Epson RX700 Printer-Scanner-Copy Problems

[DHrazdil]

I'm new here and have looked and looked in FAQ's and posts for some info., but the RX700 is kind of rare and no one talks about it. Mine is 1-1/2 yrs. old, has had about 10 sets of cartrides replaced and I have been using after-market generics with very good result. I decided to get a CIS setup, so ordered one, but still had about 1 set of cartridges left & was going to wait to install when I used the set. Ink supply told me Yellow was low, so I changed it (6-ink system) and immediately got an error message "no ink" and diagram showing all 6 cartridges. It said to "open the doors, reset the cartridges", which I did, more than once. Machine simply would do nothing. I tried replacing all the cartridges with new ones and same thing. I could turn the machine off, then on and it went its normal whirring, clicking, etc. for a much longer time, then display its menu. I would select "Ink Levels" and they all read full. I would try to run nozzle check and got error message "no ink". I reset the waste tank counter but no help, same sequence. The printer would not even start to feed paper for the nozzle check. I then decided to try and install the new CIS, which all seemed to install nicely. When I turned on the printer, it went through its normal whirring and clanking, but this time for normal startup length of time. I tried Nozzle Check and this time the paper fed as it should and it all seemed okay, but the paper came out blank, not any printing at all. Now, the machne seems to do its mechanical stuff fine, but simply will not put any ink on the paper. No more error messages, just no ink being put on in copy, print or even nozzle check mode. I've turned it on and off, waited several hrs. and even overnight, no improvement. No service center in this town and I have looked online for help. I used Epson's help website and their advice is to take it to a service center. Anyone with any insights into this would sure be appreciated.

 

[mikling]

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/InkPadsForm.jsp

will likely resolve your problems.

 

[DHrazdil]

Hi Mike, thanks for your brief input. I've already been that route and reset the inkpad counter, which freed up the printer to go ahead and seemingly operate as normal, feed the paper, even acts like its printing the page, but nothing gets transsferred. Before I reset the couner, the printer would do nothing but give the "no ink message". The printer went immediatelly from doing a great printing job to no ink with no transition in between. I figured ink clog would work gradually, not all inks immediatelly, so discoounted that possibility. Being the logical mechanic that I am, I concluded that whatevere pushes the dropolets of ink out of the orfices must have sstopped working, which would probably mean a new printhead, which would mean rather expensive for a 1-1/2 yr. old machine that has had steady but not lasrge volume use. It was pretty expensive machine in the first place and I liked it, would hate to lose it.
By the way, I've been reading a lot of posts looking for solutions and have read a lot of your answers. You have a very logical way of looking at problems and explaining what is involvled. You present the answers in a way that can be understood and I like the way you try to help . You definitely are the besst I've seen.

 

[mikling]

Have you removed the plug from the wall for a few minutes?
I will assume you have tried the onboard nozzle check routine?

The next step is to go get the utility at http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml
and perform a soft reset.
if this fails then it is possible that something electronic has gone wrong. The abrupt nature suggests this. I would think it is not the printhead but the electronics that drive the printhead. It could even be something as simple as a cable connection.
I highly doubt it is the printhead itself as piezo elements are very reliable units and hard to burn out. I'm thinking that the power rail to the driver transistors has gone bad.

 

[DHrazdil]

Thanks Mike. Yes, Idid the onboard nozzle check , unplugged the printer for while, (just did those again for the 6-7th time) and did the reset with the SSC utility. So I guess you are right, points to electronics malfunction. I did do one other thing, took off the CIS setup and reinstalled the cartridges. The ink level readout shows they are all full but when I try a Nozzle Check, the printer has reverted to the "No Ink Cartridge" error message and is back to doing nothing at all, won't even try to print or feed paper, etc. At least with the CIS installed it would try to print and go through its norml operations. Guess I'll try to find a service ctr. or buy a new printer, but this one was expensive and I hate too lose it. Thanks for your help.

 

[mikling]

Wait a minute, did you ever try putting OEM cartridges back on at all?

 

[DHrazdil]

No I didn't Mike, don't have any of those on hand and new set of them would be $65. to $70. What do you think are the chances that going that route would be a good additional cash layout value? Thanks

 

[mikling]

What is odd is that depending on the chips used, you seem to have different symptoms. If it was a simple electronics failure it should produce consistent behavior. As to the probability that this could be related to the OEM issue, I cannot say as I have no experience with the RX700 which appears to be a model with limited ownership. It looks to be a fully featured machine, understand this as well. There appears to be no comparable Epson model today and inkjet technology has not gone much beyond the RX700.

Resetting the printer may well have cleared the internal memory of any stored data. If the RX700 bordered just prior to the R260 generation, it may well have firmware that requires that it see some pertinent Epson data that is only available from OEM Epsons. Only after having captured this data, can the compatible chips snatch it and emulate the OEM chip behavior.

I have a hunch this could be the issue but with my lack of experience with the RX700, I emphasize it is strictly a hunch.

 

[DHrazdil]

Okay, thanks for your guidance Mike. Like you said, the RX700 is not widely owned, but sure does some nice things. I even have to order cartridges, they are not available in stores. I may well go ahead and invest another $70. or so to get a set of OEM cartridges to install and take my chances, or use the money to pay for part of service center bill if I can find one nearby. Freight costs to a service center would be another $15. per trip, so I would have another $30. for that, if I couldn't hand-carry it to the shop. I have hunted far and wide for an RX700 Service Manual with no luck at all. The news isn't all bad, as I enjoy working on these things and get a kick out of solving hard problems. My first experience with things mechanical was on our farm here in Texas adjusting rod-bearing shims in our 1929 model Farmall Regular tractor in the middle of a cotton field. Thanks again my friend.

 

[DHrazdil]

One more thing about the RX700 Epson. This has 6 inks, 3 on each side of the machine with two access doors. On the right side front, just behind the control panel and just above the 3 inks on that side is a mechanism that appears to be an accordian-type bellows measuring about 1-inch by 1-inch and it compresses in and out just like an accordian. Do you know if this is for maintaining some type of pressure on the ink supply system? When you turn on the machne it runs for a few compression cycles, maybe 10, then shuts off and when it shuts off, the "no ink" error message registers. I notice that when you first turn on the machine and the bellows starts pushing in and out that it moves freely and toward the end of the cycle it starts to slow down a bit, just like an air pump does when pressure builds up. Every now and then when sitting in the "on" position, this bellows mechanism will turn on for about 2 quick pumps, then stops, as if a leak-down trips a switch and it turns on to build pressure back up. But its done that same thing since it was new and when it worked fine.