Anyone Seen This Test Print Before With A Roland?

[player]

I have a VP540i and have had some goofy stuff going on.

First the keypad got some nonsense messages. Then I took the ribbon cable out of the keypad and re-inserted it. This worked for a few test prints, then a day or two later I did a manual clean, and did one perfect test print, then this happened. I fiddled with the cable again and I got a good one, then I got the black bar again.

Since I got good test prints off, I don't think the error is head related. I am looking for a new ribbon cable to go to the keypad.

Questions: Does anyone know what the problem is with my printer?

Does anyone know where I can get the ribbon cable from the keypad to the board?

Unrelated does anyone know where I can get replacement hose to the pumps and from the pumps to the drain?

Thanks

 

[Papajo]

Hello player.

Did you intervene on the heads ? That usually happens when you spill ink on the flat cables or heads during a head replacement or if the head flat cables are improperly seated.

Even if you did nothing inside the head carriage, I'd advise you to check the flat cables on the black head and/or replace them. It can also be caused by the long flat cables that go from the main board to the carriage board (those that follow the ink lines), but those are tricky to replace so you may want to check them last.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Papajo is right. Somewhere along the line there is a short causing the signal to the head to malfunction. It tends to be bad cables but it can also be ink splatter on the head electronics. In Mutohs it is almost always the trailing cables and Rolands function similar to the Mutohs.

 

[player]

Thanks guys. Any good source for Roland cables?

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

Thanks guys. Any good source for Roland cables?

DIGIPRINT SUPPLIES

 

[printhog]

those are TWO different problems. not one.

WEIRD DISPLAY:
You said you got "nonsense" on the display before the cable swap action... you didnt say what occurred before that, the history of the machine in days prior, or why you opted for the cable as the issue.. was there physical damage to it?.. An instance of a display showing anything weird would likely not be a cable unless it has damage. It should never need replacing as it gets connect once or twice in its life usually...the keyboard though could go bad from physical use. I think your wonky display issue is either:

1. a main board problem,
2. an intermittent power issue (would totally fail soon),
3. firmware issue or
4. a bad keypad/display unit.

FULL WEB SOLID K CHANNEL BAND:
The black band is not a head oriented problem. Also likely not a main cable as you have data getting thru.. I'm inclined to say its farther back in the sequence than the heads.. as its apparently sending some data signal to the head, just not the right data and intermittently it prints right. What you didnt say is that when it goes bad - does it print all four color bars properly but with crap for K, or if its only printing the solid K bar over previously printed test patterns, or some mashup of those? The pic is confusing without seeing it actually run. One has data getting to the heads, one doesnt, and one is a mix. It shouldnt print a full sweep of K with a print test. It shouldnt print a full web sweep on any test except the service level headrun of all 4 colors. I'm leaning to the servo board on this issue as it ties to the keypad and to the apparent mis-registration of the K test bars. Servo Boards go bad with media strikes, users pulling media thru when grippers are engaged, cabling changes under power, firmware glitches and with power fluctuations.

FIX
The cheapest fix attempt is to try a firmware flash to see if it developed a glitch somewhere that made the display go wonky and the motion side to go bad. Pull the backup battery on the board and let it sit for an while to discharge before you load new firmware. A glitch in the display would be more inline with the interface than the hardware and a randomly occurring error where the machine resets would also imply firmware.

When you pulled the cable you may have made another error on top of the first fail. These machines are great for cascading problems from user attempts at service without using the service manual. My first Roland had four different issues caused by a noob technician.

Did you power off, unplug, and ground when you did the cable thing, or did you just unplug/replug? The first is fine, the latter is potential to short the board..

This is an example of serious service needs - you'll need a proper service manual, some tools, and likely a dealer tech to really fix it.

Ive had good luck with MacMedia out of New York for troubleshooting, but some users here have had issue with them.

 

[player]

those are TWO different problems. not one.

WEIRD DISPLAY:
You said you got "nonsense" on the display before the cable swap action... you didnt say what occurred before that, the history of the machine in days prior, or why you opted for the cable as the issue.. was there physical damage to it?.. An instance of a display showing anything weird would likely not be a cable unless it has damage. It should never need replacing as it gets connect once or twice in its life usually...the keyboard though could go bad from physical use. I think your wonky display issue is either:

1. a main board problem,
2. an intermittent power issue (would totally fail soon),
3. firmware issue or
4. a bad keypad/display unit.

FULL WEB SOLID K CHANNEL BAND:
The black band is not a head oriented problem. Also likely not a main cable as you have data getting thru.. I'm inclined to say its farther back in the sequence than the heads.. as its apparently sending some data signal to the head, just not the right data and intermittently it prints right. What you didnt say is that when it goes bad - does it print all four color bars properly but with crap for K, or if its only printing the solid K bar over previously printed test patterns, or some mashup of those? The pic is confusing without seeing it actually run. One has data getting to the heads, one doesnt, and one is a mix. It shouldnt print a full sweep of K with a print test. It shouldnt print a full web sweep on any test except the service level headrun of all 4 colors. I'm leaning to the servo board on this issue as it ties to the keypad and to the apparent mis-registration of the K test bars. Servo Boards go bad with media strikes, users pulling media thru when grippers are engaged, cabling changes under power, firmware glitches and with power fluctuations.

FIX
The cheapest fix attempt is to try a firmware flash to see if it developed a glitch somewhere that made the display go wonky and the motion side to go bad. Pull the backup battery on the board and let it sit for an while to discharge before you load new firmware. A glitch in the display would be more inline with the interface than the hardware and a randomly occurring error where the machine resets would also imply firmware.

When you pulled the cable you may have made another error on top of the first fail. These machines are great for cascading problems from user attempts at service without using the service manual. My first Roland had four different issues caused by a noob technician.

Did you power off, unplug, and ground when you did the cable thing, or did you just unplug/replug? The first is fine, the latter is potential to short the board..

This is an example of serious service needs - you'll need a proper service manual, some tools, and likely a dealer tech to really fix it.

Ive had good luck with MacMedia out of New York for troubleshooting, but some users here have had issue with them.

Thank you for your post and experience.

I have not used the machine much. I do regular cleanings and test prints. I have a cyan bar that is missing, so I replaced the cap, to see if there was an issue with the captop. It was after that (days later) the screen went weird. I pushed the keypad cable in and it worked, but then didn't, then more wiggling and it worked. Days later it did the weird black bar. No printing between.

I will have to watch it closely to see if it is printing the test pattern completely or exactly what it is doing.

When I was messing with it I had the power unplugged and I kept myself grounded to the chassis by touch.

I am waiting for a new ribbon cable, but I am not sure it is the problem.

Edit: It does print the test pattern. There is the long black bar, but it also prints a smaller black bar over some of the test pattern.

I have talked to my trusted tech, but a service call has an $800 travel charge per visit...

 

[Flyndutchman]

I had the same thing but it was the Yellow. I had messed with the cable and when I plugged it back in I had bent the pins which actually gave the same thing. I kept trying to fix it and ended up blowing the fuse and burning out a transistor. I am now trying to get that head aligned. Hope this helps.

 

[player]

I had the same thing but it was the Yellow. I had messed with the cable and when I plugged it back in I had bent the pins which actually gave the same thing. I kept trying to fix it and ended up blowing the fuse and burning out a transistor. I am now trying to get that head aligned. Hope this helps.

I bought I new keypad cable and have not installed it yet. I don't think I have blown anything hopefully.

What are the symptoms of a burned out transistor? How do you diagnose the transistor?

What cable was bad for you?

Is there something special I should know about installing the cable?

I am hearing from this thread and my tech it may be the power supply, the servo board, or the main board or other cables as well as the keypad one...

Thanks