The Fixes You Don't Find in The Manual

By Raymond Cote

Several customer field engineers have submitted a number of problems to me over the last several months. I would like to address the issues they brought up because they seem to represent what I refer to as the usual “run of the mill” problems that we will find in the field. As I have said in the past, documentation for the Xerox family of high-speed copiers is quite extensive and, in my opinion, quite thorough. However, there are those electro-mechanical problems that seem to defy the logic of the Repair Analysis Procedures and require a little more thought in the troubleshooting process.As employees of a service organization, we would have a few luxuries at our disposal—and if we were smart we would take advantage of them as we saw fit. For example, if we were in the field troubleshooting a unique problem, we would not hesitate to call a co-worker and try to pick his/her brain for some useful information regarding our crisis. However, as an independent service provider we sometimes do not have that luxury when we are in the field with an exotic service problem. It’s a sink-or-swim situation until you actually fix the problem. Several independent service providers have formed loose associations with other independent service providers, and to me that makes perfect sense.

In the long run, it has been my observation to “return to basics”—and the basics are in the service manual under “Adjustments.” All too often, we try to tweak an adjustment until we are successful in accomplishing our goal. In all reality, if we actually look in the manual we would be surprised at how simple most of the adjustments are and how quickly they are to do.

12-144     Shutdown code in the Finisher. This fault is rather common in the 5090 family of finishers and the documentation most of the time will bring you to the conclusion. Usually we get somewhat distracted in our troubleshooting in this fault and become sidetracked.

If the above checks are OK, the next step is to check out the airlines to the stitches A & B. Are we losing air pressure in these lines? Investigate both check valves (53E831) in the finisher air system; ensure they are both intact and working properly. Continue with the 12-143/144 RAP, and if it does not fix the problem return to this procedure. Check the Vertical Clamp Position (ADJ 12.19) and make sure the Bins clamp height and Parallelism is adjusted correctly. Check and observe the air pressure at all times; it should be 37 pounds (+/- 2 pounds).

 If you observe the Stacker clamp interfering or upsetting the stack while it is trying to grab the set and send it to the Stacker, then we should look at the Position A Solenoid (121K3002). Some of the newer Solenoids have an adjustment valve on them to regulate the air pressure to the Set Transport Clamp. It has been my observation that the Stacker Clamp seems to open late and in doing so it upsets the neat stack that is waiting to be transported to the stacker. Adjust the valve on the Set Position Solenoid until the sets are transported without any sheets getting knocked off. It seems that the Set Transport Clamp is late (sluggish) in opening up, and because it is late in opening it will come into contact with the set. Experiment with the adjustment valve and observe the best position setting. When making this adjustment turn the valve only a half turn at a time, run a few sets and repeat the adjustment if necessary.

06-234 Flash Faults: OEM flash lamps may cost a little more but they seem to last a lot longer. Sometimes we purchase parts from vendors that are supposed to be equal in quality and cost a lot less. As an independent service technician it makes sense to be frugal when it comes to spending someone else’s money on parts. When it comes to the heart of Xerographics, though, you can’t make those cost-effective decisions without having to pay in the long run. Case in point: Generic Flash Lamps (122E273) have a limited life span; in my experience they last only 850,000 copies (on average). Xerox flash lamps for the 5090 family will go way beyond that. Keeping this in mind when troubleshooting a 06-234 system flash lamp fault will help you in the resolution of this fault.

Check the condition of the flash lamps—are they crystal-clear? Or are they cloudy? If there is any distortion on the glass envelope then it’s time to replace the flash lamps. When you order new flash lamps, order part number 122E275. The difference in this lamp is that there is a wider set of contacts on the center of the flash lamp (envelope) and it will make better contact for the trigger current.

Raymond Cote can be reached at 718-931-2830 or e-mail: VillageCopierNY@AOL.COM.