capping station fun....

[SignaramaFL]

So... I just changed the capping station on my Mimaki JV3 because the black wasn't working. Well that fixed that, but now suddenly my magenta ink won't drain from the capping station... I believe the line that goes from the pump to the waste ink bottle is clogged or that the pumping station ... isn't pumping, because when I disconnect the line from the capping station to the pump line, the ink comes out... any help ... please!!!

 

[artbot]

pull that magenta line from the waste bottle (later get the entire harness running outside of the machine if you haven't already). have a partner dump solution down that cap while someone else pulls aggressively at the end of the waste line with a syringe. you can also work the waste line with your fingers a bit to loosen up the line. there will be a gnarly magenta ink booger that will start walking its way down the line. remember you can go as strong with solvent as you want at that end of the printer. so dump MEK if want. whatever works.

 

[SignaramaFL]

how can i get it to runoutside of the harness? will it have to go outside and then dump into the waste ink bottle?

 

[artbot]

here's what i did to mine. but, i just got off the phone with tdvs72198 earlier and he has each line going to a separate bottle! brilliant! so i'm switching my waste area to separate bottles. ...using little bottles with a pinhole breather and just put the ink back in my refillable carts.

 

[SignaramaFL]

HUH! interesting, I think im going to go ahead and start with your solution! Thanks so much

 

[SignaramaFL]

can i pull the lines that go from metal braket to the pump, if so how. i think that is where the clog is located at, because it looks like it is clear up until that point.

 

[MikePro]

i'm in the same boat as you... the cyan line at my pump hasn't worked properly for a while now. Bout to re-post to an old thread of mine discussing my issues, but this one caught my eye so I'll chime in.

are you sure there's a clog?
if you can remove the back panel from your printer and initiate a disway wash to observe the pump in action, you'll see 4 mechanisms moving up/down.
I believe my issue is that one of the arms stays in the "open" position (80% of the time). I'm unable to run a proper nozzle wash since the fluid just drains out from the cap and I'm questioning whether this has lead to my issues with an air leak at the cyan cap.

In your case, if not simply a clog, you might have the opposite where it stays in the "closed" position? Just throwing that idea out there.

 

[SignaramaFL]

I was actually thinking about that, because my cyan line was blocking the arm, but I still have the same issue after moving it. So.... instead of spending another week on trying to fix the damn thing, I'm just ordering a new pump today. So with a new pump and capping station I really hope this fixes everything

 

[SignaramaFL]

New pump in, fixed everything. in the middle of pulling the old one apart, the clog in the magenta line was horrible!

 

[MikePro]

great news! nice to hear you had an easy fix!

found out that mine was being blocked open due to the cyan line, but still having issues getting the pump to draw on it properly.... seems like if I tug on it a bit while the pump is engaging, the rotation of the pump mechanism helps pull it through/tight and ink starts to draw through! (some, but not as much as I notice on the YKM channels)

....although, when I'm not messing with the line, the pump doesn't draw ink on its own. possibly still due to the air leak at or above the cap. Still debating whether its a cracked manifold, defunct damper (swapped damper positions, and currently printing cyan with no trouble!, yet) or a bad capping station.

 

[SightLine]

Aftermarket or OEM pumps? At one point I had nightmares for nearly a year using no less than 5 different brands of aftermarket pumps. I came to the conclusion that aftermarket pumps are pretty much garbage. In 7 years of running a Mimaki I've never had an aftermarket pump work well for more than 6 months while OEM pumps last 2 to 4 years.

 

[SignaramaFL]

Mike - Glad to hear you found a fix or so it would seem!

SignLine - OEM, I never thought about using after market parts.

 

[artbot]

...aftermarket dampers, wipers, fittings, carts, triangle ink, chips i've never had an issue. in fact, i've seen head manifolds that are far better constructed. but the pump just doesn't seem to be a good idea.