Typical problems we see in the field

    
By Raymond Cote

Now that summer is over, and most workers are back from vacation we will start to see a gradual increase in volumes at our production accounts.  Hopefully, with a strong economy, volumes will start to build and printers will start to smile a lot more.  In checking with some fellow Independent Service Providers I have discovered that printers, in general, have been very quiet over the summer. And I’m sure we are all prepared for the initial surge of business and the gearing up of all high speed copiers and printers. 

Keep in mind that if your customer’s copiers and printers were quiet over the summer they may experience start up pains in September.  It seems to happen every year after a quiet summer when the copiers are barely being utilized or if the copier was unplugged and sitting there idle most of the motors will have a tendency to let the lubricants flow to their lowest point until they are started up again. By the time the tech rep gets to the account the copiers and printers are humming along because the lubricants have finally migrated to the critical areas.  In a situation like this it is recommended that the technician should exercise the complete machine: (i.e.) program a small job that will exercise every feature on the copier.  In the Docutech load 50 originals in the document handler and program the printer to make 24 sets of dual stapled sets. On the second run select two sided printing with a front cover from tray 1 and a rear cover from tray 2, 24 sets to the finisher, two staples.  All too often when we arrive at an account we have a tendency to fix the immediate problem and then beat it out the front door before something else happens. When we stress test the whole machine it insures that everything is working properly. And the customer sees that.  They might complain that you are using too much paper or are keeping the machine too long and work is building up, but the final analysis is you are looking for the next problem and addressing it before it happens. We call it Preventative Maintenance. Before you close out the call check the HSFI’s to see what is due.  Physically check the filter bag (pink filter 53K753) in the back of the copier, if the bag seems heavy,  change it.  In the field I have seen the HSFI component counters adjusted to 1,000K. That’s way too high; it should be about 500K for most applications unless you have a super high volume copier that is doing one million or more a month. 

I would like to thank all the Independent Technicians, and self-maintainers who have supplied information, questions and suggestions to me. Please keep the information flowing and I will share it with the field.  As a result of this information we have edited it and will share it with the field.  

A technician from NY writes:  I was having an intermittent problem with 06-236 system faults in my Xerox 5090 copier. I went through the RAPS’s on several occasions and everything seems to check out. All voltages recommended in the RAPS were present; all electrical components have been swapped out with other devices that were known to be in working order.   What was frustrating is after each visit the copier seems to be working and the problem seems to have been resolved. Sometimes it lasts for two or three days and then the 06-236 problem comes back to haunt the customer.  On the third visit (for the same problem) I replaced the Illumination power supply. This fixed the problem for about three hours of running time. On close examination of the old power supply, I noticed the J3 connector (on the IPS) pins 1 and 2 were slightly discolored. On closer examination pin 2 was burned and pitted so badly I was amazed it worked at all. Then pin 2 was examined on P257 (the mate for J3). At first glance the pin appeared to be in good shape but it had to be extracted to fully examine the pin. After using the pin extractor tool I noticed that not only the pin popped out but so did the wire that was supposed to be connected to the pin. The true culprit here was the pin was not crimped to the wire properly in the first place. It’s possible that the last technician tried to fix this problem and replaced the pin in the jack thinking he may have done it properly.

Dicorotrons and Housings have been an issue for quite some time and there is a certain amount of mystique when they are replaced.  Techs have often inquired as to when Dicorotron housings should be replaced. Before the Dicorotron wire was available (48K56790) it was a no brainier, the HSFI screen would tell you to replace them, or when they failed (PO9-201). Refer to Xerox bulletin number 701P92897 for additional information. However with the replacement wire the housings have an extended service life. The following copiers are affected by the replacement wire: 1075, 1090, 4050, 4090, 4135, 4635, 4635 MICR, 154,4650,4890,4850,5088,5090,5090S, 5390, 5388, 5680, 5692, Docutech 90, Docutech 135, 6180 and Docutech 96.

The problem was excessive cost in replacing the complete assembly (housing and wire). When you compare the cost of the replacement wire to the Dicorotron assembly it becomes abundantly clear which direction you would like to follow.  The solution was the introduction of the Dicorotron wire assembly (48K56790) to be used in all housing assemblies 802K19830 (white) and 48K78750 (Yellow). The recommended Dicorotron Housing replacement was “only when required”.  What does that mean?  This seems to be the mystique part of replacing the Dicorotron housing assembly.  It is STRONGLY recommended that you do not use any type of liquid to clean the housing assembly like film remover or water. Any type of liquid will damage the DAG coating. The white deposits that form on the DAG coating are a normal part of the aging process and will not affect the operation of the device in any way.  Only use a dry soft cloth to clean the housing.  Compressed air will facilitate the removal of toner build up on the device and restore it to its original condition.  After cleaning the Dicorotron housing assembly inspect the DAG for signs of damage (from cleaning). If you suspect the coating is worn or in some way is not evenly coated, discard the housing and install a new one.  Copies of this bulletin can be obtained via e-mail from VillageCopierNY@AOL.COM. 

Ozone deletions can be a side effect of a Dicorotron assembly that has a worn DAG coating. The Ozone gas could have an effect on the Dicorotron assembly, which could (in return) have an effect on your photoreceptor belt. I have only seen it three times in my career but the Dicorotron will become contaminated with Ozone gas and the only way to recover from this is to replace all 6 Dicorotron Housing assemblies with new ones. Otherwise the Ozone gas that is trapped in the contaminated Housings will continually destroy the Photoreceptor belt.  For those of you out there that are wondering what DAG stands for it is defined as “Dimetreous Agueous Graphite” coating.  Which, by the way, is a lead water based paint that keeps the resistance of the Dicorotron shield and the Housing very high.  Now you can see why water should never be used to clean the Housing assembly.    

If you have a unique problem and you would like help with, or have a unique fix for a problem, do not hesitate to contact us with your concerns.  I can be contacted at the above e-mail address and will always try to help out. There are also a number of field service field engineers out here that will go to great lengths to help you out.