[granniet]

Last week my DTG Kiosk went haywire when I sent design to it...Error eject started flashing along with all ink lights..reset waste ink counter from machine..nope not fixed..put new ribbon cable on..nope did not fix problem but created new one...on power up head moves a little then slams into other side with grinding noise..another new ribbon cable with new carriage assembly today..still not fixed...what part do we need replace now???
I live near the gulf...can start a new reef with it!
Any ideas?

 

[dazzabling]

Check your encoder strip (slam issue)
Check your wiper assembly (grinding noise)

In your Epson Status Monitor what kind of error message are you getting?

 

[FatKat Printz]

Make sure the ribbon cable is plugged all the way into the back of the carriage. Also make sure the belt that drives the carriage is tight and the gear it's on is clean.

 

[granniet]

No error message that I know of other than flashing error eject. after power up an it slams into other side I just turn power off again.

 

[granniet]

Will recheck all that this morning!

 

[granniet]

New encoder strip was installed last week, its like its not getting a command to stop and go back to its rest position over capping station.

 

[FatKat Printz]

Was the encoder strip installed correctly? Did you replace the spring?

Swyped via Tapatalk 2

 

[granniet]

Yes new encoder strip replaced correctly with new spring...cleaned and recleaned again this morning..
Same ol problem...Recleaned drive belt...still does same thing...
Called SWF yesterday at 4pm...asked for tech..
they put us on call back list...

 

[dazzabling]

Yes new encoder strip replaced correctly with new spring...cleaned and recleaned again this morning..
Same ol problem...Recleaned drive belt...still does same thing...
Called SWF yesterday at 4pm...asked for tech..
they put us on call back list...

Is it installed correctly?? if you received one with an (s) it should be installed on the right hand side facing up.

 

[FatKat Printz]

If no "S" it'll have a corner cut and that goes on the upper left. It's more than likely the ribbon cable not plugged into the back of the carriage all the way.

 

[granniet]

Yep got it on correctly...

 

[granniet]

Husband rechecked the ribbon cable again today...says everything is snug an in its correct slot...SWF did call us several times today...they are stumped too. Guess its a trip to Tampa for hands on tech support.

 

[Clay590]

Did you finally figure out what was wrong with your printer? I have the same problem after replacing the head and ribbon cable. I have checked everything and can't find what is wrong with it.

 

[granniet]

Not as of today. It is at Coldesi in Tampa. Has been for little over a week. It was at Fat Kats Printz in Tampa for thirty days last month, he went throught it, changing out almost every part. Still got errors on start up...he thought power surge might have messed up electronics...Contact Karl Steele @Steeletec...he might be able to help you figure out the issue.

 

[FatKat Printz]

Just want to give a little more explanation besides it being at my shop for 30 days. When the machine came to my shop it had multiple problems. I didn't get to treat it like a typical repair because typically I don't have a family or three wondering all over my shop while I try to repair a printer. All the while expecting drive thru service. The carriage had been replaced and the rails were installed wrong. The paper sensor was still attached. One of the screws that hold down the plate for the print head was missing. The drive belt was loose. The gear there was dirty. The spring for the encoder strip was so stretched it didn't have any tension. The ribbon cable wasn't properly installed. The lower ribbon cable connecting to the motherboard was burned the worse I'd ever seen. The "wims" board that it plugs into was fried from it. First time I'd seen a board burned so bad it went past the connector onto board. The encoder wheel was filthy. The pf sensor wasn't exactly straight. The ribbon cable from the motherboard to it's jump board was really tarnished(burned). The capping station, pump, wipers were beat. The print head was dried out. I'll think of more and add it later.

So overall the machine was really clean looking with more tinkering than printing done to it. At least that's how it looked to me. I got all that stuff repaired in a about a week. A lot of it while they stood there and watched and talked about how they hate when somebody stands there and watches them work.. Tell me about it. You have to remember I still repair printers fairly regularly but not full time. So after they left I was able to go over everything and double check everything to see what the problem is. You'd think by getting all that other stuff correct it'd work. So as time permitted I'd go through it and got it to stop going to the left. Got a ton of errors cleared out of it. But it throws codes that are new to me that I couldn't get to clear and it reads no communication. I couldn't get it to actually fire ink in anyway. Through head cleans, ink chip resets, nozzle check, nothing. I had to call Karl (godfather of dtg repair in my book) and he said he didn't know without it being right in front of him. Everything sounded right to him too. I swapped motherboards and it would fire up correctly but wouldn't fire ink. I really don't know what's wrong with it just has so many burned cables on the lower side I'm thinking electrical. I've never had one stump me that I couldn't get printing. That printer really discouraged me from doing repairs when I can. I like helping people when I can and like I said that's the only one to date I couldn't get running. I repaired another K2 and converted it to bagged ink and bagged another printer since this one and regained my confidence. I'm working with one and a half arms over here what do you want from me?

 

[dazzabling]

I know Pat you had several misguided statements whether or not it was part of a electrical outage that affect many improperly safe guarded electronics succumb to in Florida.

I stand behind FatKat Printz and our DTG repair service. We don't do it full like Karl, and since that is his main business. Also, we are end users who happened to find a way to fix printers and make them less worrisome.

It wasn't something we wanted to do full time but we have hade several happy customers who have gone on to be quite successful. But, DTG isn't for everyone we give our end user experience and in the end it's their choice on how they treat their printer. DIY DTG, and is not for everyone.

If you read the 5000+ posts, a majority is free advice going above and beyond what I normal DTG end user would give.

That is because we have been in your shoes, we were duped into the fantasy that we could do some much with our machine. But, we learned the hard way and with much guidance from Adam @ Threadsafe, Karl and Belquette we have made our recovery other people's recovery less painful.

I am sure the OP, is frustrated on the length of time it took but it wasn't easy for Pat to give in. Who knows what SWF and finds out we have received machines from them and Pantograms in weird conditions too, it's the nature of the business.

It's a give and take, everyone has worked together on this printer and I hope the Op appreciates that.

 

[Clay590]

Wow didn't mean to cause an uproar. I just wanted to see if I could repair my printer. I can't locate a repair shop near Atlanta and it will cost a lot to ship it to Florida and back.

 

[FatKat Printz]

What uproar? What's your idea of a lot? I have a freight company I work with regularly that can help you out if you'd like their info.

 

[dazzabling]

Wow didn't mean to cause an uproar. I just wanted to see if I could repair my printer. I can't locate a repair shop near Atlanta and it will cost a lot to ship it to Florida and back.

No uproar, just wanted to get our side of the story of the printer situation. It's a shame it had to go to SWF and I hope they can find out what's wrong with it. DTG repair is a difficult business and isn't something we advertise because of possible situations like this. We aren't DTG techs and never claim to be but we have done our share of repairs that we can be proud of.

We have read the brutal backlash of Equipment Zone, SWF Mesa and SWF East and their technicians and customer service. We do not want to put ourselves in that category.

But, we are end users at the same time trying to work on helping other end users become successful. Experience, everyday use of the machine, our own customer base and being in the end users shoes makes it easier for us to communicate with customers.

We give advice here on the forums. We help guide them but we can't hold your hand and you can't give us half truths. We don't care if you spelled ink all down the side of the machine. We don't care if you didn't know how to install something. Be honest! Be straight forward and we can help you better.

by "we" meaning the forums..

 

[OSSKOBRET]

Hey you cant and wont please them all.
i just want to say thanks to you folks that have the knowlege and the salt to pass it along to folks like myself