Our Roland SP540V stopped printing yellow and Magenta

[Joe Killeen]

quote Simon Worrall:

Help!
I set up a new job, and no Magenta or yellow comes out of our Roland SP540V
Tried a test print, Cyan, black are perfect. M,Y is completely gone.
Tried both PCs. Same result.

Any ideas, anyone?

Simon.

Sounds like cap top gone not making a seal with the head causing the ink to go back to the cartridge.
You could change it if you have a spare or a few powerful head cleans until you get ink.
If your familiar with your printer remove the tube from the y connector close to the pump and pull the ink trough with a large syringe.
Hope this makes sense.
Joe

[Stafford Cox]

If you’re getting nothing at all, it could be a fuse on the mainboard. They’re little rectangular ones that should (if it’s a later version of mainboard) be in sockets so you can just take it out and replace it. However, it could be that something further down the line has caused the fuse to blow.

If you’re getting traces of ink then I would look at a cap.

Stafford

[Simon Worrall]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
There is absolutely nothing. Not a trace of red or yellow.
I feel if it was starvation of ink there might be some hint.
Where do I find this fuse board, Stafford?
Is there a photo online somewhere that identifies the fuses?
Considering the age of the machine it is more likely to be the older version…
Simon.

[Stafford Cox]

Top right of the first picture of the mainboard attached you should see F2 and F3. They’re your two fuses. One does K/C and the other does M/Y.

It’s a bit difficult to be any more specific from my phone.

[Jamie Dale]

It will be your fuse which more than likely has been blown by a faulty printhead.

On my old Roland XC540 the yellow head kept blowing the fuse which inturn fried the mainboard

I spent nearly 3k sorting the thing as I kept moving fuses etc to determine where the fault was and blowing new headboards etc.

Advice…. Engineer.

Do a few test though yourself, run a multimeter over the fuses with the machine not plugged in (beep test)
If fuses are still fine do beep tests down the wires. If fine replace print carriage board / printheads.

🙂

[Simon Worrall]

Stafford those pictures have not shown up in the link…

Simon.

[Simon Worrall]

Oh no scratch that I have found out how to view them…

Thanks. I will open up the machine this morning and have a look.

Simon.

[Stafford Cox]

What Jamie says is not new to me. I’ve seen it more on XC’s than any other Roland but it does happen on them all. Sometimes it will take out a head, carriage board and main board!! Hopefully you’ll get away with just a fuse this time. Good luck.

[Simon Worrall]

OK tested the fuses. It is F3.
It is the old type of board. (!)

[Stafford Cox]

Oh crap. That’s board out and send away for replacement before seeing if something else is blowing it. How are you with a soldering iron? And where in the country are you?

[Stafford Cox]

Funnily enough, I’m working on an SP-540 this morning (Uniform Cadet Plus) and that has the same setup as yours….

[Simon Worrall]

I am in New Zealand, Stafford.
(Well, for another week that is. Then to West Sussex to start a new sign shop.)
Machine is here, and it has chosen the worst possible time to pack a sad. 🙁
I am going to have to leave it with Jess (my offsider here) to sort out.
I have alerted the service engineer in Christchurch, of all that I have learned on this thread, and he said the same thing you did. (Oh, crap!) He will have to make a minimum of two visits to sort this out.
He will combine this with a slightly early scheduled service so it wont hurt so bad.

Thanks for your help.

Simon.

[Stafford Cox]

Ok Simon, good luck. I do know a really good engineer in NZ if you need his details. I think he works for Blue Print?

[Simon Worrall]

Thanks Stafford.
I do get all my inks from Blue Print, but my techie is Dave Cocks who is self employed and very good also.
Simon

[Simon Worrall]

This might be a very stupid question, but here goes:
Is it possible to piggyback a new fuse without removing the old one?
Simon

[Stafford Cox]

Yep, absolutely. I’ve seen it done loads of times. It play havoc with my OCD but does the same thing. Just remember that there’s probably something else causing the fuse to blow so you may have to do it a few times.

[Simon Worrall]

It turned out to need a new head, which made the fuse blow.
All fixed now.
Thanks for your help.

[Stafford Cox]

Glad you got it sorted.