Epson Stylus Pro, strange banding

[eddysmit]

I have an Epson 7600 that has just recently begun banding in a seemingly unpredictable way. Oddly, the printer will sometimes print the first 3/4 or 2/3 of the image perfectly, and the remainder of the image will be screened back or stretched by about 10%. Other times, the printer prints the first 1/4 or 1/3 of the image screened back or stretched, while the remainder of the image is perfect(!!!). I have tried a number of different Profiles (ICC, Adobe, Apple, etc...) but it doesn't seem to make any difference.
When printing faulty, the CR motor sounds different.

It could be that it started after a firmware update.
However I can't go back to an older version. The service utility allways says: Printer not ready. I had this problem with XP, but now allso with win2000. Could it be because one LED is already blinking, telling only 8% ink is left?
The printer is only 2 months old. It can't be a driver problem, because I allso have the problem with the build in alignment program.

Has anyone experienced this problem? If so, any ideas as to how to solve it?
Sorry for my English.

[Doombrain]

Bearings on the carriage are shot.

[eddysmit]

Bearings on the carriage are shot.

I was thinking the same. I allready have checked the carriage without the motor connected and it runs very smoothly. Even when I hold the carriage and put some friction on it, it runs completely free.
This evening I get some halve filled cartridges, so I hope the downgrade will work then.

[eddysmit]

Finally I have found another used 7600.
However, mine was brand new. So I swapped the mother boards.
And swapped the problem  
So I'm sure the problem is on the motherboard.

Is there a way to clear the firmware?
More suggestions? Can it be a problem with a memory chip???

Or even better, has someone an old motherboard?
I would like to use the oldest Epson to experiment with QTR.

All help welcome  

[Chris Gilroy]

That is an odd one Eddy...

The fact that you were able to succesfully swap motherboards is also strange as the print head has a unique signature that is save in the board - when switching print heads for instance, you would need a special tool to 'grab' the signature and 'copy' the info to the new one..

im not sure i can really add much to this string as Ive never encountered the issue...sorry eddy!

Finally I have found another used 7600.
However, mine was brand new. So I swapped the mother boards.
And swapped the problem  
So I'm sure the problem is on the motherboard.

Is there a way to clear the firmware?
More suggestions? Can it be a problem with a memory chip???

Or even better, has someone an old motherboard?
I would like to use the oldest Epson to experiment with QTR.

All help welcome  

[eddysmit]

Hi Chris,

our Belgium technician asked 250$ to tell me that he never encountered this issue  
Do you think it can harm the print heads if I send the wrong tension to the heads? It's a kind of bias of the heads I seem to understand.
Otherwise I swap the motherboards again...