enx magazine

With financial times getting a little bit tighter out there, our industry will likely see more folks going back to fixing stuff instead of simply replacing it. The repair end of this wonderful industry has long been known to be relatively recession-proof. When times are good, machines sell. When times are not as good, machines get repaired more often than not. Fuser Modules for the Xerox brand office machines represent a great example of an opportunity to save your customer some bread while making more money for yourself than you would if you only sold new fusers. With the machines getting to be so modular, the fuser is a no-brainer to replace. But then what? Do you throw out the core or fix it up for the next customer? Here is a machine which I think you will agree is worth learning about. The WorkCentre 4150 is just beginning to come off of manufacturer warranty and the fusers are going to need replacing (or repairing if you will). Parts are available and the fuser is pretty easy to take apart as we'll see in this article. We'll start with an overview and get into the procedure of taking one apart. Then we'll wrap up with some information about the Status Codes relating to the fuser, learn how to troubleshoot those codes and nail down how to reset the fuser's counter.

Xerox® WorkCentre 4150 Fuser Module

The WorkCentre 4150, 4150s, 4150x, and 4150xf machines all use a fuser sold as a complete unit under the part number 002N02557 which retails for around $310.00.

The parts in this particular fuser are actually spared (a rare occasion for Xerox these days and worthy of applause!). The Heat Roller / Heat Element assembly and the Pressure Roller are spared, as are most of the other pieces of any real importance; thermistor assembly, thermal fuse assembly, Picker Fingers, Bearings, Bushings, Idler Gear, etc…

Another nice thing about this type of fuser is that there are no sneaky kill chips or identifying / indexing resistors to worry about (at least none that I was able to detect or find reference to). The fuser counter can be reset from the diagnostics although the machine will continue running even if the fuser is over its threshold, only stopping if a problem is detected with the fuser's performance.

The machine itself will remind you at first glance of the M20 / 4118 model machines, but it's much beefier and runs 45 pages per minute. The fuser likewise is built for the extra speed and volume. Like the M20, this one does not use a traditional Heat Lamp, but instead employs a Heat Element which is built right into the Heat Roller Assembly. If you ever dissect one, you'll find

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