Resetting an Epson C1900/C900 photoconductor unit?

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john

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Aug 25, 2003
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Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Does anyone know how to reset an epson photoconductor unit which is
still printing OK?

After only 8000 pages, and while it was still printing perfectly, my
C1900 announced that the PCU needed replacing and refused to print
till I had obeyed its command.

Epson say that a PCU should last about 45000 pages.

Does anyone know how to reset either software or whatever it is on the
PCU that counts pages or assesses area printed.?
This is totally stupid and another example of how the computer
industry is getting away with behaving very aggressively towards the
consumer.
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 09:01:56 +0100, John wrote:

> Epson say that a PCU should last about 45000 pages.
>
Epson say the PCU should do - "45,000 pages B&W, 11,250 pages Colour". They
also say "The above figures are approximate and are based on the number of
sheets printed under conditions of continuous printing. Intermittent use
may reduce page yield."

If you are printing colour pages I would say that 8,000 pages was good.
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

NewStartup <newstartup@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

>On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 09:01:56 +0100, John wrote:
>
>> Epson say that a PCU should last about 45000 pages.
>>
>Epson say the PCU should do - "45,000 pages B&W, 11,250 pages Colour". They
>also say "The above figures are approximate and are based on the number of
>sheets printed under conditions of continuous printing. Intermittent use
>may reduce page yield."
>
>If you are printing colour pages I would say that 8,000 pages was good.

Sorry, you've missed the point - I had to replace a unit which was
working perfectly.
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Bad customer service from Epson? Do you live in the UK by any chance?

I can appreciate having a printer give an indication of consumable
wear, but to prevent a consumable from being used based simply on a
calculation is pretty lame. They should allow the user to continue
printing until the component physically stops working, I don't see why
it should damage the printer to do so. Have you spoken to the consumer
watchdog about this? If they agree that it's unfair, they can issue a
court order for manufacturers to stop this practise.
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Have you contacted Epson about it... if the numbers are wrong maybe they
have a solution to offer you.

Art

John wrote:

> Does anyone know how to reset an epson photoconductor unit which is
> still printing OK?
>
> After only 8000 pages, and while it was still printing perfectly, my
> C1900 announced that the PCU needed replacing and refused to print
> till I had obeyed its command.
>
> Epson say that a PCU should last about 45000 pages.
>
> Does anyone know how to reset either software or whatever it is on the
> PCU that counts pages or assesses area printed.?
> This is totally stupid and another example of how the computer
> industry is getting away with behaving very aggressively towards the
> consumer.
>
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

The reason that the color number is about 25% of the black one is
because color printing requires four passes of the PCU for each page.

Art

NewStartup wrote:

> On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 09:01:56 +0100, John wrote:
>
>
>>Epson say that a PCU should last about 45000 pages.
>>
>
> Epson say the PCU should do - "45,000 pages B&W, 11,250 pages Colour". They
> also say "The above figures are approximate and are based on the number of
> sheets printed under conditions of continuous printing. Intermittent use
> may reduce page yield."
>
> If you are printing colour pages I would say that 8,000 pages was good.
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Arthur Entlich <e-printerhelp@mvps.org> wrote:

>Have you contacted Epson about it... if the numbers are wrong maybe they
>have a solution to offer you.

I've been in email correspondence with Epson - after two emails asking
me questions about age, number of pages (8000), number of colour pages
(4000 approx) they told me they could do nothing for me as the
warranty on consumables is only 3 months (the printer is 10 months
old). No suggestion as to how I could continue to use what was a
perfectly good Photoconductor unit, prematurely cut off in its prime!
Just hard luck mate!

Well, can you believe this. After running the replacement PCU for a
couple of days, I put replacement and original side by side to see if
I could see anything in the structure that would be capable of being
reset. Not a thing!

So I put the old PCU back to see what would happen - the printer
thinks that it is brand new. So it seems that it is a purely software
thing. I'm kicking myself for being so dumb as not to guess.

So why didn't the guy at Epson tell me that? Seems reptilian or is he
protecting me from something down the road? Whatever, why don't these
people communicate honestly?















>
>Art
>
>John wrote:
>
>> Does anyone know how to reset an epson photoconductor unit which is
>> still printing OK?
>>
>> After only 8000 pages, and while it was still printing perfectly, my
>> C1900 announced that the PCU needed replacing and refused to print
>> till I had obeyed its command.
>>
>> Epson say that a PCU should last about 45000 pages.
>>
>> Does anyone know how to reset either software or whatever it is on the
>> PCU that counts pages or assesses area printed.?
>> This is totally stupid and another example of how the computer
>> industry is getting away with behaving very aggressively towards the
>> consumer.
>>
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

"ClubCX" <tom@botservice.net> wrote:

>Bad customer service from Epson? Do you live in the UK by any chance?

Yes
>
>I can appreciate having a printer give an indication of consumable
>wear, but to prevent a consumable from being used based simply on a
>calculation is pretty lame. They should allow the user to continue
>printing until the component physically stops working,

>I don't see why
>it should damage the printer to do so.

I hope you are right

> Have you spoken to the consumer
>watchdog about this?

No, too soon, but if I weren't about to go away for some time, I'm
angry enough to go further.

>If they agree that it's unfair, they can issue a
>court order for manufacturers to stop this practise.
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

It seems that the printer companies are all stuck in this consumable
business model. They make the printers with every possible system to
confound using consumables beyond the arbitrary dates they conclude will
require replacement.

Some actually have a fuse built into components that is surged at a
certain life point to make the component no longer function. Many
printer companies make fallacious claims that they are protecting print
quality or other components, but it tee case of the OPC drum, I know of
many people who have the fuse replaced or just replace the fuse with a
link (which actually might remove a safety feature) and the drum and
printer continue to run perfectly fine for many thousands of extra copies.

I recently discovered that a Minolta Laser printer I bought, once the
toner cartridge empties, somehow reprograms or burns a fusible link or
something so that although it can be refilled, the printer will run at
1/4th the speed with a refilled toner cartridge.

I haven't heard Konica-Minolta's excuse for this, but I can bet it will
be something like: our printer is designed for the toner we use in the
cartridges. As such we know that those toners do not require extra
cleaning cycles between prints, but with other toners, to preserve print
quality we give the drum 3 extra cleaning cycles per page.

Of course, this is completely fallacious. However, it does two things,
one, it slows the machine to the print that some people may choose to
use OEM cartridges to maintain the speed, and secondly, the extra
cleaning cycles tend to both wear and scratch, as well as weaken the
photosensitivity on the drum, making it fail sooner, and the drum is
even more costly than the toner cartridge.

I am very seriously considering speaking to some political contacts I
have about developing legislation for Canada to outlaw this type of
garbage (literally and otherwise) on an environmental basis if nothing
more. The EU has already done so in a number of areas.

Art

John wrote:

> Arthur Entlich <e-printerhelp@mvps.org> wrote:
>
>
>>Have you contacted Epson about it... if the numbers are wrong maybe they
>>have a solution to offer you.
>
>
> I've been in email correspondence with Epson - after two emails asking
> me questions about age, number of pages (8000), number of colour pages
> (4000 approx) they told me they could do nothing for me as the
> warranty on consumables is only 3 months (the printer is 10 months
> old). No suggestion as to how I could continue to use what was a
> perfectly good Photoconductor unit, prematurely cut off in its prime!
> Just hard luck mate!
>
> Well, can you believe this. After running the replacement PCU for a
> couple of days, I put replacement and original side by side to see if
> I could see anything in the structure that would be capable of being
> reset. Not a thing!
>
> So I put the old PCU back to see what would happen - the printer
> thinks that it is brand new. So it seems that it is a purely software
> thing. I'm kicking myself for being so dumb as not to guess.
>
> So why didn't the guy at Epson tell me that? Seems reptilian or is he
> protecting me from something down the road? Whatever, why don't these
> people communicate honestly?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>Art
>>
>>John wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Does anyone know how to reset an epson photoconductor unit which is
>>>still printing OK?
>>>
>>>After only 8000 pages, and while it was still printing perfectly, my
>>>C1900 announced that the PCU needed replacing and refused to print
>>>till I had obeyed its command.
>>>
>>>Epson say that a PCU should last about 45000 pages.
>>>
>>>Does anyone know how to reset either software or whatever it is on the
>>>PCU that counts pages or assesses area printed.?
>>>This is totally stupid and another example of how the computer
>>>industry is getting away with behaving very aggressively towards the
>>>consumer.
>>>
>
>
 
Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

In message <QnYoe.1585154$Xk.185441@pd7tw3no>, Arthur Entlich
<e-printerhelp@mvps.org> writes
>Can't say for sure what mechanism is being used in your printer. There
>are as many possibilities as printers, it appears.
>
>Certainly, some printers do keep track of serial numbers and some have
>shorter memories than others (one other number, two, three, etc.) to
>create this juggling act.
>
>The most interesting (and galling) part of the whole thing is the
>excuses and explanations different manufacturers give for why they
>embed these differing methods to force replacement of often perfectly
>serviceable parts. I imagine they have a whole department set up just
>to come up with plausible sounding excuses that consumers and
>government agencies will believe.
>
Cue Scotty: The lateral buffers cannae take the strain Capn.

If you read the Star Wreck books Scotty has a jargon manual - the most
intimidating book known to man with which to beat down the resistance of
the non-techie.

--
Timothy
 
If you put 4500 blank pages thought an Epson c900 it will tell you the toner cartridge is empty. C900 use a cog every time the printer run the cog moves in the end it hit the top and presses a sensor which then reports it needs a new toner cartridges. I have found a way without re-moving any screws on the toner cartridge to push it back to the bottom again.

As for the drum just remove the fuse or replace it with a 1 amp household fuse. The fuse blows because its works on a cog system to the opc drum moves a cog every time a page goes though when it get to the end the fuse blows.

The Epson c900 print engine is made by Minolta
 
Hi
I have just spent hours looking on the internet for a good priced photoconductor for our Epson printer. I followed your instructions about removing the unit. I switched the printer on and off a couple of times and then re-inserted the old unit and hey presto - it worked. The average cost of one of these units is £200.... its criminal, along with the politicians and met police - what is this world coming too. every body is ripping every body off in one way or another.

Thanks for your invaluable advice....
 
I agree with 123381. The toners can be reset after a refill (any decent refill company gives adequate instruction on how to do this) with a quick push of a small screwdriver. My Epson Aculaser C900 Photoconductor Unit stopped last week. The solution? A 3.15A fuse from Maplin (£2 for 10!!!). Put this back in under the two little metal clips underneath the unit. Hey presto! The only issue is the Status Monitor still shows it as 'full'/'expired' - prints just fine though.
 
Great shout by DesDes although the fuse is actually a 800mA fuse (I used a 20mm, 1A though and still works a treat).

Worth noting that the fuse can be slid out going away from the longer metal clip on the underside of the unit. The contacts are at the end that goes in the printer first. something small (tiny screwdriver?) can be used to lift the retaining contact slightly to remove the fuse. be careful though because the clips do break off fairly easily!

Hope this helps someone else beat the system!
 
PJ28 Socket for EEPROM (IC3)
C1900 fix

if you remove and replace the pcu and transfer belt too many times
the unit detects how many times its replaced
and stores it to this ic

i think this from a technical view

if you simply replace the eeprom ic with a blank one
then the unit will rewrite dump data to the eeprom
as per first 'out the box' factory the dead giveaway is the need to change over this ic
if you change the controller board where the ic lives
i would assume to preserve settings


i would first remove the units carts
developers {using power off mode method {see service manual you can download this on the net google c1900 service manual }}

transfer and pcu

now replace the eeprom with a blank new one {easy to get for $}
once all back together power it on wait till it inits or vents an error
power off and replace all carts

now power up and give it a try

i think looking at the softwares flow charts in the service manual
this to be the case and i think the software is cleaver enough to do
some simple maths to work out the real state and stored state of both units

so as i say if you've been messing around with stuff while its on
there is a chance these presets have been exceeded or corrupted by say a power outage as it writes these values to eeprom

moreover the firmware in the printer will show strange stats
like some posters report when changing fuses
im sure there will be a max change transfer and max change fuser and pcu
values set to it from first init
as it seems the only nv storage



i have not had to try this method would be nice to see it work

but it sounds logical and worth a go
if your having that type of issue that just wont go away
as for the fuses this is well known
but i know there is more to it with some members outcome when resetting them

it will reset all the stats print counts etc
equivalent to clocking yer motor
to factory and the pesky counters

the reason i say take the units out is incase it pulse the blow fuses lines
on init to default 'factory'

then it would wipe out both fuses



 
but still a decent free printer i got

i think for B jam faults i used a steam cleaner on the foam rollers

its not harsh but man it works !!

i used a good steam then
some blotting paper in between to clean the foam rollers

this worked magic and cleared together with cleaning the fuser ceramic rollers
that fixed its paper size and jam issues
WITHOUT adding parts

now its working magic
it will rattle out 16ppm colour A5 with no issues

seems steam in the way with these printers foam and rubber rollers

ask the wife for a lend of her's



 

Those printers are typical of having sticky solenoids, you will probably find the jamming might come back and/or printing late down the page. I wouldn't be using steam on a printer, at least not if you care about it working in the future. If you want to clean rollers you can use WD-40 or isopropyl alcohol.
 
hi my friend i am afraid i have to completely disagree with your choice of a solvent and a metal spray on lubricant made for lawn mowers and cars and IPA mad to clean skin

both are a very bad choice for several reason
lets take WD40 first { its the best thing to kill carpet beetles for sure!!! 10 second death }

it contains harsh benzine compounds and it is completely wrong for anything mechanical in printers
as it just evaporates you should use bicycle silicon gel for gears, toothed belts
and cogs or plastic nylon bearings
and sewing machine oil for metal bearings and motor bearings{phosphor bronze}

as for IPA on rubber rollers this is just daft it will force the oils from the synthetic /natural rubbers
and cause it to crack and glaze over
as if it was used for a hundred years

you should use roller rejuvenation / restorer {every 6-12months }
{you'll find this for about 10$ or so a 150ml bottle }

as for foam rollers using a steam cleaner will remove the toner by melting it slightly
its advised to place a cloth over the nozzle of the steam jet to remove some of its harsh heat

even using a cloth to remove the crud and toners as you clean in small areas is best
as a rule i remove the foam rollers first but you can avoid this by the use of blotting paper fed in behind {in this c1900 anyway}

if you use ipa on a foam roller it will kill it and it turns to dust in a few months

other than this i noticed that the flapper cleaner portion of this c1900
has a toothed drive belt
there is a small plastic guide and it becomes loose and slips past its set point {by a screw}
the addition of a serrated washer is a good idea to made sure this plastic 'tension' adjust is fixed well
and the belt does not just flap about

as for the flapper interrupter solenoid it does fail but this is mostly due to the black stop gog rises becoming worn for this you just file a new stop face

but the quick way to tell if the solenoid has issues is to use a multimeter to check its resistance
its a bog standard non specific part and costs buttons and has a resistance of about 1K ohm
some others are 10k and some are 500R depending on what voltage its driven with
you will find there datasheets online from the number on it


other than this i have printed about 2000 prints now and so far 100% success

so if it lasts till the toner runs out @ 100% success im happy
and will just lightly service it using the rubber rejuv solution


the most useful thing to use this on is the paper take up egg shaped rubber gog
used the lift paper into the b section of the feeder transport area
{the main problem is jam B and this egg cog glazing/cracking is the issue}


so before you tell me not to use something

please explain why i should use the wrong chem set to do it???

i wonder do you own a C1900 or have used my methods and not your own guess work
based on what some people 'say' first???

wd40 and ipa are NOT the right things to use

ive been servicing printers for many years and i worked for cannon some 20 years ago for a year or two

and i know the use of IPA was not what we used to clean 7 colour copiers


im sorry if you feel that i harshly told you off
this is not my intension to insult you

but i have very much experience in this field

and i am just passing on some of my own well learned know how





 

Thanks for telling me off, but I work for Oce and prior to that a service agent for various companies including Lexmark, Epson, Xerox, Canon and can tell you that we all use WD-40 on rubber rollers and it works a charm and actually rejuvenates rollers. Maybe its just something we do here in Australia, and prety much any other tech i speak to uses the same. It is well proven to work and has been tested over many years, so don't tell me your theories as to why it doesn't work, when it obviously does. The foam roller he speaks of in the c900/1900 is the transfer roller and should not be cleaned with any more than a dry cloth. As for the solenoid thing, i used to pull those epson' c900's apart on a weekly basis and the rubber stopper pad on the solenoids get tacky and sticks causing it to actuate late and cause registration/jamming problems, but its a pain to fix so we would replace the whole transport assembly as a 100% fix.
 
I know this is a really, really old post. But would you be kind enough to tell me how to reset those cartridges, if you remember? I recently resurrected my Laserjet 4 because it predates the consumables racket, but in the office you have to have a printer that does sheets per minute, not minutes per sheet.

I'd be hugely grateful to be able to use up toner instead of throw it away!

Liz


 
There is a fuse which is blown when the printer has printed a certain number of copies. The simplest way to fix this is to solder a small piece of wire over the 2 flat metal plates at the far end (as you remove it) of the photoconductor unit. I did it with about an inch of fine wire, place so that it would not interfere with the function of the unit, or it's removal or insertion. If someone will tell me how to put a picture on here, I'll show you how easy it is to do. Don't worry about safety. The fuse is not a safety device, it is there purely to sell "consumables"
 
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