Epson 3880 150C problem solved.

[Harry Hodgkin]

Hi all,

Just like to pass on a possible cure for the Epson 3880 printer 150C error codes.

I read a tread where someone had called out an Epson engineer with this problem- when the engineer turned-up he apparently said that this was a known problem, and a number of 3880 left the factory without having any grease applied to the nylon cogs on the right side of the printer.

I am not suggesting that anyone should open their Epson up, this would void your warranty.

But in my case my warranty had expired by 4 months and Epson quoted me £450.00 + V.A.T for a call out, maximum 1 hour and parts at extra costs.

A £5.95 can of white Lithium grease sprayed on the Nylon cogs did the trick for me.

 

[cr4guy]

Hi all,

Just like to pass on a possible cure for the Epson 3880 printer 150C error codes.

I read a tread where someone had called out an Epson engineer with this problem- when the engineer turned-up he apparently said that this was a known problem, and a number of 3880 left the factory without having any grease applied to the nylon cogs on the right side of the printer.

I am not suggesting that anyone should open their Epson up, this would void your warranty.

But in my case my warranty had expired by 4 months and Epson quoted me £450.00 + V.A.T for a call out, maximum 1 hour and parts at extra costs.

A £5.95 can of white Lithium grease sprayed on the Nylon cogs did the trick for me.

Thanks for the heads-up. My UK based service agent lists this as one of the 'common error codes', but unfortunately does not link to a fix/explanation.

Loading…

www.largeformatrepairs.co.uk

 

[Zone8]

Harry Hodgkin wrote: Just like to pass on a possible cure for the Epson 3880 printer 150C error codes. ".... a number of 3880 left the factory without having any grease applied to the nylon cogs on the right side of the printer"

Thanks for the heads-up. My UK based service agent lists this as one of the 'common error codes', but unfortunately does not link to a fix/explanation.

Clearly, you should have greased his palm with a bit of spare dosh!

 

[drbean]

Hi all,

Just like to pass on a possible cure for the Epson 3880 printer 150C error codes.

I read a tread where someone had called out an Epson engineer with this problem- when the engineer turned-up he apparently said that this was a known problem, and a number of 3880 left the factory without having any grease applied to the nylon cogs on the right side of the printer.

I am not suggesting that anyone should open their Epson up, this would void your warranty.

But in my case my warranty had expired by 4 months and Epson quoted me £450.00 + V.A.T for a call out, maximum 1 hour and parts at extra costs.

A £5.95 can of white Lithium grease sprayed on the Nylon cogs did the trick for me.

I have the same problem now, my warranty has expired and after coming back from a long vacation I am getting the same error.

I want to try your solution. Was it difficult to open the printer and do the trick?

thanks

B

 

[Howard Moftich]

finding the 3800/3880 service manual online is possible w/o too much effort. Take a peek. Kind of depends on how 'handy' you consider yourself. If it boils down to removing a cover or two to expose the gear train, it probably isn't a big deal.

 

[drbean]

finding the 3800/3880 service manual online is possible w/o too much effort. Take a peek. Kind of depends on how 'handy' you consider yourself. If it boils down to removing a cover or two to expose the gear train, it probably isn't a big deal.

thank you

 

[SRC000]

Hi all,

Just like to pass on a possible cure for the Epson 3880 printer 150C error codes.

I read a tread where someone had called out an Epson engineer with this problem- when the engineer turned-up he apparently said that this was a known problem, and a number of 3880 left the factory without having any grease applied to the nylon cogs on the right side of the printer.

I am not suggesting that anyone should open their Epson up, this would void your warranty.

But in my case my warranty had expired by 4 months and Epson quoted me £450.00 + V.A.T for a call out, maximum 1 hour and parts at extra costs.

A £5.95 can of white Lithium grease sprayed on the Nylon cogs did the trick for me.

I am not convinced that the error is a consequence of grease and cogs. Especially since it worked until the warranty expired.

I have also been through the 150C error issue and a conversation with Epson suggests that they know there is an issue and that issue involves firmware (and maybe some other stuff, the tach was vague). Anyway, after thinking over my situation, I came to the conclusion that the 150C might be related to the duration between printer use. Before I moved, I used the printer at least 2 times a week. After I moved, I often went 2 weeks without using the printer and I would get a 150C almost ever time I turned it on. So I started running smaller batches more often. In 8 weeks, I have never had a 150C error.

I think the suggestion that Epson gives to move the printhead around forces the printer to re-calibrate the head position. It may be possible that leaving the printer off for too long results in a loss of head position calibration (I am guessing here). Anyway, as I have noted, 8 weeks, using the printer twice a week and not one 150C. I have not ventured to see if I can go longer than 3-4 days before turing it on.

 

[GreenMountainGirl]

Hi all,

Just like to pass on a possible cure for the Epson 3880 printer 150C error codes.

I read a tread where someone had called out an Epson engineer with this problem- when the engineer turned-up he apparently said that this was a known problem, and a number of 3880 left the factory without having any grease applied to the nylon cogs on the right side of the printer.

I am not suggesting that anyone should open their Epson up, this would void your warranty.

But in my case my warranty had expired by 4 months and Epson quoted me £450.00 + V.A.T for a call out, maximum 1 hour and parts at extra costs.

A £5.95 can of white Lithium grease sprayed on the Nylon cogs did the trick for me.

I am not convinced that the error is a consequence of grease and cogs. Especially since it worked until the warranty expired.

I have also been through the 150C error issue and a conversation with Epson suggests that they know there is an issue and that issue involves firmware (and maybe some other stuff, the tach was vague). Anyway, after thinking over my situation, I came to the conclusion that the 150C might be related to the duration between printer use. Before I moved, I used the printer at least 2 times a week. After I moved, I often went 2 weeks without using the printer and I would get a 150C almost ever time I turned it on. So I started running smaller batches more often. In 8 weeks, I have never had a 150C error.

I think the suggestion that Epson gives to move the printhead around forces the printer to re-calibrate the head position. It may be possible that leaving the printer off for too long results in a loss of head position calibration (I am guessing here). Anyway, as I have noted, 8 weeks, using the printer twice a week and not one 150C. I have not ventured to see if I can go longer than 3-4 days before turing it on.

I have been considering purchase of the 3880, as it has been so well recommended in some threads on this forum. There have been some mentions of problems that occur when it is not used often enough, and your post seems to confirm this. One photographer I spoke with said that Epson printers tend to be finicky, and recommended I consider a Canon printer.

BUT the nearest equivalent, Canon iPF5100 (in function/paper width and price) is much larger. There are more cartridges, which looks like duplication of some colors for photo, and the price for cartridges is higher than the Epson.

My usage will be almost exclusively for photos, as I already have a good all-in-one printer. What do you think about comparison of these two brands?

--
GreenMountainGirl

 

[Howard Moftich]

the 5100 is quite old at this point, maybe 4-5 years. Everyone would love to see a new 17" Canon but it never shows up. You'd be better off w/ a 3880

 

[GreenMountainGirl]

the 5100 is quite old at this point, maybe 4-5 years. Everyone would love to see a new 17" Canon but it never shows up. You'd be better off w/ a 3880

Thanks Howard!

Susan

 

[Pete T.]

This worked for me.

Per Epson support page:

Loading…

www.epson.com

1. Turn off the printer, then turn it back on.
2. When the print head begins to move, unplug the power cord from the power outlet.
3. Move the print head left, then right, then left, stopping on the left side of the printer.
4. Plug the printer back into the power outlet.
5. Turn the printer on.

Keys: ...wait until it MOVES..it will slide easily.

When pushing to the right don't go all the way to the right...if you go to far it will reseat itself and you will have to start over.

Finish with the carriage on the left.

Peter

www.tmaxphoto.com

 

[Vernon D Rainwater]

This worked for me.

Per Epson support page:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/...d=63085147&foid=245033&cat=53461&subcat=53463

1. Turn off the printer, then turn it back on.
2. When the print head begins to move, unplug the power cord from the power outlet.
3. Move the print head left, then right, then left, stopping on the left side of the printer.
4. Plug the printer back into the power outlet.
5. Turn the printer on.

Keys: ...wait until it MOVES..it will slide easily.

When pushing to the right don't go all the way to the right...if you go to far it will reseat itself and you will have to start over.

Finish with the carriage on the left.

Peter

www.tmaxphoto.com

Pete, I don't have this issue but wanted to check this part--- I assume the part regarding "to Finish with the carriage on the left" is part of the details provided by the link. At this time, I have not opened the link and read details.

 

[Petruska]

This worked for me.

Per Epson support page:

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/...d=63085147&foid=245033&cat=53461&subcat=53463

1. Turn off the printer, then turn it back on.
2. When the print head begins to move, unplug the power cord from the power outlet.
3. Move the print head left, then right, then left, stopping on the left side of the printer.
4. Plug the printer back into the power outlet.
5. Turn the printer on.

Keys: ...wait until it MOVES..it will slide easily.

When pushing to the right don't go all the way to the right...if you go to far it will reseat itself and you will have to start over.

Finish with the carriage on the left.

Peter

www.tmaxphoto.com

Pete, I don't have this issue but wanted to check this part--- I assume the part regarding "to Finish with the carriage on the left" is part of the details provided by the link. At this time, I have not opened the link and read details.

 

[Pete T.]

those are cut and pasted directly from Epson site/link.

Peter