Am I crazy to repair my own HP Z3100

[imaginarydave]

So i have been having problems with my Z3100.  It got turned off my mother in law when she was visiting, and due to low use it did not get to run its daily ink purge.   I decided to just buy the Maintenance kit that includes a new cariage assembly, ink tubes, motor etc and replace the innards.    I have the service manual that I found online and it looks very detailed. 

Has anyone done this.  Am I crazy to think I can tackle this project on my own following the service manual guidelines. 

Thanks,
Dave

[Justan]

Sure, go for it!

I recently replaced the drive belt on my z3100. It was not difficult, but was a longish process. Take lots of photos. Put each group of parts you work with in their own bag or bin, and label it. Write down where the bigger or smaller screws go. Be sure and use the right tools! Follow the very detailed manual.

It’s kind of fun, actually but don’t hurry the process.

[John Nollendorfs]

I tend to follow the mantra, don't replace anything, unless it's broke. The things that have been well documented on the Z3100 as needing replacement are as follows--
1. Drive belt, when there are consistent signs of black flecks on your prints.
2. Parking station--This is probably what might need attention on your machine, since you don't use it much. Also replace the felt "Spitoon stations" or clean them if they have ink build up on them.
3. Power supply fan--Instead of just replacing the fan, repair people replace the whole power supply. If the fan has failed, chances are you might have damaged the power supply also!
4. Formatter board--This has a hard drive on it, which is usually the source of the failure--expensive proposition.

This pretty much covers the failures that I have seen posted about this machine. If anyone else has experienced anything else, please chime in.

[sbay]

I've seen a lot of posts revolving around how to fix your HP Z series printer. And I had issues with my printer when I first got it resulting in the HP tech replacing just about every circuit board on the machine.

Do people with epson/canon have the same kinds of issues popping up? For example, I never heard of having to replace the belt before getting my z3200 (perhaps this is a common issue with all large format printers but I just wasn't paying attention to the other brands?).

[imaginarydave]

well I took it appart put it back together, and am getting an error during the carriage assembly test.  It is interesting the manual tells you how to take everything apart, but there is nothing about puting it back together.     I can't figure out when you purge the lines to fill them with ink???   

[John Nollendorfs]

I've seen a lot of posts revolving around how to fix your HP Z series printer. And I had issues with my printer when I first got it resulting in the HP tech replacing just about every circuit board on the machine.

Do people with epson/canon have the same kinds of issues popping up? For example, I never heard of having to replace the belt before getting my z3200 (perhaps this is a common issue with all large format printers but I just wasn't paying attention to the other brands?).

Any printer is liable to have problems sooner or later. That's why there are extended service contracts. Low volume users tend to ignore getting extended contracts. I've had my Z for 4 years now. I've had two service calls in that time. The first because I installed the wrong firmware  update, and the machine let me do it. The second was when the powersupply fan failed, and service replaced the whole unit.

The belt replacement problem appeared within the last year on higher usage machines. I have seen no problems on mine, which I would classify as doing medium, to medium high duty.

Before the Z, I owned 4 original Epson 9000's that required constant vigilance. The Z just prints consistent prints without doing nozzle checks, first time every time. And, it's quite frugal with ink! And unlike the Epsons, HP print heads are very reasonably priced, user replaceable.

[Justan]

well I took it appart put it back together, and am getting an error during the carriage assembly test.  It is interesting the manual tells you how to take everything apart, but there is nothing about puting it back together.     I can't figure out when you purge the lines to fill them with ink???   

Yes you would refill them with the same color ink as was there originally.

I don't have the manual or printer nearby but try doing print tests 3 or more times. This will create opportunity to get ink into the lines and to the print heads.

Also, my experience was that some of the diagnostic tests failed, but the printer worked okay anyway.