Epson Era Message

[Santa]

Hey all. 

Our Epson 9600 recently gave me the code "maintenance req 0040"  Still runs fine so was wondering anyone has any experience with this.

thanks:
Santa

[whoami]

Navigate to status menu and maintanance sub menu then you should be able to scroll through a few options.  Thsese will have * asterik marks i think 4 or 5 ***** asterik marks mean that no maintanance is required for that part ie cutter.  No * asterik marks means that maintanance is required for that part. 

[Captain_Type]

That message means that parts of the cleaning unit have reached the end of their pre-defined life span.

If print quality still looks good, here is how to clear the counters so that the message will go away (this resets those counters and starts them over):

1. Turn the printer off.
2. Hold Paper Source & Down Arrow & Cut/Eject (all at the same time)
3. Turn the printer on while still holding down all three buttons.
4. Release the buttons when messages appear on the LCD screen.
5. Push the Down button until Clear Counters appears
6. Push the Right button to select the Clear Counter option
7. Push the Down button until Cleaner appears
8. Push the Right button to select Cleaner
9. Push Cut/Eject (Enter)
10. Wait for printer to finish cycling
11. Turn printer off
12. Turn printer on as you normally do

Keep an eye on print quality and reserve some funds in the budget to have it serviced when quality drops.

Here is a link with lots of info on fixing the 9600:

hwww.jesseheap.com/EPSON%207600_9600%20Field%20Repair%20Guide.pdf

Captain Type

[Joe]

Captain Type,

Is there a PDF like that for the 7000?

[Captain_Type]

Joe,

Yes, there is.

http://www.inkjetprintpaper.com/SM7000b1.pdf

A caveat...if you get Maint Req 00000100 on your 7000, it means your ink pads are full, or more properly, that based on how many prints you've done, Epson is afraid they are getting full.

Unfortunately, on the 7000, there is no way to get to them, and it requires a pricey service call.

On the newer models (7600/7800), they put on a customer replaceable maintenance tank instead, those are very cheap by comparison.

The method above will also reset the counter for the pads, but beware. Eventually, ink will overflow the compartment and start dripping onto the floor...at that point, taking the machine apart to get to the pads will become messy and even more difficult.

Capt. Type

[Joe]

LOL...I have actually replaced the pads on the 7000 before. Clod from PPF gave me a link where I could buy them so I ordered them and disassembled enough of the printer to get to the pads and replace them. It wasn't too bad wearing latex gloves with a nearby trash can double lined with garbage bags.

Our 7000 has started printing garbage ascii characters mixed in with some parts of an image. I'd like to do a firmware reload and see if that will clear it up. Thanks for the link.

[jimking]

Yesterday on our 9600 we got the 00000101 message- fatal error. Translation it was the life of the motor. The book said it will do this at 2,500,000 cycles, Good grief! The fix was stated above, reset counters.

[Santa]

Thanks all Great info. 

Print quality has been good but thanks for the heads up and I'll monitor it.

[Joe]

Anyone know where I can get the latest firmware for the 7000? Epson doesn't list it in their downloads page. The printer firmware on my printer is listed as BO1008 and the latest listed in that PDF is BO289C. Where can I find BO289C.