C454e cyan developer

[copier tech]

What about HVT lines on these. Did you check contacts for evidence of arcing? That can be tricky fo trace.

Nothing obvious print quality is perfect if the hvt was failing I'd expect to see a quality issue.

[3ktlc]

We have had issues with the cyan developer units also. Just had 3 go bad last week. All less than 10k on them

[copyman]

Search this forum for "4" series developer. I posted a konica minolta bulletin addressing Cyan & Magenta developer units crashing because of overlife consumables. Usually it's the same color drum but "ANY" other drum can cause a developer unit to crash. And even an overlife transfer belt or HV shorting out can cause developer failure but less common. It's usually the drum being way overlife. It's something we have to live with if we are going to turn off the end of life messages! Still think you are way head of the game even if you have to buy a new dev unit.

[vedder]

I am currently facing this problem, machine going through cyan dev units, customer has always replaced consumables when required, all tcr readings are correct, the last time i went I replaced dev unit, hv board, all contacts to all dev units, anything I could think of, problem returned within weeks. We have a fair few Konica`s out there and only come across this twice, both machines were very high milage machines, nearly 2 million clicks, heavy coverage and heavy stock, thats the only link I can find between them. Its obviously a known cyan issue because if you buy a unit online, the cyan dev is a lot more expensive than any of the other colours.

I have spoken to Konica regarding this and the response was "try a hv board, that might work"

[copyman]

I am currently facing this problem, machine going through cyan dev units, customer has always replaced consumables when required, all tcr readings are correct, the last time i went I replaced dev unit, hv board, all contacts to all dev units, anything I could think of, problem returned within weeks. We have a fair few Konica`s out there and only come across this twice, both machines were very high milage machines, nearly 2 million clicks, heavy coverage and heavy stock, thats the only link I can find between them. Its obviously a known cyan issue because if you buy a unit online, the cyan dev is a lot more expensive than any of the other colours.

I have spoken to Konica regarding this and the response was "try a hv board, that might work"

First advice is never ask Kon/Min for tech support. They will always tell you it's a bad board when 99% of the time it's not! When you call them they pull up the same knowledge base that you can do if you are a dealer. Only difference is they start at the bottom of the troubleshooting chart blaming a bad board.

Anyway about your problem, using "genuine" toner? New transfer belt? Since high milage machines it could be many things but you have covered most of them. Sounds like you are a Kon/Min dealer if you were able to call/access the knowledge base, if so search for C454 dev units. There are several bulletins addressing this.
Would also look closely at and replace the HV wiring, one of the bulletins addresses this.

[vedder]

First advice is never ask Kon/Min for tech support. They will always tell you it's a bad board when 99% of the time it's not! When you call them they pull up the same knowledge base that you can do if you are a dealer. Only difference is they start at the bottom of the troubleshooting chart blaming a bad board.

Anyway about your problem, using "genuine" toner? New transfer belt? Since high milage machines it could be many things but you have covered most of them. Sounds like you are a Kon/Min dealer if you were able to call/access the knowledge base, if so search for C454 dev units. There are several bulletins addressing this.
Would also look closely at and replace the HV wiring, one of the bulletins addresses this.

Hi Copyman,

Yeah I only went thorough Konica as a matter of procedure, wasn`t convinced myself, but as this wasn`t the first time they had had this issue, I had to get Konica involved. I have trawled through all the threads/ bulletins regarding this issue and there doesn`t seem to be a definate solution, what seems to fix it for 1 person doesn`t for someone else, I have pretty much done all the things suggested regarding toner filtration, tcr level adjustments, hv wiring and what not.

The customer is using genuine toner, all units are within life, my only thought is now the belt, just because it`s within life doesn`t mean it`s perfect, looks ok, slight wear, is it enough to cause the problem? who knows, without throwing ANOTHER cyan dev unit and belt at it, we wont know.

It wouldnt be so bad if you could just get a bag of dev, pour in, fit some other bits and try again, but the price of a new dev unit everytime is ridiculous.

[kenpio]

Thanks for all the responses. Just some input here. The drums and transfer belt and roller are way under the usage. Gas gauge is at about half to three quarters on all. There are no C-codes, just in the service mode I get the oil can that has a P-21, color alignment. I have had an 8 series, turn it on and it emptied the developer. These are over a month or two. I have returned the developers to KM under their YYP program, well the Cyan DV units are back ordered. I guess this might mean there may be a problem with these? Don't know?

Thanks
KEN

[vedder]

Thanks for all the responses. Just some input here. The drums and transfer belt and roller are way under the usage. Gas gauge is at about half to three quarters on all. There are no C-codes, just in the service mode I get the oil can that has a P-21, color alignment. I have had an 8 series, turn it on and it emptied the developer. These are over a month or two. I have returned the developers to KM under their YYP program, well the Cyan DV units are back ordered. I guess this might mean there may be a problem with these? Don't know?

Thanks
KEN

There is definately a problem, its not a new thing, check out this thread it was started in 2014. Some people seem to have it more than others, like I say I`ve only come across it twice, 1st customer decieded to scrap it and get a new machine, the second customer is contemplating the same, so i`ve never come to a definate fix.

C224e/C284e/C364e/C454e/C545e cyan dev unit problems

[tsbservice]

​In that case I would go for:
A161R70211 HV Contact Assy - 1 for affected color or 4 for all colors
A161R70322 DV Contact Assy
Those are so cheap especially compared to ridiculous price of color Developer units plus visual inspection will not always show clear signs of arcing or bad contacts.

[vedder]

​In that case I would go for:
A161R70211 HV Contact Assy - 1 for affected color or 4 for all colors
A161R70322 DV Contact Assy
Those are so cheap especially compared to ridiculous price of color Developer units plus visual inspection will not always show clear signs of arcing or bad contacts.

Hi tsbservice,

here is a list of what I replaced,

A5C1M40600 - high voltage board
A161R70322 - dv contact assy
A161R70211 - hv contact ass X4
A161N12P01 - charging wire k
A161N12N01 - charging wire c
A161N12M01 - charging wire m
A161N12K01 - charging wire y
Dv - 512c - cyan dev unit

We are obviously thinking along the same lines since you recommended what I actually fit, unfortunatly it didn`t work.

While I had the machine apart, everything was cleaned out (toner filter systems, filters) and visually checked over.