Need Diagnostic Help With a Mutoh 1204

[David40]

Shortly after I replaced my capping station the print head assembly hangs up while parking and I get an E6 error. I am trying to determine if the problem is the capping station, a weak motor, or a defective sensor. Any troubleshooting advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

 

[Solventinkjet]

E6 isn't a standard error code. Is that a typo maybe? Post a video if you can. It sounds like the station is either deformed, not installed properly, or the head might be getting caught on the head lock mechanism which is common. If the head lock bracket got bent out of place during the maintenance station install, it could be missing the head lock plunger and not unlocking when it should.

 

[David40]

You are correct, the error is actually E074Err CR2 Current. I assume since the head is encountering an above normal resistance the motor is experiencing a higher than normal current draw? I'll work on a video as soon as I can.

 

[Solventinkjet]

You are correct, the error is actually E074Err CR2 Current. I assume since the head is encountering an above normal resistance the motor is experiencing a higher than normal current draw? I'll work on a video as soon as I can.

Exactly. The motor is drawing too much current which means it's getting stuck on something. It's very common for it to be the head lock malfunctioning.

 

[pjfmeister]

+1 on the headlock. probably bent the bracket supporting the release. Can cause even if just slightly bent

 

[David40]

I remember now I had this problem right away when I installed the new capping station. As a work around I loosened the two front screws supporting the station which lowered it about a 64th of an inch. Printer worked fine but I soon discovered the capping head was not sealing, so when I would run a cleaning the pump was sucking air and not drawing ink through the head nozzles at it should. Ended up with a clogged head. So I've been doing this balancing act between keeping the station low enough not to hang up but still high enough to seal the cap to the head. Maybe I got a bad or mismatched capping station.
Unfortunately this forum does not appear to allow direct video attachments so I zipped it up and attached it.

 

[Solventinkjet]

OK so something is either up with that maintenance station or it's not installed correctly. Basically as long as all screws fit and you didn't have to bend anything to get it in, the head should never get hung up on the station itself. There's also no position adjustment for it so you should never have to loosen screws to get it to work right. It's hard to tell by the video but I'm thinking that one of the brackets might be in the wrong position.

 

[David40]

I never force or bend anything as I take extreme care with such delicate parts and surrounding cables. As you can see the station bracket goes under the mounting plate which is then mounted to the printer frame. The two screws marked with red arrows are the screws I loosen to get the station to drop down a bit. I am at a loss to understand why this is happening.

 

[Solventinkjet]

I never force or bend anything as I take extreme care with such delicate parts and surrounding cables. As you can see the station bracket goes under the mounting plate which is then mounted to the printer frame. The two screws marked with red arrows are the screws I loosen to get the station to drop down a bit. I am at a loss to understand why this is happening.

Yeah that all looks right. Can you tell exactly what part the head is getting hung up on?

 

[David40]

Looking closely at it the thing it hangs up when the head hits the cap top carriage stop and the head and carriage start up the ramp to seat the cap against the head. I can see what's happening. The cap top carriage has four small plastic pins that stick out into the slots that go up at an angle bringing the cap top up against the head. I can see that one of the left most pins is missing, probably broken off. So when the head hits the stop the left end on the carriage pops up against the head prematurely. I don't know if that cap top carriage can be replaced without replaceing the whole station?

 

[Solventinkjet]

That makes sense. Unfortunately that part only comes with a new station. That being said, if you can find someone with a used one, you can swap it over to yours fairly easily.

 

[David40]

That's good news because I have two old stations and both carriages have all four pins intact. I was just looking at them and I see how it comes out. The right side lifts up if you push it all the wat to the right, then you twist gently to slip the other two left pins clear. Looks like the hardest part is getting that spring installed. I imaging the whole station will need to come out to get access to that?

 

[Solventinkjet]

That's good news because I have two old stations and both carriages have all four pins intact. I was just looking at them and I see how it comes out. The right side lifts up if you push it all the wat to the right, then you twist gently to slip the other two left pins clear. Looks like the hardest part is getting that spring installed. I imaging the whole station will need to come out to get access to that?

Yeah it will be much easier if you take the whole black plastic piece off the top of the station. That way you can get to the spring from below.

 

[David40]

Thanks so much for helping me out with this. I'll let you know how I make out with it.

 

[David40]

Right you are. The whole process took me about 20 minutes. Two screws hold the plastic top on and once loose all I had to do was remove the the tubes and out it came to work on the bench, then I was a simpe task to remove the carriage and pop the spare in with a new cap top to boot. I put it back in, fired up the printer and it works perfectly. Thanks again to you and others for their suggestions.