mainboard (back side) to board the document processor/flatbed scanner is connected to?


if i would geuss. the scanner is so "high bandwidth" that doing it over sata is cheaper/easier to do? like the scanner itself emulates being a DVD ROM drive? which then also leads to the question. *what happens if i plug that into a real sata port on computer* :P

[SysNerd]

Re: kyocera taskalfa 3051ci Cassete 2 does not work. no paper level. only size ID.

There we go. turns out my phone takes images that are too large to properly process here XD