Ricoh 2238C Fuser Unit

[the tenor man]

Hello all,

I've been given a Ricoh 2238C to repair...with a SC471 Code. I narrowed it down to the fuser unit jammed with paper...this had sat in storage for a while and I found that the fuser unit gear shafts were rusted stopping the unit from turning.

Now a couple of the gears are stripped...can anyone post a breakdown of the fuser unit and the part numbers for the gears?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The Tenor Man

[Cipher]

SC471 is a transfer belt home position error.
Do a search and your find some posts about it.

[the tenor man]

I could be wrong about the SC number...

Thanks,

I may be wrong about the SC number....but a couple of the fuser gears were rusted on the shaft keeping them from moving...I have already removed the gears and found two of them to be stripped due to the rust on the shafts and them locking up...

I have cleaned and polished the rust from the shafts, but I could still use the fuser diagram to help me identify the bad gear part numbers...

Thanks,
The Tenor Man

[JustManuals]

While it is apparent that you do have a fuser problem, the SC471 code does refer to a problem with the transfer belt, so says the manual.

HtH
Paul@justmanuals.com

[the tenor man]

SC471

I did find a few sheets of paper jammed on the transfer belt. I think this was because it could not exit the machine due to the fuser gears being frozen on the shafts...Primarily the idler exit gear and the drive unit gear.

I was able to remove the drive gear and it shows no damage, but the idler exit gear and the lower fuser roller gear are both missing a few teeth...

I found them both at:

Printer Toner Cartridges - Copier Toner Cartridges - Printer Parts & Copier Parts

Thanks for all of the help...I'll post the outcome...

Thanks,
The Tenor Man

[pbbsinc]

As far as the fuser goes, they are far less than $100.00 & in no way worth messing with.

jay

[the tenor man]

You're right about that!

It is interesting that the whole fuser unit can be purchased for $100, when just a couple of gears cost about $25.00.

I guess that Ricoh wants to sell the whole unit rather than inventory the small parts....

I'm going to order just the gears I need. This three year old copier has only 1400 Color and about 11,500 B&W on the clock. Everything on the unit looks almost brand new.

If it hadn't been sitting in an unheated building for the last 3 years, it would still be working like new...

Thanks,
The Tenor Man

[the tenor man]

Still getting the SC471

You guys were correct...after removing the fuser and freeing up the gears, the fuser seems to turn quite easily.

I'm still getting the SC471 code...I've checked the transport cam and it seems to be in order. The transport belt contact motor was a bit stiff so I removed it and it didn't want to turn to easily. I can now spin it with my finger, but on power-up, it seems to do nothing. Also, I can't see any movement of the transport unit.

Is there a history of transport belt contact motor failure on this model?

Any help would be appreciated and thanks again.

The Tenor Man

[Cipher]

You need to carefully remove ITB unit and manually lower the C.M,Y transfer plate as it's probaly seized/stuck in the up position since it's been in storage for while.
(See the plate uses gravity to move down, hence sometimes the cam moves to correct downward position but the plate stays put).

So just clean and lubricate the metal arms either side of the plate and turn the cam manually to make sure the plate does now move freely up and down.

[the tenor man]

Thanks!

I've give a go and see what happens...

Thanks,
The Tenor Man

[the tenor man]

Transport Cam Moves Easily...

I checked the transport cam and it seems to move easily up and down. The machine is very clean inside and out. I'm beginnng to think that it may be the transport motor itself.

In order to install the transport unit, the cam must be in down position to get it to go in. On start-up, with the door open and the cover switch pushed in, I see no movement of the transport unit. I assume it should move up...am I correct?

Thanks,
The Tenor Man

[Cipher]

Stays down for B&W printing and moves up against the colour drums for colour printing / process control.

The small motor that turns the cam via a worm gear can be tested in output mode.
The sensor that detects the position via input mode.

[the tenor man]

SC471 Problem Solved!

Thanks to all who helped....

I placed a bit of silicon lube on the faces of the two cams...problem solved....

Thanks again,

The Tenor Man

[The Real JB]

Ricoh Sub-assemblies

It is interesting that the whole fuser unit can be purchased for $100, when just a couple of gears cost about $25.00.

I guess that Ricoh wants to sell the whole unit rather than inventory the small parts....

I'm going to order just the gears I need. This three year old copier has only 1400 Color and about 11,500 B&W on the clock. Everything on the unit looks almost brand new.

If it hadn't been sitting in an unheated building for the last 3 years, it would still be working like new...

Thanks,
The Tenor Man

By far Ricoh prefers inventorying assemblies versus components. That was a conscious decision made a LONG time ago. Think about it: The average analog box had probably 1,500-2,000 parts, minimum.

While digital brought that down by 30-40%, let's say you run Ricoh's NSPC. Would you rather handle/track a fusing unit, or the fusing unit and 86 individual parts of the fusing unit?

As techs, most of us would want the parts. As Ricoh mangers, we prefer the sub-assemblies.