Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

[andrewdecruz]

Dear Fellow Techs,
Good day to all of you. Recently I have been facing some problems on a Ricoh Aficio 3045 where the toner seems to accumulate and gets clogged up in the drum unit when it is suppose to be recycled back into the development unit. This normally happens after around 5-6k copies.
And when that happen, the prints comes out dirty. But after servicing and even after changing both the drums and cleaning blade, the problem of dirty prints will recur again as a result of toner getting clogged up in the drum unit again.

I also noticed that the clogged toner appears to be much lumpy and heavy when compared to what's in the new bottle which is more refined and smooth. What is truly perplexing is that I use the same OEM toner on my other similar models but don't have the same issues of toner clogging in the drum unit. Hope anyone out there can share your thoughts. Thanks in advance.
Cheers.

[totoro]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

It's been a long time since I worked on one of these so take what I say with a grain of salt. I remember taking apart a mp4500 pcu unit for the same problem so I believe the 3045 should work the same. In the very top of the pcu assembly there is a long spring auger that is the length of the pcu. That auger is either broke or bound up. You should be able to take the cover on top where the handle is to see this. Also I remember having to take the front ( operator side of machine ) cover off as there is a connecting piece there. I hope that helps.

[slimslob]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

Dear Fellow Techs,
Good day to all of you. Recently I have been facing some problems on a Ricoh Aficio 3045 where the toner seems to accumulate and gets clogged up in the drum unit when it is suppose to be recycled back into the development unit. This normally happens after around 5-6k copies.
And when that happen, the prints comes out dirty. But after servicing and even after changing both the drums and cleaning blade, the problem of dirty prints will recur again as a result of toner getting clogged up in the drum unit again.

I also noticed that the clogged toner appears to be much lumpy and heavy when compared to what's in the new bottle which is more refined and smooth. What is truly perplexing is that I use the same OEM toner on my other similar models but don't have the same issues of toner clogging in the drum unit. Hope anyone out there can share your thoughts. Thanks in advance.
Cheers.

It's been a long time since I worked on one of these so take what I say with a grain of salt. I remember taking apart a mp4500 pcu unit for the same problem so I believe the 3045 should work the same. In the very top of the pcu assembly there is a long spring auger that is the length of the pcu. That auger is either broke or bound up. You should be able to take the cover on top where the handle is to see this. Also I remember having to take the front ( operator side of machine ) cover off as there is a connecting piece there. I hope that helps.

Cheap paper with a high lint content will cause the front of the auger where it goes through the side of the frame to become clogged with a mixture of toner and lint. Will look like a dirty dust bunny. You must thoroughly clean the toner recycle portion of the PCU. Also clean the lint trap on the registration roller on a frequent basis to prevent future build up.

[andrewdecruz]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

Cheap paper with a high lint content will cause the front of the auger where it goes through the side of the frame to become clogged with a mixture of toner and lint. Will look like a dirty dust bunny. You must thoroughly clean the toner recycle portion of the PCU. Also clean the lint trap on the registration roller on a frequent basis to prevent future build up.

Thanks for your extremely highly appreciated reply.
Sorry, but I forget to mention that I have also replaced another PCU unit after facing the clogged toner issue with the previous PCU unit. And I even tried replacing another development unit too but with no improvement.
Yes, I have checked the auger (toner collection coil ) for any clogged dust fibres or lint when vacuum/servicing the old PCU and found that it was turning and recycling without problem. I must also mentioned here that their printing volume per month is on the high side for this model and they averaged around 25k -30k copies per/month.
But what makes the situation more confusing is that when I used back the old PCU on another customer with a similar model, there was no issue whatsoever regarding clogged toner. And they were printing in the 25k -30k range per month too.
I am pretty sure that there are a few others here who have faced the same issues regarding clogged toner in the PCU but have not found a remedy to the problem, so perhaps any feedback will be well appreciated by them too.

Once again, thanks for your future replies and have a great weekend.

[Iowatech]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

Thanks for your extremely highly appreciated reply.
Sorry, but I forget to mention that I have also replaced another PCU unit after facing the clogged toner issue with the previous PCU unit. And I even tried replacing another development unit too but with no improvement.
Yes, I have checked the auger (toner collection coil ) for any clogged dust fibres or lint when vacuum/servicing the old PCU and found that it was turning and recycling without problem. I must also mentioned here that their printing volume per month is on the high side for this model and they averaged around 25k -30k copies per/month.
But what makes the situation more confusing is that when I used back the old PCU on another customer with a similar model, there was no issue whatsoever regarding clogged toner. And they were printing in the 25k -30k range per month too.
I am pretty sure that there are a few others here who have faced the same issues regarding clogged toner in the PCU but have not found a remedy to the problem, so perhaps any feedback will be well appreciated by them too.

Once again, thanks for your future replies and have a great weekend.

That is weird.
You might want to check that the fans at the back of the problem machine are running. But only if the toner building up in the disposal coil is hard.
But it does sound more like slimslob is correct.

[slimslob]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

Thanks for your extremely highly appreciated reply.
Sorry, but I forget to mention that I have also replaced another PCU unit after facing the clogged toner issue with the previous PCU unit. And I even tried replacing another development unit too but with no improvement.
Yes, I have checked the auger (toner collection coil ) for any clogged dust fibres or lint when vacuum/servicing the old PCU and found that it was turning and recycling without problem. I must also mentioned here that their printing volume per month is on the high side for this model and they averaged around 25k -30k copies per/month.
But what makes the situation more confusing is that when I used back the old PCU on another customer with a similar model, there was no issue whatsoever regarding clogged toner. And they were printing in the 25k -30k range per month too.
I am pretty sure that there are a few others here who have faced the same issues regarding clogged toner in the PCU but have not found a remedy to the problem, so perhaps any feedback will be well appreciated by them too.

Once again, thanks for your future replies and have a great weekend.

You did not mention the lint trap on the registration roller. If you have a high volume customer, it should be cleaned or replaced every service call.
registration cleaner.pdf

[andrewdecruz]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

You did not mention the lint trap on the registration roller. If you have a high volume customer, it should be cleaned or replaced every service call.
[ATTACH]35801[/ATTACH]

Thanks again for your reply. Yes, I forgot to mention regarding the dust blade at the registration roller. I do performed a vacuuming of the dust blade at every service call due to the high volume of the machine. I have to mention here that there is a high level of paper dust as a result of their high volume usage. Another issue that I do want to mentioned here is that when I poured out the clogged toner on to a white piece of paper just to have a closer look at it, I found that it is not only looked lumpy and hardened, it also looks pretty damp and heavy as compared to it's normal smooth and refined texture ( when it's in the toner bottle). Anyway i'm still in the process of finding out what is really the cause of the clogged hardened toner and i'm going to replace another new developer kit. Thanks once again and i'll keep you updated on the feedback. Cheers and all the best.

[slimslob]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

Thanks again for your reply. Yes, I forgot to mention regarding the dust blade at the registration roller. I do performed a vacuuming of the dust blade at every service call due to the high volume of the machine. I have to mention here that there is a high level of paper dust as a result of their high volume usage. Another issue that I do want to mentioned here is that when I poured out the clogged toner on to a white piece of paper just to have a closer look at it, I found that it is not only looked lumpy and hardened, it also looks pretty damp and heavy as compared to it's normal smooth and refined texture ( when it's in the toner bottle). Anyway i'm still in the process of finding out what is really the cause of the clogged hardened toner and i'm going to replace another new developer kit. Thanks once again and i'll keep you updated on the feedback. Cheers and all the best.

It sounds like you might be getting excessive condensation inside the machine. Check to see if the paper tray heater is installed and functional. AX40 0190 Heater:120V:9W 20 AX40 0191 Heater:230V:9W.

[Mark Bbb]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

You must clean the developer box by taking the parts aside.
So you have now a better possibility to clean the metal grid of the incoming toner on the auger.
So, when that grid is open, the toner won't get clogged together because it will drop more easy in to the box.

[andrewdecruz]

Re: Ricoh Aficio 3045 - Toner clogged at drum unit

It sounds like you might be getting excessive condensation inside the machine. Check to see if the paper tray heater is installed and functional. AX40 0190 Heater:120V:9W 20 AX40 0191 Heater:230V:9W.

Hi and thanks again for your speedy reply. Yes, the paper tray heater is is one area which I didn't check. I will make it a point to check it out the first thing I attend to the problem. And as you said, it could be a built up of condensation or moisture in the machine. Appreciate all your replies thus far. Thanks