Replaced Ink Assembly still no magenta ink

I’ve owned an Epson 3800 for a few years now and it’s worked most of that time. Recently I had a stubborn clogged magenta print head. I tried numerous fixes from power cleaning to using the old Windex paper towel trick to Piezo flush. The clog still remained. Eventually I went the more drastic route and replaced the dampers. Still completely clogged. On a test print no magenta prints at all. All other colors were printing fine. Finally I replaced the entire ink system assembly and hoped it would solve the problem. Again all colors print fine, but no magenta prints whatsoever. Does anyone have a clue as to what the issue could be? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Did you try flushing the channel with a head cleaning kit attachment directly over the head when you had it apart to replace the damper or the ink unit?

I did not. I’m not familiar with that kit. Is there a link to it you can post?

I do have the Piezo flush kit that I used before I replaced any parts. Is this the same kit, but a different process?

Here’s the link http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.362672/it.A/id.6605/.f

This is an actual attachment that you would place directly over the head itself (you have to have the ink selector unit completely off the head to access the head directly). It comes with instructions for the SF printers, what it was intended for, but you can use it on any head, so long as you gain access to it. Let me know if this makes sense or if you need more guidance with this process.

Good luck! Kelly

Thanks Kelly I’ll pick this up. I’ll let you know if it solves the problem.

I’ll jump in on this thread… Just yesterday I was in the middle of a large job, when nozzles started to clog on my 3880. “No problem”, I thought, a couple cleanings like usual will fix it. Little did I know…
It started with black, then moved to several colors. After numerous regular cleanings, everything was back working EXCEPT VM. For the entirety of today, VM has refused to print more than half of its nozzles, and usually few-to-none. I’ve probably dumped 1/3 of each cart doing regular and power cleanings to no avail. In desperation, I bought an OEM cart, but it has not improved after 2 more regular and 1 power clean. Every other color is firing on all nozzles, save VM.

I’m at my wits-end with this…if it was air in the line, surely it would have cleared out by now. If the cart had developed a fault, the OEM one should have fixed that. If it was due to a grungy capping station, more colors would be affected (dirty capping station was probably part of the cause of the initial jumping clogs, but I did a capping station clean). Any suggestions would be appreciated.

When is the last time you agitated the cartridges?
Have you run the VM out of ink in the past?
What is the actual ink level in the cartridge in comparison to the Status monitor reading?
Did the printer sit unused for any amount of time before this large print job?
How old is the printer?
Have you performed a thorough cleaning of the print head, wiper blade and Capping station?

So, today I was back home with my cleaning kit. Took the printer apart, pulled off the dampers and injected PF into the head. That seemed to do the trick, although I haven’t printed anything yet. The nozzle check looks ok now though, so fingers crossed. While I was at it, I did a complete cleaning of the capping station, wiper and platen. It was dirty, but not bad.
For completion, I’ve answered your questions below. Let me know if you think of anything that may have brought this about. Thanks!

When is the last time you agitated the cartridges?
> The printer was under a friend’s care for about a month. They probably didn’t agitate, but used it repeatedly with no issues.

Have you run the VM out of ink in the past?
> No. When I looked at the ink lines and dampers, they were full.

What is the actual ink level in the cartridge in comparison to the Status monitor reading?
> 3880 carts don’t have accurate ink monitoring. I try not to let them fall below half.

Did the printer sit unused for any amount of time before this large print job?
> No, they had been using it for a while before I got there. It was working fine for about 3 hours that night, then had issues with various colors, finally settling on VM as stated above.

How old is the printer?
> It was bought refurbished about 1.5 years ago.

Have you performed a thorough cleaning of the print head, wiper blade and Capping station?
> See above :slight_smile:

It sounds like you were dealing with a stubborn clog, that you dislodged when you used the head cleaning kit attachment.

I am happy to hear you resolved the problem and it’s giving you a good nozzle check again!

@Kelly: Bad things have happened again :confused: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/showthread.php?1963-3880-Reoccuring-Magenta-Problem
I’m waiting on new dampers and hopefully that will fix my problems, but if you have any input it would be appreciated!

tjncooke,

Here is a post that may help you http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/showthread.php?29-Article-Printer-Cleaning-and-Preventative-Maintenance
If you decide to replace the Ink selector unit, which houses all the dampers and will eliminate any stubborn clogs in your dampers (which should be considered your ink filters). This is a recommended replacement by Epson every 12-16 months, as part of a regularly scheduled maintenance plan to ensure the ink continues to flow freely into and through the head. This is not an easy replacement and will require some mechanical abilities, along with a Repair manual that can be purchased at 2manuals.com http://www.2manuals.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=1361

The Ink selector unit can be purchased through Compass Micro through this link https://www.compassmicro.com/parts_detail.cfm?ID=7462&form.mfg=Epson&form.printerstyle=Inkjet&form.printername=Stylus%20Pro%203880