3035 First 20 Copies Smudged

[Caveman]

Ongoing problem with a 3035 - when the copier is first used at the start of the day the first 15 to 20 copies are smudged - random gray smudge marks that if large enough will show ghost image - looks very similar to a charge roller problem. Drum-charge roller - cleaning blade - developer all recently replaced - all SP values are to default - decided to rule out a power supply problem by replacing the high voltage board, PSU and charge roller main power supply lead - also grounded drum drive shaft assembly. After running the first 20 or so copies the image is perfect - copier is running very clean - no dusting. Appears to be thermally related being that problem clears up after running first 15 to 20 copies. Contacted Ricoh directly several times now - tech support unable to define cause of problem. This problem is proving to be a real challenge.

This is a follow-up to a thread I recently posted regarding this same problem - requesting any suggestions that may help.

Thank you-

Caveman

[Eric1968]

Looks like a temperature / moisture problem in the Fusing Unit. I would advise the customer to leave the machine on at night.

[Llama God]

I agree with Eric, it sounds like a thermistor or UFR problem.

[Caveman]

Llamagod:

Please explain why you would believe this could be a thermistor problem - UFR has been recently replaced. I would think that if there was thermistor problem the copier would have thrown a service code.

Thank you for your help.

Caveman

[aabarnes1]

3035 smudging

What kind of paper are you using, is the mag roller in the dev unit clean and is the metal grounding strap at the rear of the dev unit in place correctly?

[zico21]

As it's always difficult to talk about copy quality issues without having them in front of you, I just had the thought that it would be interesting to see what would happen if the first 20-30 copies of the day were of a white (blank paper) original. I took it that the smudges weren't "original" related other than the ghost image aspect. From there you might try to use a set of 20 originals unique and limited enough so that you could control what is printed and see if the smudges are related to the image, specifically. Perhaps a large "1" on the top of page 1, a "2" on page 2 and so on.

I guess what I'm wondering is, can you detect what the ghost image is from and what interval, if any, that it is repeating so that you might be able to determine which component's circumference matches the interval of the ghost image.

I too, was wondering about the paper type.

[Caveman]

aabarnes1:

Mag roller surface is clean - no toner/developer residue - grounding plate to mag roller assy. is in place and properly seated - paper used is W.B. Mason 20lb. white.

[Caveman]

Zico -

Repeating image is from immediate copy - circumference check indicates that image is being repeated from drum surface.

Caveman

[zico21]

By imdeiate do you mean that an image form the lead edge of page 1 is repeated at the end of page 1 or the beginning of page 2? (A side thoght, if you feed the paper 8.5" LE does it repeat on one sheet of paper) Me being mostly an "arm chair technitian" these days what I'm trying to confirm is that the ghost image is coming from the drum and not the fusing area (I think you made it pretty clear, I just wanted to make sure). I believe the drum has a significantly larger circumfrance that the hot roller but embarrisngly, I'm not sure.

Also, from your information so far it sounds like you've been very thourogh, but did you mention that the correct toner is being used? (Sorry for asking the dumb question!)

Hopefully my lack of much current real world experince isn't wasting your time.

cheers

[aabarnes1]

smudging

Have you stopped the machine during copying to determine whether the smudging is apparent after the the drum but before entry to the fuser or what? Ghosting on a drum as I'm sure you well know is usually a discharge issue.

[Caveman]

Zico -

By no means are you wasting my time - I appreciate your effort to help. The smudges are throughout the copy - no set pattern - if a smudge area is large enough a faint ghost image is observable - running 11''x8.5'' (Landscape) the ghost image will appear at the lead edge area and then again towards the trail edge. When I fold the copy over to check circumference it appears to be the diameter of the drum - however, I am leaving open the the possibility that the hot roller is not yet up to full fusing temperture on the first 10 to 20 copies and perhaps leaving a residue on the first set of copies - I am now reviewing SP 1103 and considering to try enabling the fuser idling option to ensure that the hot roller is up to temperature before the first copies are able to print.

Caveman

[Caveman]

Aabarnse1:

No - I have not tried stopping the copy cycle to check for image on drum - I did however confirm operation of quenching lamps by way of the SP output check (SP5804). I follow your line of thinking - at this point I am trying to determine if this is drum or fuser related - I am considering whether or not enabling SP1103 (Fuser Idling Option ) would help to ensure that the UFR (Hot Roller) is up to full temperature before the first copies are printed. When I arrive at this account to begin troubleshooting I have a limited amount of time to determine what is taking place because the problem will clear within 10 to 20 copies.

Caveman

[aabarnes1]

3035 smudging

I understand your time scale issue, enabling fuser idling(also delays 1st copy time) may well solve the smudging problem IF it's a fuser issue. Having said that I would still try to determine wether or not the problem occurs before the copy enters the fuser.Please keep me informed of your progress with this, it's an intersting one

[Caveman]

Aabarnes1:

I will certainly provide follow-up posts regarding this problem - I agree with you that this is not the typical copy quality problem seen on this series - in speaking directly with Ricoh they are also having a difficult time in determinng the cause of the problem. Thank you for taking the time to offer your assistance.

Caveman

[Llama God]

Firstly because they sense the temperature of the UFR and could just be misreporting within the acceptable boundaries before the machine chucks up an SC code and secondly because they're fairly cheap. This would account for the problem going once the UFR is up to the true operating temperature.

All of this is a moot point though, seeing as it took me so long to reply. Sorry!