This Old Roland (LEJ-640FT) - Service Call 0211

[Lucid]

Ok, this is the one service call I didn't want to get. But here we are. From the manual, here are the possible causes:

So, I was really hoping it was not the UV lamps. I got a quote on those for $8K. To test the lamp, I was able to enter service mode, then navigate the UV Lamp Menu, then do a Lamp On Check. This is what the display shows.

I'm pretty sure the "[E]" is for "Error", because when I selected and ran the test for both lamps, only the left lamp turned on.

I wanted to see if the lamp was the problem, or something else on the machine, so I switched the left and right lamps. To my surprise, the other lamp worked! So the good news is both the lamps work and I don't need to buy an $8K new lamp (not yet at least). However, that means the problem is somewhere else in the machine like a cable or board. I checked the cables from the Print Carriage Board to the Lamps with a multimeter and they seem good. Also, unplugging both lamps doesn't produce the "[E]" on the other lamp, so that can't be the problem.

From the manual, one of the first things to check is the connection from the UV Junction Board to the Print Carriage Board. When I get some time, I'll work on checking the connections and will post and update.

Let me know if you have any ideas or have experienced this before.

 

[Lucid]

Update:

I have a minor setback. I disconnected the ribbon cable for the connection from the UV Junction Board to the Print Carriage Board to see if I could reproduce the [E] in the left lamp like I see in the right lamp. My thought process was that if I could reproduce the error, then I could have a better understanding of what's creating the problem. My theory is that it's the UV junction board or the Print Carriage Board.

Well, I unplugged the cable and didn't take care to make sure it wouldn't come into contact with anything else. Unfortunately the cable moved on me and created a short circuit. When I fired up the machine, there was a "POP" sound an and smoke smell from somewhere around the Servo Board. After fixing the short, I powered the machine back up. Now when I run a lamp check, the carriage doesn't move and I get a "Service Call 0151" again! From the manual, this is likely a bad Servo Board (which happens to be where I think the "pop" and smoke came from), but It also keeps blowing the Stepdrive Fuse. It could be both boards.

I'm going to order a new Servo Board (about $700+, ouch!) and hopefully it will all work. Let me know if you have any ideas.

 

[garyroy]

I'm not sure how much experience you have fixing that type of printer but be careful that the damage you do does not exceed the cost of a proper service call.
If a tech came in and worked on it and you observed him, that might be the training you need for future fixes.
One wrong move can cost you $5000 in parts and a few weeks down. That's really expensive.
The UV machines tend to be less forgiving than the eco-solvents.

 

[Lucid]

I'm not sure how much experience you have fixing that type of printer but be careful that the damage you do does not exceed the cost of a proper service call.
If a tech came in and worked on it and you observed him, that might be the training you need for future fixes.
One wrong move can cost you $5000 in parts and a few weeks down. That's really expensive.
The UV machines tend to be less forgiving than the eco-solvents.

Thanks for the reply. To answer your question, I don't have any experience with the Roland UV printers. I developed quite a bit of experience fixing my small Compress UV 1200 printer out of necessity. It always breaks down and if you want to keep it running you have to do your own repairs. This doesn't directly translate into all UV printers, but gives me the confidence to go for it here. Believe me, every repair I attempt I weigh the option of doing it myself vs calling a technician.

Just for a little background here, I acquired this machine at a reasonable price because of this issues it has and a very high quote from a service company to fix it. I currently don't have any jobs for this machine, so downtime is not an issue. There is definitely some risk is fixing it myself (I'm currently about $1,100 in parts so far) but I'm considering this the cost of tuition to learn how the machine works, and hopefully be able to provide the community with some good resources that I was not able to find.

 

[Lucid]

Update: I fixed both problems!

Well I ordered a new Servo Board and and Stepdrive board. This set me back about $1100 total. I ordered both because the Stepdrive board fuse kept blowing every time I powered it on, so it seemed like this could be the issue. However, the manual suggested the Servo Board for "Service Call 0151".

So I switched out the Servo Board, and low and behold, NOTHING! It still errored out with "Service Call 0151" and I blew another Stepdrive board fuse. So I switched the Stepdrive board. I powered it back on and it worked! No more Service Call 0151. And to my surprise, error 0211 was gone too! No more [E] on the lamp check, and both UV lamps are working.

FYI, replacing these boards is very simple and there are instructions in the manual. I'd say just be gentle, and take pictures of the board before you unplug cables, and make sure you double check your work before you power anything back on.

On to the next problem. At least I think there is a next problem. I'll do some more testing and post again later.