I mostly lurk and glean on here, but I ran into a head scratcher with this MP 4002, with complaints of light prints. Looking back on the ticket history, we have been there for the same issue and replaced developer and drum 3 times in the last year, and I was the third time about 2 months ago. The page count is only 119k. We are upside down on this service contract because of the VERY low volume compared to parts and labor into it, so I was instructed to be careful about throwing parts and time into this. I started with Toner density sensor, no change. Replaced toner supply unit, no change. vREF and vT do not change either, and developer is depleted. Can't figure out why the DV unit isn't getting toner. I have tried increasing the DV charge bias, no change. I could always add developer but we will just be out there again in a few months. Short of replacing the DV unit I'm out of ideas. Any help, advice, insight, and suggestions will be welcome!
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
Are you using OEM developer and toner? These things are disgusting, toner belching pigs as it is, compounded if they aren't running original supplies.It's 106 miles to Chicago. We've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses.
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
Yes all OEM parts and suppliesComment
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
Check the Development Unit, the 3 gears from the front and the "Joint-Paddle" from the rear that they do not rotate unnecessarily. Clean the surface of the magnetic roller from the dirty by wiping it with a dry cotton cloth or ethyl alcohol. Make sure the toner bottle rotatesComment
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
You may have a contaminated toner/developer system. A quick check is if the development roller has a black coating that does not brush off with a soft bristle brush. It has been a problem with the Ricoh mid range models going back to the 1035/1045. All it takes is 1 bottle of bad toner to contaminate the system. Ricoh even put out a bulletin on the problem.Comment
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
The dev roller doesn't seem to be contaminated. It picks up developer like it should then as it rotates further it becomes clean (low on developer), and the last time I was there I made sure to vacuum it out. I will look for that bulletin, but will that contamination ruin the DV unit? Or can it be rectified by vacuuming it out and starting over with new developer and toner?Comment
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
check the internal mixer, internal development unit (AD038091), if it does not rotate, it will always "read" the amount of toner from the first time.
I send photo.Comment
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
By vacuuming the development roller, NO The coating has to be scrubbed off the development roller with a sheet of paper. The rest of the PCU, YES.Some people even coat the development roller with Stay Brite or similar metal polish.
One other thing to check, SP3001-001. If the value is much different than the default of 13, then the ID sensor is either dirty or bad. This will cause ProCon to think the ID patch is darker than it actually is which in turn will under tone the developer.Comment
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
Have you check the triangle at PCU, the one that lift toner hopper lever that make toner flow thru PCU to DVtank? I have experience that wear off, it doesn't lift the lever high enough.
Or maybe its because polygon motor, try clean it and do initialize againComment
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
Don't forget the toner hopper, internal paddle mylars might have fallen off or bent too much so the hopper might work if you run "force toner" long enough but the amount of toner movement is too little for normal process control. Mag roller is also a good tip, it tends to coat itself with toner. Back in the days we cleaned it with a "pot sponge" (the rough ones) and polished them with neverdull afterwards.
You might also interrupt a print and check the image on the drum and how much is left for cleaning after transfer - in case it's more than usual you might deal with a transfer issue.
All in all this unit won't provide or keep a dark black, but it should be able to reproduce very dark grey.Comment
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Re: MP4002 image density issue
I've found that if you replace Drum, Blade, Developer, charge roller ( all OEM) together, you'll have much better performance.
Also when your cleaning out the dev unit, check the "toner screen" at the toner feed end, it gets clogged with paper dust. Make sure you get ALL the developer out of the dev side, it takes quite a bit of turning / shaking to get it all out.
Very important, use a small sheet of paper to block the toner entrance hole when re-assembling the drum and dev sides. ( this is only for set up..remove the paper once set up is complete)
It's important to perform your SP's in proper sequence, first SP to set... SP2001-001 needs to be returned to 1500.
Then SP2-801 to initialize the TD sensor, and enter the developer lot number.
Third, SP 3001-2: ID sensor initial setting and SP 2810-1: Grayscale setting
Then remove the paper blocking the toner feed and make a test copy.
Followed correctly we've had excellent resultsComment
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