Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

[alan.ainslie]

Low copy count 15k from new. drum unmarked. very clean anyway but cleaned drum, charge roller and brush as well as cleaning blade. All clean and unmarked. run the dev agitation routine several times, but the band of grey background and ghosting which appeared in the centre of the page about 2 inches wide refuses to budge. pitch of the ghost is 96mm so looks like image off the drum?? fuser rollers all nice and clean.

Electronic adjustments have only the expected results and do not clear the problem.

Sky shot clears the problem but only for a couple of sheets.

White copy has irregular grey smudge in rae of the ghosts - only a 2 inch band centrally on the page.

Any suggestions please as i have no stock of parts to try and will have to order whatever is needed.

Many thanks

Alan

[teebee1234]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

Remove the pcu and cheat the front door and do an output check on the discharge (quenching) lamps SP5804-003. It's possible a few in the middle are out, that would cause an excess charge buildup in that area. The times I have had this problem, the entire array was out and would eventually cause the drum to start pulling developer.

[sandmanmac]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

An uploaded sample copy would be a big help, but it sounds most likely to be a developer problem -especially if compatible toner is being used rather then OEM. Is it?

[alan.ainslie]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

An uploaded sample copy would be a big help, but it sounds most likely to be a developer problem -especially if compatible toner is being used rather then OEM. Is it?

I will scan the output in the morning and post it. Only ever had original Toner in it genuine Ricoh though....

[alan.ainslie]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

Remove the pcu and cheat the front door and do an output check on the discharge (quenching) lamps SP5804-003. It's possible a few in the middle are out, that would cause an excess charge buildup in that area. The times I have had this problem, the entire array was out and would eventually cause the drum to start pulling developer.

Sound very plausible - thank you..

But although I can see the LED strip with the PCU out, I cannot fathom how to run machine with PCU removed and so I cannot see the lights even with the door cheated. Bit late at night now so i must be missing something?? I could run the PCB from a seperate supply if only I could fathom where the blue wire pairs plug in - the connection to the PCB are soldered - the plug is at the other end I guess.

[alan.ainslie]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

Sound very plausible - thank you..

But although I can see the LED strip with the PCU out, I cannot fathom how to run machine with PCU removed and so I cannot see the lights even with the door cheated. Bit late at night now so i must be missing something?? I could run the PCB from a seperate supply if only I could fathom where the blue wire pairs plug in - the connection to the PCB are soldered - the plug is at the other end I guess.

Well I managed to get the quench light strip out and connect to a power supply. At 18v all the LEDs light at the same intensity and flexing the baord gently made no changes.

atatched is PDF of an A4 scan of an A4 copy output.

help!!!

[sandmanmac]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

While you say you've cleaned the drum and blade, etc. Have you stopped the copy after the drum, to determine for sure whether the problem is in the drum area or fuser. It may only have 15K, but to me, this is definitely either poor drum cleaning, or worn Fuser. If it's in the drum area, it doesn't hurt to replace an $8 blade just to be sure

[teebee1234]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

That appears to be a fusing issue, 96mm = 4.75in which is about the diameter of the heat roller. There may be a concave dent in the heat roller or the pressure roller is very spongy in the middle. Try placing a thin strip of paper (about 1 inch wide) between the upper and lower rollers and gently pull on it as you rotate the gear. Place it in the middle and on the ends and compare the drag.

[femaster]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

My thoughts would be:

1) Check the pressure roller in the fuser, make sure it's not soft, or missing it's outer layer in the middle where the ghosting is happening.
2) Check the cleaning blade in the PCU. I've seen similar things like this when a scrap of paper gets caught in the cleaning blade of the PCU. No idea how it got in there, but it did...
3) A long shot, but check pressure roller bushings. The bushings on these units wear out (made of plastic) and the fusing unit can not apply the proper pressure. This usually causes ghosting on the whole page, not just a strip, but it's a thought.

I'm leaning towards #2 above, but it wouldn't hurt to check them all.

EDIT: Oops, missed the part about having cleaned the PCU already, Scratch #2 then...

[Counsel]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

Just to check but this is regular 20# plain/recycled paper right not something thicker. Also is the transfer roller new or is there any damage or wear that would cause toner to be left on the drum (even though the blade should clean that off). I would also check the Fuser SP's and make the temps have not been changed from their defaults. I haven't run across any ghosting other then a fuser problem before, other then wrong paper type settings trying to heat thin when the paper is thick.

Oh also you can open the fuser and the two springs that hook on the pressure roller levers have a second notch, I had one not fusing well before on some paper types so I moved the springs to the smaller notch to give it a little more pressure could be worth a try.

[memauri]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

cambia la lama di pulizia e' risolvi lo sdoppiamento di immagine

[mikadonovan]

Re: Ricoh 2020 - ghost image problem

cambia la lama di pulizia e' risolvi lo sdoppiamento di immagine

Not much help considering a lot of us don't speak Italian.