strange toner loading problem

[cleardata]

hi to all,

model is aficio 3045. with less than a hundred copies it shows the add toner message though the bottle is still almost full. i open and closed the front cover but what i see is the drawing of the machine with a message of add toner. i turned the machine off and on then opened and closed machine then loading toner appeared then the machine is ready. after about a hundred copies again the add toner message appears again the same problems again and again. i can only make the machine load toner properly if i turn it off and on.

what i did so far:
replaced front cover switch
replaced toner hopper with bottle from good unit and cleaned the hopper and mylars are good.
replaced the dev unit and it has new developer
took out the drum unit cover and cheated the switch to see if the toner is being supplied from the hopper to the dev. unit meaning the bottle motor is ok since i saw toner dropping from PCU to dev unit.
replaced power supply

problems still not solved.
could it be an iob problem or how come that i have to turn the machine off and on for it to actually load toner and show toner loading?

please help.
thank you.

[Iowatech]

Re: strange toner loading problem

Check again if the developer unit is in good shape, if the developer mixers aren't rotating because the unit isn't seated correctly it will give you false out of toner messages. Also, make sure the toner path through the PCU is OK, too. Including the toner recycling auger.
If you are going to change the IOB, you should replace the toner bottle drive motor too, otherwise a bad motor will wreck the new board.
The toner for the 35/45 CPM machines has changed rather drastically over time, so make sure you are using the correct toner. The bottles the different toners come in are different enough that a wrong toner bottle won't work, making the machine show out of toner while the bottle is full.

[cleardata]

Re: strange toner loading problem

Check again if the developer unit is in good shape, if the developer mixers aren't rotating because the unit isn't seated correctly it will give you false out of toner messages. Also, make sure the toner path through the PCU is OK, too. Including the toner recycling auger.
If you are going to change the IOB, you should replace the toner bottle drive motor too, otherwise a bad motor will wreck the new board.
The toner for the 35/45 CPM machines has changed rather drastically over time, so make sure you are using the correct toner. The bottles the different toners come in are different enough that a wrong toner bottle won't work, making the machine show out of toner while the bottle is full.

thank you iowatech.
yes the developing unit is in good shape and the toner path from PCU to dev unit is ok.
toner and bottle are correct.
i will try replacing both IOB and toner motor.
do you think the IOB is causing this problem?

[Exok]

Re: strange toner loading problem

In my experience on this model, most often the problem is caused by the toner hopper. On many machines I've serviced with a false add toner message, the problem was that the mechanism on the toner hopper that grabs the cap and pulls it open on the toner bottle is the cause. Check to see if this piece opens up all the way before inserting the toner bottle. I've had to take this apart and bend the 4 fingers back so that when reinstalled, they open fully so that the part on the toner bottle cap can now be grabbed and the cap pulled open. There are also 4 small mylars that can break off causing the unit to clog but I think you mentioned that you already checked them.

[vargue]

Re: strange toner loading problem

i encountered this thread in af-2045 toner signal detect every 10 papers and sc450 appeard and every thing all right .developer tank was sluggish. roll magnatic make overload on development motor then. it's stop,. swap with another developer tank.

[johnyb]

Re: strange toner loading problem

In my experience on this model, most often the problem is caused by the toner hopper. On many machines I've serviced with a false add toner message, the problem was that the mechanism on the toner hopper that grabs the cap and pulls it open on the toner bottle is the cause. Check to see if this piece opens up all the way before inserting the toner bottle. I've had to take this apart and bend the 4 fingers back so that when reinstalled, they open fully so that the part on the toner bottle cap can now be grabbed and the cap pulled open. There are also 4 small mylars that can break off causing the unit to clog but I think you mentioned that you already checked them.

Also within the toner hopper there are plastic mylars that come off so the toner wont agitate correctly and drop into the dev unit, it may be worth checking that they are sill intact.

[cleardata]

Re: strange toner loading problem

thank you for your replies.

mylar is good.
developer in good shape and mixes well.
hopper is good.
bottle is correct.
toner bottle motor is good.

what i did today:
replaced IOB
replaced toner bottle motor together with IOB

after a few hundred copies add toner appeared then i open and close the front cover but the "LOADING TONER" message does not appear.
i took out the toner bottle and held the toner bottle motor if it turns and cheated the front cover but the bottle motor does not turn, naturally because loading toner does not appear.
i turned off and on the machine then open and close the front cover and "loading toner" appeared.
i checked if the bottle motor is strong enough to turn the bottle and yes it's good.

my question is how come that when add toner appears, i have to turn off and on the machine for it load toner or for it to display the "LOADING TONER" message? if i will not turn it off, the machine will not load toner when i open and close the front cover.

in short, replacing the IOB and toner bottle motor did not solve the problem.

hoping for your help.
please help.
thank you.

[Bantams]

Re: strange toner loading problem

There was a faulty batch of Toner with these machines make sure you are not using one of the faulty toners theres a bulletin about it somewhere you have to vac out the entire PCU unit and re dev the machine if you have used the faulty toners.

[Jomama46]

Re: strange toner loading problem

Wow, less than 100 copies. Probably frozen from non-use since it was discontinued in 2005.
But you can open the right door and remove the pcu, then turn on the bottle motor and ensure the bottle is turning. Also remove the hopper and bottle, turn the bottle in the hopper (with the value open) and ensure toner is coming out.

[TonerMunkeh]

Re: strange toner loading problem

Has this machine been subjected to a memory clear recently? Are you using B079 developer and OEM toner?

[mikadonovan]

Re: strange toner loading problem

Still sounds like a problem with the toner supply unit. Seen that a bunch of times. Oh, and use the output mode to test the toner bottle motor. Output and input modes are a great troubleshooting tools.

[cleardata]

Re: strange toner loading problem

Has this machine been subjected to a memory clear recently? Are you using B079 developer and OEM toner?

no it hasn't. i'm thinking that would be my next move. what i did to make sure that the toner really drops from PCU to the dev unit was i took out the PCU front cover (the bulky one that locks the PCU) and cheated the front cover and did force toner. toner was flowing smoothly. of the many af3045's we have in the field this is the first time i encountered this problem and this has been used by our client for about a year with not much of a problem until recently.

what normally happens is this:
add toner appears then we replace toner and close the front door and "LOADING TONER" appears on the screen.

but with this machine:
add toner appears then we replace toner and close the front door but "LOADING TONER" does not appear. i had to turn the machine off then turn it back on then open the front cover and close it and "loading toner" appears and after loading it's ready.

maybe something's wrong with it's program.

[Herrmann]

Re: strange toner loading problem

I would suggest you to upgrade/reload the firmware to the latest and greatest, then, after printing the smc lists, do a complete NVRAM reset and see, what happens.
BTW.: what are the values of SP3103 and SP2223 ?

[Herostrat]

Re: strange toner loading problem

I had similar wierd problem on one messy 45... it turns out to be bias plate at the back of dev assembly.
As u stated above 10 prints>add toner>open front doors>load tonner (sometimes I had to turn off and on)
You meantioned that you allready changed dev assy with a good one so it probbably isn't the bias plate in your case.
Your toner motor seems to be working propper yet I saw few toner motors on field doing half cycle clockwise and then quarter cycle counterclockwise...just to mention
As herman stated before me what are the voltages cause on mine machine it was the "scary" 5V ...and the kanundram involving that.
I agree with herman that it might be software glitch,I only heard about colegue doing once a SC reset on one 35 and it worked smootly while I had several MP2000 that I had to do SC reset.
It's like machine "locks on" what is current state of TD sensor and no matter how much toner it adds it's still the same.

[cleardata]

Re: strange toner loading problem

I would suggest you to upgrade/reload the firmware to the latest and greatest, then, after printing the smc lists, do a complete NVRAM reset and see, what happens.
BTW.: what are the values of SP3103 and SP2223 ?

sp3103 is .31 and sp2223 is 268.

i made a temporary fix with the machine and so far it's working fine now.

the problem that the machine won't display "loading toner" after opening and closing the front cover is an nvram issue.

thank you for all your help.
more power to all.