Epson 7900 Quit Printing

[Stan Prevost]

The 7900 was working fine earlier today.  Actually, not completely fine, as I lost the entire VM color, then was in the process of getting it back, have about 75% of it back so far.  But somehow something broke.  Now when I load a sheet of plain paper and try to print something, no matter whether from computer or an internal nozzle check, the head runs back and forth the full length of the rails, the paper does not advance and no ink comes out.  I have let it run 20 or so cycles and nothing ever changes.  I have cycled power on the printer and the computer, no change.

Anyone seen this behavior (misbehavior) before?

Stan

[Stan Prevost]

Further info.  I can run a nozzle check from the print driver utility if the printer is in service mode.  It won't work if the printer is in normal mode or maintenance mode.  When I try, it goes into that behavior of running back and forth and doing nothing else.

I can't print, either, same behavior.

Stan

[davidh202]

Stan,
your printer is in the process of running a self calibration procedure.It will do it periodically after you mess with it too much! Turn it on in standard mode, and leave it alone! until it completes! Be patient It takes a while sometimes.
You have already interrupted it by shutting down and trying to run nozzle checks in maintenance mode ;-)
David

[Paul2660]

+1
And it can take up to 10-15 minutes to complete.

Epson should have put a warning on the LCD of the printer to let the user know what is going on.

Paul

[jferrari]

Stan, the first time my machine did this I just about had a heart attack. But as others have said it's just a calibration and will run it's course in the 10 to 15 minutes mentioned.    - Jim

[Stan Prevost]

OK, so I let it run, and it did eventually complete whatever it is that it is doing.  I don't know why I haven't ever seen this, or why I am seeing it now. 

Thanks to all.

Stan

[andrewparsons]

My problem is rather more drastic and would be glad of the help and experience of the forum.  I just acquired a used Epson 7900 but the nozzles were blocked and nothing printed at all.  I soaked a rag with Magic Bullet cleaner and put it under the head over night and got most of the black and a bit of the magenta - not a hint from any of the other colours.  I decided to get the screw driver out and clean the head and dampers thoroughly.  I did this and put is all back together again and powered it up ready to do a power clean as recommended in the service manual to recharge the dampers and heads.  Just scrolling through the cleaning menu when there was a sound like a blown fuse from the machine and everything went dead.  Nightmare.
I have checked the fuse on the power supply board (8Amp) and it is fine.  When I operate the power switch on the operators console there is a click from the machine but nothing else. 
Anyone any experience like this or ideas of other fuses or a diagnostic path.  If I replace the mainboard (not convinced that this is the right thing) I could be in difficulty as I cannot unload the parameters from my printer to reload onto the new board.

Any ideas - apart from taking it out into the car park and hitting it with a 10lb sledge?
 

[Paul2660]

My problem is rather more drastic and would be glad of the help and experience of the forum.  I just acquired a used Epson 7900 but the nozzles were blocked and nothing printed at all.  I soaked a rag with Magic Bullet cleaner and put it under the head over night and got most of the black and a bit of the magenta - not a hint from any of the other colours.  I decided to get the screw driver out and clean the head and dampers thoroughly.  I did this and put is all back together again and powered it up ready to do a power clean as recommended in the service manual to recharge the dampers and heads.  Just scrolling through the cleaning menu when there was a sound like a blown fuse from the machine and everything went dead.  Nightmare.
I have checked the fuse on the power supply board (8Amp) and it is fine.  When I operate the power switch on the operators console there is a click from the machine but nothing else. 
Anyone any experience like this or ideas of other fuses or a diagnostic path.  If I replace the mainboard (not convinced that this is the right thing) I could be in difficulty as I cannot unload the parameters from my printer to reload onto the new board.

Any ideas - apart from taking it out into the car park and hitting it with a 10lb sledge?
 

Time to get a new printer.

You have more than likely blown the main board, there are not any fuses, that are replacement type that I know of.   

What many forget, the head on the 9900/7900 family is Pizeo-electric, i.e. the nozzles are fired electronically.  Many people think a clog is just ink locked up around the head.  In your situation it sounds like you have a head with a bit ink on the head, but you may have damaged some of the electronics in the method you used to clean it.  You could have purchased a new head from Epson and followed Eric's instructions on how to install it. 

I also feel that too many cleaning cycles Super strong or normal build up heat in the head that can damage it. 

In your situation a main board and head/with dampers will cost more than a new printer.  Time to take this one to the street.

Paul