Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

[mrfuser]

Ok, machine about a month ago wouldn't recognize magenta, went and cleaned everything , worked great, 2 days ago it won't recognize yellow. Same result after cleaning. I cleaned ALL toner tubes, sensors and such. I then swapped out the black toner and that seemed to work fine, until this morning when client calls with same problem on black!

Any ideas?

[copier tech]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

Sounds like the toner pump is failing, id replace all four due to the age of this old beast.

[eddy out]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

Ok, machine about a month ago wouldn't recognize magenta, went and cleaned everything , worked great, 2 days ago it won't recognize yellow. Same result after cleaning. I cleaned ALL toner tubes, sensors and such. I then swapped out the black toner and that seemed to work fine, until this morning when client calls with same problem on black!

Any ideas?

I've seen many instances of toner pumps failing on this model, but Only one color at a time.

[mrfuser]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

OK. I have done that before . Would the machine not recognize the toner cartridge because of a failing pump though?

[copier tech]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

Depends what is the exact message you are getting?

[mrfuser]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

Says to replace cartridge and shows no bars for k. If I turn off toner end detection it prints fine

[copier tech]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

It could be that the customer has taken out the toner when it was low etc to "shake it" & refitted it

[nmfaxman]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

Says to replace cartridge and shows no bars for k. If I turn off toner end detection it prints fine

Doing that, proves it is the pump.
If it were the developer, the copies/ prints would be washed out.
I have done a forced toner add then checked for overtoning to rule out the pump after turning off toner end.
If it is overtoned, it is the rfid chip in the machine, undertoned or good print is the pump.

[NeoMatrix]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

Old machine... scratching the head....

Toner end detection.
SP Mode
3101 -(13,14,15,16) set to off


After market toner refills (non-OEM) detection
SP mode
5051 set to off


HTH

[slimslob]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

Says to replace cartridge and shows no bars for k. If I turn off toner end detection it prints fine

Doing that, proves it is the pump.
If it were the developer, the copies/ prints would be washed out.
I have done a forced toner add then checked for overtoning to rule out the pump after turning off toner end.
If it is overtoned, it is the rfid chip in the machine, undertoned or good print is the pump.

If it continues to print fine, replace the RFID board on the back of the toner nozzles. If it starts to fade, replace the toner pumps. I have had 3 black pumps on these go bad in the last two months.

[hossam]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

if it prints fine, i think it's not a toner pump problem, try to replace toner bottle with another new one if it's not recognized, it should be the RFID board.

[Iowatech]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

Is the toner genuine Ricoh or aftermarket? Aftermarket toner can be popular with older machines like this. If it is aftermarket toner, the toner bottles currently causing problems in the machine have bad RFID chips. Try a different distributor if aftermarket toner must be used in that machine, or just turn off the toner end indications and be done with it. Your choice.

[mrfuser]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

If we turn off toner end indicators how does client know when to change?

[Iowatech]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

If we turn off toner end indicators how does client know when to change?

My explanation is entirely based on defective RFID chips on aftermarket toner bottles. If that's not the case you didn't supply me with an appropriate amount of input.
Still, even with bad RFID chips on the toner bottles the machine will still stop printing when it is out of toner. Your client will replace the toner then. It is up to them to have an adequate supply of replacement toner bottles.
If that doesn't work, your client will need to seek a different toner supplier that has working RFID chips on the toner bottles.
Or they will need to get authentic Ricoh toner.
Those are the choices available to you. Unless you want to waste time and a lot of money and annoy the client doing needless repairs to that machine. I have no idea what to do next then, and I'll just shut up and go away if that's the case.

[slimslob]

Re: Mpc4500 randomly not recognizing toner

If we turn off toner end indicators how does client know when to change?

When the toner sensor on the back of the toner nozzle does not see toner coming out of the bottle.