Sharp AR-BC260 Light black copies
Copies and prints are light only for black. CM&Y are all fine. Rebuilt Drum unit and and almost no improvement. It gets better when I tweak the bias but I don't want to leave it like that. Anyone have any suggestions?
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You may have a cracked developer drive gear or you may have a bad toner cartridge. Both are very common.
The developing drive gears are on the inside of the rear frame. They can be reached from the front if you bring along a friend with very thin arms. My arms are too big to reach the drive gears. They just snap into the shaft. Also make sure each (there are 4, one for each color, all identical) has the prescribed shim to reduce wear.
If neither of these do the trick its time for a Color Calibration.
=^..^=If you'd like a serious answer to your request:
1) demonstrate that you've read the manual
2) demonstrate that you made some attempt to fix it.
3) if you're going to ask about jams include the jam code.
4) if you're going to ask about an error code include the error code.
5) You are the person onsite. Only you can make observations.
blackcat: Master Of The Obvious =^..^= -
I have worked on many printers in my lifetime and that one was one of the worst for copy quality. I will not try to guide you in any adjustments because there are many. I will offer you the service manual if you do not have it. Im me with e-mail if interested.Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men -- the other 999 follow women.Comment
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Bill's right. It's two hours of delight calibrating this little sweetie. I had to make myself a checklist to remember all the steps.
You see, if you skip steps it will end up worse than you started.
=^..^=If you'd like a serious answer to your request:
1) demonstrate that you've read the manual
2) demonstrate that you made some attempt to fix it.
3) if you're going to ask about jams include the jam code.
4) if you're going to ask about an error code include the error code.
5) You are the person onsite. Only you can make observations.
blackcat: Master Of The Obvious =^..^=Comment
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I never got the bloody forearms because I only get 3" past the wrist. I'm not even close to reaching the gears. The first few times, I found a cute secretary to change the gears for me (and yes, the grease helps).
But then one time the only person with small enough arms was the IT guy, so I figured I'd have to figure out something. I made a 18" long hooked tool that does the task, made of 1/2" hard copper pipe.
=^..^=If you'd like a serious answer to your request:
1) demonstrate that you've read the manual
2) demonstrate that you made some attempt to fix it.
3) if you're going to ask about jams include the jam code.
4) if you're going to ask about an error code include the error code.
5) You are the person onsite. Only you can make observations.
blackcat: Master Of The Obvious =^..^=Comment
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Never had those gears cause completly light copies only lines and areas of light copies. Sharp changed the gears so the bushings inside were beefier but they still crack all the time. I would try the toner/developer cartridge and check the primary transfer belt. There is a tab that breaks on the transfer belt assy. that causes the roller for the black drum to fall away from the underside of the belt. Also an issue with where the belt unit attaches to the rear frame on the black drum side. Also make sure you have the current firmware or at least close to it. Check sim 44-4 and see if you can scroll to Q and R. If you can, Q should be set to 72 and R should be set to 0. If you can only scroll to P then you have old firmware that does not support the changes Sharp made to the toner cartridges. Also their great idea to spin the Mag roller backward every so often to prevent toner from caking up and killing the cartridge. What was Sharp thinking (or not thinking) with this model! These all should be loaded on a plane and dumped somewhere far away, I still have scars from jamming my arm inside this beast to change gears that had been changed before. (I swear I heard the machine chuckle as it sliced my arm!) And talk about firmware upgrade. The only cool thing was the picture of the panther on the icon. ugg!Comment
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If both copies & prints are light on black only, and you're sure the toner cartridge is ok, try these ideas I know very well....
1. Check LED unit focus adjustment for problem color. Sim 61-04, make very fine adjustments to front & rear taper screws which raise & lower LED unit above the drum. Once focus is correct, you should see an even band of colors across page. This should make a light print/copy much darker. It is a total pain in the ass procedure as each adjustment will require another page printed to check the focus levels. Trick front cover switch to prevent machine warming up after each adjustment to save time. Remember, make very minor adjustments only.... if you go too far, it can take a very long time to get it back to even close to where you started.
2. I've had a few machines with a hard toner buildup on the LED unit (especially on the yellow as its closest to the fuser - seems to bake the toner onto the nearby LED). This only is with clients who do long runs of heavy coverage. Just wiping the LED with the drum unit felt pad is sometimes not enough. Wipe & rub the problem LED unit with something strong like Metho or a good cleaning product. Wipe it dry & try copy/print again. You will be surprised how much crap comes off those LED units, obviously preventing an even coverage drum write. Dont be afraid to use something strong on the LED's, I've done it many times and it works very well. Just dont scratch them of course.
Mtech is right....A light/faint print copy on one color is not a cracked drive gear. This only causes a line on each drum rotation at that point of contact with the gear.
PS.... dont even bother with the shim for each gear.... total waste of time. Even the latest part number which is supposed to be a stronger plastic gear will still crack, just like the rest of them. The shim made no difference.
I too am scared by these machines. Lost a very big chunk out of my left thumb from changing yet another cracked gear. A permanent reminder I see everyday of how much I give for my job.Comment
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I went out to the same model machine last week, with a simular complaint. All it needed was the print head cleaned off. I did this to all colors even though the complaint was for Bk.Comment
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lucky me
Looks like I may have one of these wonderful little cracked gears.
I can tell there is no way I would be able to get my arm in from the front, I hope I can manage it by going in the back with the transfer belt pulled.
If i did get my arm in from the front I sure would never get it back out lol.
Now I just need to look up the part number and source it..
thanks for the info guys.Comment
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The part number is NGERH1530FCZ3. You can't get to the gear through the back as the shaft is press fit to the inside rear frame of the machine. If you take the transfer belt out you may be able to get in from the under side. The gear comes off easy, just pull. There is no e-clip so that is also cool. Good luck.Comment
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I made a tool to remove and install these gears out of a long roller shaft, a thin piece of plate steel and a cut down 12Ga shotgun shell.
I'll try to remmeber to snap some pics tomorrow and i'll post'em.
Although, I don't think cracked gears are the only problem the OP is having.Comment
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Well I managed to get the gear on by pulling the transfer belt and the two drums and toners between the magenta drive gear and the side of the machine...
It was not easy though..if it had been one color further away I would have been in trouble. Now that I have a gear (the broken one) to work with I'm sure I can come up with some kind of tool to get at them.Comment
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