HELP...Can't duplex on a Xerox 242

[Mary Lou]

A month ago my copier wouldn't duplex. Had a tech in and he found a small piece of plastic that was stuck in the bottom. When he removed it it worked fine. It happened again and he of course first looked to see if they was anything stuck in it again. He checked all of the connections and wiring which were fine except for one wire that he sautered. He said the only other thing it could be was the sensor. I just put it in and it still won't duplex. I have 700 36 page booklets that I have to have finished this Friday. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wonderings]

Are you on a service contract? If so, place a call and have them put it on high priority to get some out ASAP.

Do you get an error message or some alert when you select duplexing as an option? Is it maybe something simple like having a paper weight setting that is out of spec for duplexing?

 

[Mary Lou]

Not on a service contract. Have a former Xerox tech that works on it. I can't get him in till Saturday. No error code and it won't duplex on any weight. The sheets are only 20 lb and it's set for plain paper. I tried duplexing 80 lb gloss text also.

 

[Mary Lou]

Just got an error code 012-284 finisher malfunction. Suggestion is to turn machine on and off. I've tried turning it off and unplugging it. However the sheets never make it to the finisher.

 

[manujaison]

Hi,
Remove the finisher communication cable and switch on, Then try duplex. It should be a finisher malfunctioning.

 

[Craig]

And now you know why a service contract is important. It could have been fixed the first time with a competent tech who had all the parts at their disposal. Cheap is good, but good is never cheap!!!

 

[Mary Lou]

I'm with you Craig on good not being cheap. When my lease was up my click charges under contract were going to over 10¢. Also I had an official tech from Xerox in last year and when he left the registration was off along with other problems. Had to have him come back 2 more times. Then he cleared all the settings and I couldn't scan. It took 2 more Xerox people and 6 more hours to fix the problems. My copier was unusable for 2 weeks.

 

[wonderings]

I'm with you Craig on good not being cheap. When my lease was up my click charges under contract were going to over 10¢. Also I had an official tech from Xerox in last year and when he left the registration was off along with other problems. Had to have him come back 2 more times. Then he cleared all the settings and I couldn't scan. It took 2 more Xerox people and 6 more hours to fix the problems. My copier was unusable for 2 weeks.

I can't imagine running our 260 without a service contract. Lately we are having them in at least once every week or two. It is one of the main reasons we are looking at a new machine. We have a good relationship with Xerox, when we have had major issues, we have been able to cart over all our paper to our local xerox centre and print our jobs there. Its like having a backup printer for when the main one fails. No way would they let us do that without a contract though.

Hope you are able to get your job out!

 

[Mary Lou]

I got an error message for the finisher so I detached the finisher and it still won't duplex. Any other ideas? Attached photos show where the paper stops, the red circle is where the broken plastic piece was found, the piece is about 1/2 long. When my tech removed it I was able to duplex for a few weeks then it stopped in the middle of printing a booklet. He came back to fix it but can't find the problem.

 

[wonderings]

So it is trying to duplex just constantly jamming in that spot in photo 1?

Could it be a stock issue? Have you tried duplexing on a different stock just to see if it will work and go through? Maybe just some bond.

 

[Mary Lou]

It always stops in the exact same spot. I've tried 20lb., 28lb, 80 lb gloss text and 100 lb gloss text. Same issue.

 

[wonderings]

Definitely sounds like something you need to have service in for. If its happening with all stocks, something is wrong mechanically I would assume.

The only other thing I can think of is the stock size, you sure the length is right? We had it once where the width was correct, but the length was different as it was cut wrong. It would constantly jam up in that spot till I measured the stock and saw the problem.

 

[tiger_scout]

When duplexing, the paper goes through the fuser then down the inverter which is the area you have shown then it goes back up and makes a left turn through the path under the drawer. It looks like its stopping there. Check the entrance sensor and also check that the bearings arent gummed up. Also check that there is drive to the duplex rollers.

 

[mojoprime]

it also looks like that missing piece of plastic could be part of a guide or something, which might affect how it's being fed so it's no longer catching to go back through. i find it a little unlikely that the piece came from nowhere. seems like it's got to be part of a problem might have worked itself out for a bit but become a full blown issue now.