The newest “Cadillac” of full-color Xerox copiers is increasing in popularity in leaps and bounds. The Versant series are phenomenal machines in general. Of course, as with any newly introduced equipment, there are challenges to overcome. One early complaint relates to the shorter than stated yield, and rather high cost, of the fuser heat belt units. Let’s look at ways to increase the longevity and we’ll also go over the steps to refurbish one of these units.
V80 Fuser Heat Belt Unit
The newest “Cadillac” of full-color Xerox copiers is increasing in popularity in leaps and bounds. The Versant series are phenomenal machines in general. Of course, as with any newly introduced equipment, there are challenges to overcome. One early complaint relates to the shorter than stated yield, and rather high cost, of the fuser heat belt units. Let’s look at ways to increase the longevity and we’ll also go over the steps to refurbish one of these units.The fuser heat belt unit is only shown in the OEM parts book as a complete unit. It is sold under the part number 126K34853 or 001R00620. At last check it retailed for just over $1,400.
The OEM literature says to expect a yield of 650K, but word is that they don’t make it that far in most cases. The most common failure is a fault code 099-395 which is closely related to the fault 010-613. Either code means the machine saw extra strain on the fuser drives or slowing of the belt’s speed. Usually the underlying cause is failure of the heat pad or slip sheet. This fabric-like piece is found inside the heat belt, right where the pressure roller makes contact. When the slip sheet tears, it bunches up inside the belt and causes extra friction and strain on the drives. The fault can be reset by turning the machine off and back on, but eventually the heat belt itself will get damaged if the problem is not addressed.
If the customer knows to call for service right away, rather than continuing to run the machine, you will likely rescue the heat belt before it gets too badly damaged.
The fix is to open the unit up, replace the slip sheet (V80FHBSS) and make sure to apply plenty of heat belt oil (V80FHBO) to the new slip sheet. At the same time you should sit the two wicks in a heat belt oil bath for a few minutes until they are fully re-lubricated. Then they can do their job as oil reservoirs for the components inside the unit once again.
If the belt is damaged badly enough to cause copy quality problems, you may need to replace that as well.
Photo #1: Orientation
Now let’s have a look at how to take the heat belt off. This way you can get inside to clean the rollers and re-oil or replace the slip sheet and the two heat belt oil wicks. See Photo #1 for orientation of some of the parts mentioned in the first few steps of the procedure.
TOOLS & SUPPLIES NEEDED:
- #2 Phillips Screwdriver (or 5.5mm nut driver)
- Pair of screws (to use as spacers… you’ll see their purpose in the procedure)
- Slip sheet (V80FHBSS)
- 2 oz. bottle of heat belt oil (V80FHBO)
- Lintless cleaning/oil applicator cloth
- Index card
PROCEDURE:
1. Remove the stripper plate by first taking off the two springs (one at each end, see Photo #2). Then rotate the plate away until it can come off of its mounting pins.
Photo #2: Stripper Plate Springs
2. Next, you’ll need to release pressure on the heat belt. The tension/steering roll can be pushed inward, against a pair of heavy springs to release the tension. Any small screw can be used as a temporary spacer to hold off the pressure. At either end of the tension roll, place these spacer screws between the roller’s metal pin and its black limiting collar (see Photo #3 & #4).
Photo #3 & #4: Use a small screw as a temporary spacer.
3. Slide the heat belt off of the non-drive end of the unit (be careful as the edge of the heat belt will want to hang-up on a metal frame piece (see Photo #4).
Photo #4: Sliding the heat belt off carefully.
4. Remove the two wicks. Each is held on by two screws. You do need to remove the screws, only loosen them so the metal part of the wicks can slide out from under the mounting screws.
Photo #6: Treat the wicks to a nice oil bath 🙂 The blue arrow points at how high the oil has wicked. This one needs more time in the bath.
5. Stand the two wicks in a heat belt oil bath. Best to use a long narrow tray (I used a plastic tray which was originally the packing for a drum blade). Give the wicks enough time to suck up as much oil as they can. If you look at the end of the wicks you can see how far the oil has “wicked” up into its reservoir material (see Photo #6). When you remove the wicks from the oil, wipe off any excess oil from the metal and from the edge of the wick material.
6. Next you can remove the old slip sheet. It’s held by a flat metal plate with five screws. Note that one corner is cut off the slip sheet to indicate which end is which. Refer to Photo #5 for an example of how a failed slip sheet looks.
Photo #5: A good example of a bad slip sheet
7. Install a new slip sheet and oil it using the cleaning/applicator cloth to work the heat belt oil into the weave of the slip sheet thoroughly (see Photo #7).
Photo #7: Oil the new Slip Sheet
8. Clean the metal drive and tension/steering rollers’ surfaces with some of the heat belt oil…this stuff is a magnificent cleaning material for this purpose (see Photo #8 & 9 for before and after pics). Wipe off any excess oil afterward.
9. Use the edge of the index card to clean off the faces of the four thermistor heads where they touch the two metal rollers. Be gentle so as not to damage the yellow kapton tape on the thermistor heads. Put a little pressure behind the head as you slide the card back and forth a few times to remove any built up residue.
Photo #8 & 9: Before and after cleaning with the heat belt oil on a lintless cloth.
10. Slide the heat belt back on using the index card as a guide to help ease the heat belt over the end of the slip sheet (see Photo #10). This way the slip sheet doesn’t get dog-eared. Once past the end of the slip sheet, remove and discard the index card and slide the heat belt the rest of the way on. Note: If you are re-using the old heat belt (assuming it’s not damaged), it is a good idea to flip the belt end to end when reinstalling it, so the inside of the belt will wear more evenly.
Photo #10: Use an index card as a temporary guide to get the belt over the end of the slip sheet.
11. Center the heat belt on the metal rollers and then remove the two screws you used as spacers earlier, allowing the tension roll to press on the inside of the belt again.
12. Reinstall the stripper plate and the spring at either end. The springs’ little “handles” should point in toward the unit.Voila! You rescued a heat belt unit!
That’s a nice friendly procedure…not too many screws, and not too time consuming.
Hope you all have a beautiful spring! Happy rebuilding everyone!
