S40600 with Low Usage, Error...

[netsol]

Keith — these are the steps I’d follow. I had a very similar error years ago, and this is how I troubleshot it:

1. Ignore the ribbon cable. In my experience, the odds of that being the root cause are close to zero.
2. Pause on the potential printhead issue for now. A replacement head is ~$1,500, so I wouldn’t start there.
3. Check the motherboard fuses (most likely). This is the most common fix I’ve seen, and you can do it yourself.

Procedure (high level):

• Power the printer off, unplug it, then press/hold the power button to discharge.
• Remove the plastic panels per the service manual to access the main board.
• Use a multimeter in continuity mode and test each fuse. A good fuse will beep / show continuity; no continuity = blown fuse.
• If you’re unsure which components are fuses: either use the service manual, or take clear photos of the board and have ChatGPT/Gemini point them out.

If you find a blown fuse:
These are tiny micro-fuses and exact matches can be hard to source. The most practical route is to buy a cheap used/for-parts motherboard on eBay (same model or closely related SureColor models with the same board layout), verify its fuses test good, then have a local electronics repair shop swap the fuse. That typically costs far less than a printhead and doesn’t require an “authorized” technician.

Finally: I can hear the frustration—unfortunately you may not find someone who will truly diagnose at component level. The fastest path here is taking control of the basics (fuse testing), and escalating only if the board checks out.

I am attaching an image of my motherboard for the S40600 with the blown fuse. I am also attaching an older model motherboard that I used as a donor board. This one came with two fuses.

Wow

i think this get some sort of AWARD for the most wrong headed advice i have ever seen on this site
BUY A FOR PARTS BOARD to obtain a fuse????

 

[Alebaba]

I tried Grimco and a bunch of repair shops for other Epson wide format printers, but none of them would touch this.

Try seaching for printer repair business in nearby cities. Here in San Diego, surprisingly there are zero printer repair guys, most of them are just office printers and not commercial, but in LA there's many that work specifically with my printers. So just cold call and ask, if they don't handle them they'll point you to the right direction.
Another technique is to look on Ebay for sellers of the parts you need and ask them. I sale used printer parts on the side and I am always getting random messages from people asking questions about my printer. Most of the time I just refer them to the correct place and sometimes they end up buying the replacement part at the end.

I used to call around and ask for help, but after doing this a few times I noticed I could just fix things myself much faster. Within 2-4 hours I can fix the issues vs calling around, getting quotes, etc, takes just as long or longer.

 

[netsol]

when getting a new (or just new to you) printer, it is always an important question "who repairs them?" or just where do parts come from

6 years ago i bought a Oce' colorwave from an old client. it was in Ohio, 7-8 hrs from us
once i got it back to the shop, i found out how horribly Canon/Oce' treats you if you didn't buy the machine from an authorized reseller.
(in all fairness, i have the same complaint about Mutoh, they treat me like they caught me shoplifting...)

but, the point is ALWAYS find out where the closest service facility is AND if they will do business with YOU

ALMOST every state has a "RIGHT TO REPAIR" law, but, you would be shocked how many classes of equipment and CUSTOMER are excluded
from this protection

 

[ikarasu]

Nope. Every time I send a file to it, it will print 6-12 inches and then throw the error code.

Usually a blown fuse throws the power cord error... but you can always check if its a blown fuse by bypassing the fuse - It wont do any harm to bypass it for a check. I just took a gator clip and attached it to the fuse...plugged the machine in and turned it on, and everything worked perfectly.

If that works...you just need to buy a new fuse - it doesnt have to be the exact same one... a 400 mah fuse will blow at 400 mah, They use a special one so it fits on the board - It's easier to buy one with legs though, then if you're not too familiar with soldering to boards... although not the proper way, you can just solder it right to the old fuse and it'll work just as good.

 

[KeithMan]

I have some alligator clips and will give that a shot. My thinking was that a blown fuse would throw an error immediately rather than printing for a few moments before giving the error, but didn't know enough about what the fuse did.

 

[Alebaba]

Usually a blown fuse throws the power cord error... but you can always check if its a blown fuse by bypassing the fuse - It wont do any harm to bypass it for a check. I just took a gator clip and attached it to the fuse...plugged the machine in and turned it on, and everything worked perfectly.

If that works...you just need to buy a new fuse - it doesnt have to be the exact same one... a 400 mah fuse will blow at 400 mah, They use a special one so it fits on the board - It's easier to buy one with legs though, then if you're not too familiar with soldering to boards... although not the proper way, you can just solder it right to the old fuse and it'll work just as good.

IQ Level 200 move. This is genius. I didn't know much about electronics when I fixed my board years ago, but now with better knowledge this solution it totally doable. Back then I stressed about finding an exact match, but in reality any fuse will work as long as specs are correct about how the fuse is supposed to work, the actual physical shape of the fuse probably doesn't matter.
I don't recommend bypassing the fuse to see if the fuse has any issues thought - literally test for continuity. If it fails that's your problem.

 

[netsol]

Usually a blown fuse throws the power cord error... but you can always check if its a blown fuse by bypassing the fuse - It wont do any harm to bypass it for a check. I just took a gator clip and attached it to the fuse...plugged the machine in and turned it on, and everything worked perfectly.

If that works...you just need to buy a new fuse - it doesnt have to be the exact same one... a 400 mah fuse will blow at 400 mah, They use a special one so it fits on the board - It's easier to buy one with legs though, then if you're not too familiar with soldering to boards... although not the proper way, you can just solder it right to the old fuse and it'll work just as good.i

It wont do any harm to bypass it for a check.

that is SOMETIMES CORRECT
many modern power supplies and circuits can be self destructive if you jump the fuse
i am not looking to scare you with horror stories, but, this is a VERY bad idea
(2) clipleads aNd another fuse of AROUND THE RIGHT VALUE will tell you the score SAFELY
IF IT BLOWS but the barrel is clear, or things work, you are fairly lucky
IF THE BARREL OF THE FUSE IS BLACK (ON A CLEAR FUSE)

STOP

let someone competent look at it
88

 

[KeithMan]

I wanted to post an update. We had run 36,000 square feet of material through the machine. Not sure if that is considered very much for a machine that is over 6 years old.

I mulled things over and decided to have Epson fix it. They charged $3,100 and said they would fix whatever was wrong with it and send a big box with all the boards, print head and I think a PSU. They replaced the print head and had it running in 48 hours after calling them. The tech said it was probably the board on the print head.

 

[swordguy3222]

I tried Grimco and a bunch of repair shops for other Epson wide format printers, but none of them would touch this.

Thats odd, too bad I'm not closer or I would come and help you myself.

 

[imyomel]

We bought a new S40600 in 2020, and being a small print shop that mainly focuses on offset printing, we haven't used our printer a whole lot. We probably have used it less than most places would in a single year. Well, this morning I came into work and started to print a poster and had an Error Code 1A39 which according to the service manual online is either a fuse on a board, a cable, or a printhead. I have called about a dozen places near me that service Epson printers, but when I tell them the model, they all say they don't service the Surecolor S series printers.

Can anyone recommend someplace near Kansas City, MOH

 

[imyomel]

I tried Grimco and a bunch of repair shops for other Epson wide format printers, but none of them would touch this.

Hello, I am checking with you to see if you found a motherboard for your Surecolor S40600 printer and if not I have a S40600 which only need heads but I decided to get new heads for my s60600 and will be parting the S40600 out. Let me know if you are interested.