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Roland VS300i no test print after head install

burney

New Member
Hi

I`m lost, installed a new print head and i get no print at all from test print.
I have enetered the new head rank number in the service menu, it is pulling ink through to the cap top which is also new,but i`m not getting any print what so ever not even a slight bit,its like the head isnt being told to squirt.

previous head started playing up then i noticed the green cable on the actual print head was coming away from the little board on the side which is why it got changed, then when i went to install a new print head i noticed 1 connection on the furthest print ribbon (that goes into the head) looked burnt so i delayed installing until i had a new ribbon, it wasn`t burnt at the caraige board end at all or anywhere further up the cable/ribbon but i really dont think that is the issue.

i did wonder if i was getting the head rank number wrong and the 0s were Os but there are no Os so it isnt that either.


i`m just wondering if there is a fuse or something that may have blown,if so where?>

im totally out of ideas if anyone can help,many thanks in advance as i`m desperate to get working,all i`ve done for 2 weeks is pay out with no money coming in.

Roland VS300i
 

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
You probably popped the head fuse. Unfortunately I've never changed one on that model so I'm not sure where or what rating it is. It will usually be on the main board, or slider board but some Rolands have a separate head control board it could be on. It's about the size of a couple grains of rice and it's ceramic so it's not the glass tube kind people are used to. Hopefully someone who has changed that one can chime in. If you know how to test fuses, you can just test them all!
 

burney

New Member
thanks for the reply.
if someone knows more it would be a great help, what to chek re fuses and where they are,what they look like etc

attached carraige board pics, it looks fine tho i guess you wouldnt know without testing if any of these components had blown?

i`m not great with electronics tbh but i`ll give anything ago especially right now
 

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burney

New Member
so i dont know what i`m doing with electrics but i took the back cover off and these look highly likely to me.
i dont really know about testing either but i put the multi meter in diode mode and the reading stayed at 1
am i dong that right? should`nt it read higher than 1? (which is what it reads without touching anything and meter is in limbo.

also what are these called so i can order more if needed?

thanks anyone and thanks guy above.
 

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Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
so i dont know what i`m doing with electrics but i took the back cover off and these look highly likely to me.
i dont really know about testing either but i put the multi meter in diode mode and the reading stayed at 1
am i dong that right? should`nt it read higher than 1? (which is what it reads without touching anything and meter is in limbo.

also what are these called so i can order more if needed?

thanks anyone and thanks guy above.
Ok so the 3.15 amp fuses are pretty common on older Rolands so that would make sense. If your multimeter has a continuity settings, change it to that. It will beep if there's continuity. If not, change to ohms. It should read around 1 ohm.
 

burney

New Member
this multi meter does`nt beep, reading just stays on 1 it does`nt move.

so both dead?

i hope these are the fuses for the head,i dont know tho it was just a guess.
 

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burney

New Member
sorry took pic on wrong setting,it was 1 click over to the right.
but no materr what i set it on the result is the same (1)
 

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
Put your two leads together and it will give you a reading. It should be close to that. It looks like they are probably blown though.
 

burney

New Member
yes i get a reading with the wires touched together,just not either end of the fuse.
looks like this is the problem, i started the machine back up without the fuses in and it runs so process of elimination these must be (or almost must) for the print head.

thanks for your help and hope this helps someone in the future as i know how stressful it is when things dont work.
 

burney

New Member
Further to this,received 2 fuses today which cost the best part of £50 delivered absolute rip off seeing as they are worth 70 pence, tested them and got a reading so fitted them, they blew instantly, 50 quid
I am very quickly heading for going bust ,throwing money at this machine and not having any money coming in at all,feeling pretty bad right now.


any ideas what to do here? why these fuses just blow instantly?
 
Last edited:

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
Further to this,received 2 fuses today which cost the best part of £50 delivered absolute rip off seeing as they are worth 70 pence, tested them and got a reading so fitted them, they blew instantly, 50 quid
I am very quickly heading for going bust ,throwing money at this machine and not having any money coming in at all,feeling pretty bad right now.


any ideas what to do here? why these fuses just blow instantly?
You've got a short somewhere. It's usually the head cables but it could be any cable form the head back to the main board. It could also be the head itself or any electrical failure on any PCB.
 

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide

Joe House

New Member
Sorry. I didn't see this earlier. Tracking down shorts can drive a guy nuts. You found the fuses, so that's half the battle. I usually go prepared with a dozen of them in my tool kit. Since they're on the main board, you should look at everything downstream. The head cables - since you found a suspicious one should be changed. There are 3 of one kind and 1 where the contacts are reversed. Make sure you get those in the right position. And the cables at the back of the carriage board connect to the connector on the back of the print head. There's a bit of Origami involved here, so make sure you get those right. Another failure point could be the long cables from the main board up to the carriage board. The flex and rub every time the print head goes across the printer. If it wears through, you can get a short there as well. That would be the next place to check if the head cables don't fix it.
Finally, it could be the main board as well.
Honestly, when we get an older printer like this that has ghost problems like this, we typically recommend replacing the printer. You can easily put $3 - 5K into this printer and still have an old printer. Or you could invest that $3 - 5k and have a new printer with a warranty.

Good Luck
 

burney

New Member
Sorry. I didn't see this earlier. Tracking down shorts can drive a guy nuts. You found the fuses, so that's half the battle. I usually go prepared with a dozen of them in my tool kit. Since they're on the main board, you should look at everything downstream. The head cables - since you found a suspicious one should be changed. There are 3 of one kind and 1 where the contacts are reversed. Make sure you get those in the right position. And the cables at the back of the carriage board connect to the connector on the back of the print head. There's a bit of Origami involved here, so make sure you get those right. Another failure point could be the long cables from the main board up to the carriage board. The flex and rub every time the print head goes across the printer. If it wears through, you can get a short there as well. That would be the next place to check if the head cables don't fix it.
Finally, it could be the main board as well.
Honestly, when we get an older printer like this that has ghost problems like this, we typically recommend replacing the printer. You can easily put $3 - 5K into this printer and still have an old printer. Or you could invest that $3 - 5k and have a new printer with a warranty.

Good Luck
Thanks for the reply,I'm on my mobile at the moment so it's difficult to read and reply properly.
This has been absolutely flawless up until now,I've had one head change only because it jammed and dented the head but even then it only knocked the white out but I needed the white. A roland engineer changed the head a frankly he was rubbish in my opinion,he left ink all over the place when I had kept it looking mint,he spent 5 hrs changing a print head which I done in an hour including cleaning everything and removing the felt etc mechanism and cleaning that too.
But the problem I believe started because that heads ribbon came away from the little board on the head (there's one either side),I was convinced after pulling a cart of white through that the board wasn't talking to the head and I think that connection proved my point.

Ideally yes a new printer would be best,ive had cars like this,you start throwing money at it thinking it cant possibly be anything else and it never ends but I've already fitted a new print head (2 grand) ,time and lost work (3 grand plus) and a the other bits and pieces (probably a grand) so I'm in deep and pockets are empty ,so are my credit cards.
So I have no choice really but to carry on.

I really don't think it is the long cable as you said tho I will check.

I suspect all of this stems from that cable coming away from the board situated on the head,so I also suspect it is likely something else gone on the main board if it isn't one of the other 3 cables going from the head to the carriage board I which I haven't changed yet.

I'm not much good with electronics tho I have a logical mind (I think anyway).

I will go bust just buying fuses from Roland at their prices at this rate.

I really appreciate all replies,you guys know what it's like I'm sure,I will check all the above.

I hope this also helps people someone in the future too as it is hard work googling help sometimes :)

There are good people out there,I'll buy you all a beer one day :)
 

burney

New Member

Sorry. I didn't see this earlier. Tracking down shorts can drive a guy nuts. You found the fuses, so that's half the battle. I usually go prepared with a dozen of them in my tool kit. Since they're on the main board, you should look at everything downstream. The head cables - since you found a suspicious one should be changed. There are 3 of one kind and 1 where the contacts are reversed. Make sure you get those in the right position. And the cables at the back of the carriage board connect to the connector on the back of the print head. There's a bit of Origami involved here, so make sure you get those right. Another failure point could be the long cables from the main board up to the carriage board. The flex and rub every time the print head goes across the printer. If it wears through, you can get a short there as well. That would be the next place to check if the head cables don't fix it.
Finally, it could be the main board as well.
Honestly, when we get an older printer like this that has ghost problems like this, we typically recommend replacing the printer. You can easily put $3 - 5K into this printer and still have an old printer. Or you could invest that $3 - 5k and have a new printer with a warranty.

Good Luck


I`m still in a pickle.

the print head cables aren`t due until tomorrow however a bunch of fuses turned up so i thought i would try new fuses and taking the print head cables out completley including out of the carraige board.
I did this and the fuses blow straight away when the machine is turned on, surely this means the cables aren`t the problem right as they aren`t even in the machine,and would also eliminate the head too as that isn`t connected either.

what i did notice (and bear in mind i don`t know much about electronics) is that with 2 more new fuses i put the connectors of the multi meter on the end of a fuse when starting it up and got a big minus reading , i think it hit like -500 or something tho it was quick then nothing on the multimeter straight after (it just said 1).

to me logic says it isn`t the cables unless having no cables at all would make the fuses blow but that doesnt really make sense (in my mind)


any ideas what i can do / check from here as i`m desperate to put it bluntly.

thanks in advance as always.
 
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