Z3100 error 02.1:10

[Loek49]

My Designjet Z3100 keeps asking to replace printheads. Which print heads seems random. After booting up 100%, the screen shows initializing, ink is pumping left and right, the carriage moves left and right, to the center, to the right and a little to the left, the screen then shows prepare ink system for about 3 sec, initialize, replace printheads incomplete, reseat faulty printheads. After reseat the faulty printheads remain.
The carriage test stops on Vpp with error 02.1:10. I replaced: trailing cable, carriage PCA, power supply and mainboard, flexible connections between PCA and printheads. Contacts checked and cleaned. All printheads and full cartridges work in another printer. The ink tubes are bled.

What else can I do?

[deanwork]

The expert on this kind of thing is Mark L. . I have emailed him a few times this year but never heard back.
I hope he is ok. That’s unusual for him.

Here is his z wiki with a lot of good info on it. I would also do a few searches on this list for Marks past posts if you still have issues.

http://z3200.com/about_Z3200_and_Mark_Lindquist.htm

What I would do first is unplug the printer then remove the formatter board, that slips out easily with one screw It is on the back top right of the printer. Clean the contacts with alcohol and dust off down in there with compressed air.

If you have already done that or it doesn’t do anything, ..turn on the printer and wait for the heads to move along the carriage and quickly unplug the printer. Remove all the print heads and put them in baggies. Then remove all the ink carts put them in baggies. Let it sit overnight unplugged.

Next morning turn on the printer with all heads and inks removed. Follow the printer instructions for putting heads and inks back in. I believe Mark had people put in one at a time as the printer asks for them.

This has fixed a few similar issues more than once I believe.

If this doesn’t work I would contact LPS .  This guy is the an expert on these units and sells new and refurbished parts for them. Be patient he is like a one man operation I believe and will call you back. Be polite and he can help trouble shoot issues.

https://www.lpscomputer.com/?gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-veB4L_9_gIVdfrjBx2BBweBEAAYASAAEgLN2fD_BwE

John

My Designjet Z3100 keeps asking to replace printheads. Which print heads seems random. After booting up 100%, the screen shows initializing, ink is pumping left and right, the carriage moves left and right, to the center, to the right and a little to the left, the screen then shows prepare ink system for about 3 sec, initialize, replace printheads incomplete, reseat faulty printheads. After reseat the faulty printheads remain.
The carriage test stops on Vpp with error 02.1:10. I replaced: trailing cable, carriage PCA, power supply and mainboard, flexible connections between PCA and printheads. Contacts checked and cleaned. All printheads and full cartridges work in another printer. The ink tubes are bled.

What else can I do?

[Loek49]

Hi Decanenwerk, Thank you for your message. I cleaned and checked the formatter's contacts. Unfortunately, that doesn't help. I also tested and checked all cartridges and printheads. After the printer was turned off for a while, I also replaced the print heads one by one. That didn't help either. I also turned the printer off, disconnected the power and network and removed the new battery for a while. This tests the hard disk (FSCK). That didn't help either. It seems that something is going wrong in the firmware. What could also be is that an electronic part (such as Carriage PCA) has a defect that causes another electronic part (such as head PCA) to malfunction. I also think that chance is small because I have made several changes.

[Mark Lindquist]

The following is my system for restarting/resetting a Z series printer.

First, turn off the printer from the front console of the printer. Unplug it. Turn the back switch to off. Let it sit for a good hour unplugged.

Next, plug the printer back in, switch to on, and unplug it quickly from the back as you see the carriage head move.

Move the carriage head by hand to where you can unload the printheads. Open the printhead cover and remove each printhead and put them all in a large freezer back that can be tightly sealed.

Next remove all the inks and place in freezer bags.

Shake all inks and printheads vigorously until you can’t stand it any more.

NOW, plug in the printer from the back and wait for it to come on to the point where it asks for ink. Do the inks one by one allowing the computer to verify the inks are each HP product. The carts must be at least 50-60 % full, (or new).See if it lets you go through the process of verifying if they are expired - if so, say you are ok with that. Whatever it will not take, notate. Try to see how many inks it will accept.

Once all inks are in, the printer should ask for printheads. Follow instructions replacing each one. Next, the printer will want to do a printhead alignment on glossy paper. Do so.

If you get this far, you should be able to go on and print.

If you get “reseat cartridge” error message - turn the printer off with the switch in back. Often it will clear the error message and go on.

It’s critical to do these steps in the exact order. Even if you’ve already done this, do it again. It could take several times, but I have found persistence pays off.

If you’ve replaced a printmech board by itself, you will have a problem. The printmech and the main pca board and hard drive must all match. The printer checks the serial numbers and will not proceed unless there is a match.

As John Dean said, the LPS guy (Tim?) knows better than anyone - if you’re still stymied call him.

Good luck with your printer.

Mark

[Loek49]

Thanks Mark for your response. I have removed cartridges and printheads, turned the printer back on and put everything back in one at a time. I had already read and applied this advice of yours before. The printer accepts the cartridges. After each printhead, the printer beeps to indicate acceptance. After closing the lid and the window, the carriage moves to the right and within 3 seconds it asks to replace three incorrect print heads. Reseating and replacing printheads does not help. The printer does not begin preparing the ink system. I have tried with multiple sets of cartridges and sets of printheads. I have four printers here, two of them suddenly and almost at the same time got this problem. Perhaps a mains voltage peak is the cause of an electronic defect? It is also remarkable that a friend of mine is experiencing the same problem after the printer has not been used for a while was turned on all the time. Coincidence does not exist?
I know that printmech, formatter, harddisk and mainboard belong together. However, I have managed to replace a part more often. I have always kept harddisk and formatter together. I expect the printer to give an error message (59. or 79.) immediately upon startup if parts are not accepted and don't get to the point where it asks for printheads.
Kind regards, Loek.

[deanwork]

Yea I would call LPS. If you had a power spike you may have blown a board.


 

Thanks Mark for your response. I have removed cartridges and printheads, turned the printer back on and put everything back in one at a time. I had already read and applied this advice of yours before. The printer accepts the cartridges. After each printhead, the printer beeps to indicate acceptance. After closing the lid and the window, the carriage moves to the right and within 3 seconds it asks to replace three incorrect print heads. Reseating and replacing printheads does not help. The printer does not begin preparing the ink system. I have tried with multiple sets of cartridges and sets of printheads. I have four printers here, two of them suddenly and almost at the same time got this problem. Perhaps a mains voltage peak is the cause of an electronic defect? It is also remarkable that a friend of mine is experiencing the same problem after the printer has not been used for a while was turned on all the time. Coincidence does not exist?
I know that printmech, formatter, harddisk and mainboard belong together. However, I have managed to replace a part more often. I have always kept harddisk and formatter together. I expect the printer to give an error message (59. or 79.) immediately upon startup if parts are not accepted and don't get to the point where it asks for printheads.
Kind regards, Loek.

[Mark Lindquist]

Thanks Mark for your response. I have removed cartridges and printheads, turned the printer back on and put everything back in one at a time. I had already read and applied this advice of yours before. The printer accepts the cartridges. After each printhead, the printer beeps to indicate acceptance. After closing the lid and the window, the carriage moves to the right and within 3 seconds it asks to replace three incorrect print heads. Reseating and replacing printheads does not help. The printer does not begin preparing the ink system. I have tried with multiple sets of cartridges and sets of printheads. I have four printers here, two of them suddenly and almost at the same time got this problem. Perhaps a mains voltage peak is the cause of an electronic defect? It is also remarkable that a friend of mine is experiencing the same problem after the printer has not been used for a while was turned on all the time. Coincidence does not exist?
I know that printmech, formatter, harddisk and mainboard belong together. However, I have managed to replace a part more often. I have always kept harddisk and formatter together. I expect the printer to give an error message (59. or 79.) immediately upon startup if parts are not accepted and don't get to the point where it asks for printheads.
Kind regards, Loek.

What OS and what drivers are you using Loek? If Mac, frequently reverting to an earlier driver, firmware and utility will clear these problems up. So if you can say what version (A or B ) your printer is, what OS you are using, and software plus utility, we may be able to help you… possibly….

- M

[Loek49]

Hi Mark, I'm using Windows 11 and I think the latest driver. But this is irrelevant to my problem. The error messages come when the printer starts up. There is no print job and the printer is not connected via USB or Ethernet. For the Z3100 I used the firmware TR12-MVL-U-7.0.0.3-7. I also have version TR12-TR12PS_07_00_00-3-2 In an A and a B version. The printer does not accept those versions.
I now have an idea of ​​what my problem is. Some cartridges turned out not to work properly. I always fill these myself with ink and I make sure they are bled and do not leak. I use decoders to trick the printer. There were also print heads that were apparently not completely filled, the weight was 46 grams instead of 58 grams. I refilled this one. After a lot of changing printheads (also new and refurbished) the printer started up and after a long preparation of the printing system finally came up with the message about alignment. I seem to have a whole collection of failed printheads. I'll keep looking until I'm sure about the causes.

[Loek49]

I wonder why printheads are rejected or considered defective. A chip with four contacts is stuck on the print head. This chip looks like the chips in cartridges. What is the function of this chip? I always clean the contacts on the print head and in the carriage thoroughly. Does the printer with this chip detect that a print head is installed? Is it also detecting whether the correct type is in the correct slot? When I insert a print head, the printer immediately beeps for acceptance. After closing the windows, the carriage moves to the right and immediately returns with the message replace incorrect print head. Is there information written in this chip that this printhead is wrong? Or is the printer not making a good connection via the flexible contacts with (defective?) nozzles in the print head?
If the printer spends some time preparing the ink system but does not end it completely, could the cause be that the ink supply is insufficient due to too little ink, air in the cartridge, ink tube or print head?
Could the above be correct? What is your vision?

[Loek49]

Hi all. I've been working on the third Z3200 for a while now, which keeps asking for print head replacement. I also replaced: print heads, cartridges, carriage pca, tow cable, flexible connections between pca and print heads and power supply with mainboard. Also reset EEROM and put the firmware on it again. Also de-energized the printer for a while and removed battery and performed FSCK. The test of the carriage fails at Vpp reading. With the print heads installed comes error 02.1:10 and without printheads comes error 79:04. I also suspect that the software is in a loop and can't figure it out. Is it possible to reset the software? What else could I do?

[sportmaster]

Low ink carts can cause printhead rejection.

[cyruspy]

My Designjet Z3100 keeps asking to replace printheads. Which print heads seems random. After booting up 100%, the screen shows initializing, ink is pumping left and right, the carriage moves left and right, to the center, to the right and a little to the left, the screen then shows prepare ink system for about 3 sec, initialize, replace printheads incomplete, reseat faulty printheads. After reseat the faulty printheads remain.
The carriage test stops on Vpp with error 02.1:10. I replaced: trailing cable, carriage PCA, power supply and mainboard, flexible connections between PCA and printheads. Contacts checked and cleaned. All printheads and full cartridges work in another printer. The ink tubes are bled.

What else can I do?

Well, according to the service manual, It's related to the Carriage PCA. Could it be that it needs reseating/reconnecting and/or was not properly replaced?.

In the HP forum, somebody mentioned "changing the carriage box" as final fix.

Ref: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/DesignJet-Large-Format-Printers-Digital-Press/HP-Z3100-02-1-10-error/td-p/6013941/page/3

[Loek49]

Hi, thanks for your comments Sportmeester and Cyruspy. All cartridges are full (more than 150 grams) and there is no air in the ink tubes. The cartridges also work well in another printer. This also applies to the print heads. The manuals do indeed give the carriage and the tow cable as a possible cause. I often made these connections on other printers and kept getting meticulously checked. Could it be a problem in the software?

[Loek49]

I also replaced those ribbons several times. Once, one of the gilded contacts had disappeared. It's a bit of fidgeting and fidgeting, but it's doable.