VersaCAMM SP-540V failing to print properly after repair

[Decart]

Hello all,

I'm in dire need of advice. 6 weeks ago I had a failure on the main board that took a while to diagnose as I was away. This issue meant the printer couldn't power up and keep the printhead in working order.

I've since had a technician repair the main board and the printer now powers up, the heads don't seem to be dry, however the test print appears as attached. Attempting to print anything leads to those red stripes across the whole piece. I'm looking for any advice on what I should see to next. I understand this is an old machine and parts may be hard to come by.

Thanks and regards,
Dane

 

[damonCA21]

What did the technician actually repair? That is normally caused by a bad transistor as the head is getting the signal to turn on and off incorrectly.They should have tested those as part of the repair.
The other thing that can cause it is a bad main cable from the print carriage board to the mainboard. These can fail internally and cause similar problems
I would ask the tech to come back out and check the transistors and components around them.
If you cant then I do board repairs but am based in the UK so you would need to send the board to me
It does also look like you probably have missing nozzles on the magenta and yellow head

 

[damonCA21]

Also what was the original problem with the printer ?

 

[netsol]

also, did he repair your board, or EXCHANGE a board?

 

[premiercolour]

Do you repair VP-540 ethernet connect on the mainboard?

 

[Roland Certified Tech]

Looks like bad head or circuit.
Swap the short cables to the heads to determine if it is the circuit or the head.

 

[damonCA21]

Do you repair VP-540 ethernet connect on the mainboard?

Hi, there is a repair we can do on them which often works, but its not guaranteed as it depends where the breaks in the internal traces are which can't always be determined easily. It basically involves replacing traces with point to point wires to bypass bad tracks. If you are interested you can message me for more info

 

[Decart]

Apologies for the delay in response.

The original issue with the printer was that it wouldn't power on at all. The tech fixed power rails 3v and 5v common to all on the existing board. We've since contacted him and he insists the transistors are working okay, suggesting that the red nozzle may be jamming.

 

[Decart]

Looks like bad head or circuit.
Swap the short cables to the heads to determine if it is the circuit or the head.

We did actually try this, it made no difference. Does this suggest it's the head, perhaps the nozzle?

 

[damonCA21]

The nozzles don't jam. They will either fire ink or nothing ( if they are blocked ) . At the moment yours is firing at the wrong time so the problem is electrical not a physical one.

 

[damonCA21]

We did actually try this, it made no difference. Does this suggest it's the head, perhaps the nozzle?

Did you cross over the cables, not just swap them? You need to cross them over the so the signals that normally go to the black and cyan are going to the magenta and yellow head and vice versa. This lets you see if the fault moves to the other head ( meaning a board problem ) or stays the same ( a head problem )

 

[Decart]

Did you cross over the cables, not just swap them? You need to cross them over the so the signals that normally go to the black and cyan are going to the magenta and yellow head and vice versa. This lets you see if the fault moves to the other head ( meaning a board problem ) or stays the same ( a head problem )

Yes we definitely did cross them, it made no difference to the fault

 

[damonCA21]

OK if you crossed them over and it made no difference then you need to replace the head

 

[Jim Hancock]

To verify, did you do the ribbon swap as indicated in the attached PDF? It would also be useful for clear communication for you to post a nozzle test with the ribbon swap...