Okidata OL-400 shuts off right after "Warming Up" message on OL400screen

[William Warren]

Thanks for reading this.

I have an Okidata OL-400 printer, which shuts off almost as soon as it's
turned on or doesn't turn on at all, but sometimes works OK.

When I throw the switch, the message window sometimes shows "Warming Up"
for about a second, and then the machine goes dead. The behavior is
erratic, and most attempts produce no result at all, not even the
"Warming Up" message. However, the machine sometimes completes a normal
warmup cycle and goes to "Online" mode, at which point printing works OK.

I've verified the power source, and swapped AC cords without seeing any
change.

All advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

William

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[Tony]

Thanks for reading this.

I have an Okidata OL-400 printer, which shuts off almost as soon as it's
turned on or doesn't turn on at all, but sometimes works OK.

When I throw the switch, the message window sometimes shows "Warming Up"
for about a second, and then the machine goes dead. The behavior is
erratic, and most attempts produce no result at all, not even the
"Warming Up" message. However, the machine sometimes completes a normal
warmup cycle and goes to "Online" mode, at which point printing works OK.

I've verified the power source, and swapped AC cords without seeing any
change.

All advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

William

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Posted to comp.periphs.printer, comp.periphs.printers and
alt.comp.periphs.printers. Replies not set.

William
Likely failures are...
Fan
Power supply
Engine Controller Board

If it's either of the latter it would be cheaper to replace the printer.
So, does the fan rotate when you turn the printer on, if not then you need to
remove the covers, make sure all connectors are well home. Other than that I
think you have a printer that is not worth repairing. Sorry for the blunt news.
You could just leave it powered on when you can get it to work, there is not
much power used except when it is printing.
Tony

 

[William Warren]

William
Likely failures are...
Fan
Power supply
Engine Controller Board

If it's either of the latter it would be cheaper to replace the printer.
So, does the fan rotate when you turn the printer on, if not then you need to
remove the covers, make sure all connectors are well home. Other than that I
think you have a printer that is not worth repairing. Sorry for the blunt news.
You could just leave it powered on when you can get it to work, there is not
much power used except when it is printing.
Tony

Tony,

Thanks for the info. The fan does NOT spin when I turn the ol-400 on,
but I don't know if that's a cause or an effect: please tell me if the
power supply and/or controller board has a current sensor that detects a
frozen fan, or if it's likely that the fan isn't spinning because of a
failure elsewhere.

In other words, as you point out, I need to know if it's just a
connector or fan, or if it's something else that's not worth fixing
before I open it up: the fan is labelled for ~30 volts, and I don't have
a test supply that will drive it, so I can't do any simple checks.

William

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[Tony]

Tony,

Thanks for the info. The fan does NOT spin when I turn the ol-400 on,
but I don't know if that's a cause or an effect: please tell me if the
power supply and/or controller board has a current sensor that detects a
frozen fan, or if it's likely that the fan isn't spinning because of a
failure elsewhere.

In other words, as you point out, I need to know if it's just a
connector or fan, or if it's something else that's not worth fixing
before I open it up: the fan is labelled for ~30 volts, and I don't have
a test supply that will drive it, so I can't do any simple checks.

William

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William
The fan is driven by the Engine Controller, there should be +38 volts DC at pin
1 of J1 on the engine controller. If the voltage is there when you power on
then the fan has failed, if not the engine controller or power supply has
failed. Only way to check this is with a voltmeter or similar and with the
covers off. Alternatively you could measure the resistance of the fan motor
between the two fan wires, if it is open circuit the fan has failed.
Yes there is a sensor that detects whether the fan is running, this is on the
engine controller board.
The manual is available from www.fixyourownprinter.com, just log in and
download the service manual.
Tony