Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

[Martijn74]

My dad has a 3 year old Kyocera M5521CDW, prints have a dark background which makes the machine useless. Tried both auto- and manual calibration, no effect.
Also tried all the cleaning options I could find - no effect.
At first the prints were fine. Replaced toner twice (first compatibles, now with original Kyocera brand - both have the problem).
Printing on my own Brother DCP-L3550CDW is fine with the same document, the background is white, so the problem is caused by the printer itself.

Any help is much appreciated!

m5521cdw_dark_bg.jpg

[Xandy_73]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

Did you change the imaging unit?
Internal grounding problems can also cause a gray background on the printed page.

[Martijn74]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

Did you change the imaging unit?
Internal grounding problems can also cause a gray background on the printed page.

No I did not replace any parts other than the toner cartridges.
I will check the imaging unit next time I am at the printer location.

Also the first 2 prints show vertical lines so I think it needs some cleaning - (I am new to laser printers)

[ronny2502]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

Hello,

do you have access to

KYOCERA Document Solutions Deutschland

?

There you can find ServiceManuals (FirmWare etc.). - These things will help you determine cause of print defects especially when you are new to KyoLaserPrinters.


Regards,
Ro

[alpertevfik]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

WhatsApp Image 2023-11-01 at 10.22.46.jpg

[GIUBOSS]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

My dad has a 3 year old Kyocera M5521CDW, prints have a dark background which makes the machine useless. Tried both auto- and manual calibration, no effect.
Also tried all the cleaning options I could find - no effect.
At first the prints were fine. Replaced toner twice (first compatibles, now with original Kyocera brand - both have the problem).
Printing on my own Brother DCP-L3550CDW is fine with the same document, the background is white, so the problem is caused by the printer itself.

Any help is much appreciated!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]60340[/ATTACH]

But is it a scanned color page? Is the dark background black? If you are using compatible toners you will often have these problems, and using the originals now won't improve much until you suck out all the rubbish from the development unit.

[Black Cloud]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

Check the auger unit on the transfer belt cleaning unit. The gear should turn the auger, if not it is stripped and the cleaning unit is packed with waste toner.
Keep in mind, once generic toner has damaged the developer material putting in a genuine toner in will not fix the contaminated developer as it is coated.

[Martijn74]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

Check the auger unit on the transfer belt cleaning unit. The gear should turn the auger, if not it is stripped and the cleaning unit is packed with waste toner.
Keep in mind, once generic toner has damaged the developer material putting in a genuine toner in will not fix the contaminated developer as it is coated.

Thanks - I guess it requires a thorough cleaning then - you think a procedure like this could help? I found it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI08Wh3STxs. It shows a dirty auger unit at 7m15s as you mentioned...

[Martijn74]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

Check the auger unit on the transfer belt cleaning unit. The gear should turn the auger, if not it is stripped and the cleaning unit is packed with waste toner.
Keep in mind, once generic toner has damaged the developer material putting in a genuine toner in will not fix the contaminated developer as it is coated.

@GIUBOSS, @Black Cloud - you were very right, just opened the auger unit. It was totally stuck in waste toner. I cleaned out the whole thing but I'm afraid the gear wheel is busted. Ordered a new one from Ali, hope I can make it run smooth again. Thanks for your replies!

[Larhal]

Re: Kyocera M5521cdw prints too dark

My dad has a 3 year old Kyocera M5521CDW, prints have a dark background which makes the machine useless. Tried both auto- and manual calibration, no effect.
Also tried all the cleaning options I could find - no effect.
At first the prints were fine. Replaced toner twice (first compatibles, now with original Kyocera brand - both have the problem).
Printing on my own Brother DCP-L3550CDW is fine with the same document, the background is white, so the problem is caused by the printer itself.

Any help is much appreciated!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]60340[/ATTACH]

Using compatible toners will cause the background due to incompatibility of the mixing of different toner formulations. You will need to replace the contaminated developer unit with a new one or remove all the toner from the developer unit and replace with Original Kyocera toner. Don't Mix toner brands, stick with the original Kyocera toner.

The transfer unit auger will clog up faster with compatible toners.