Not just Samsung Monitors - Printers too!
OK, I am familiar with the Samwha Capacitor debacle when it comes to Samsung Monitors and LCD TVs. What I didn't know until a few days ago was the "Badcap" problem occurs with Samsung Printers as well.
Printer displaying the problem:
Manufacturer: Samsung
Model: ML-2152W
Network Printer: Yes
Duplex Printer: Yes
USB 2 Interface: Yes
Wireless Printing: Yes - 802.11b
Symptoms:
1. The Printer will spontaneously reboot when coming out of its "Sleeping..." mode - when a print job is sent to the printer while it is in standby. The print job is lost.
2. The Printer will spontaneously reboot at the end of the data transfer phase of the print job - before the printer starts the actual printing phase. The printjob is lost.
3. The Printer will spontaneously reboot at the end of a Print Job. Subseuqent printing is delayed until the printer has finished re-initializing.
4. The sound of the Laser Mirror motor is harsher than when the printer was new.
5. In the early phases of items 1-3 above, the problems are intermittent and change when the printer is turned off for a couple of days and then started up again. The problem gets progressively worse - with increasing instability over time - over a period of 6 months to a year. This variability in symptoms - depending on circumstance - with increasing instability over time - lead me to investigate for possible problems due to bad capacitors.
The Problem:
1. This Printer has an integrated High Voltage/Low Voltage Switch-Mode-Power-Supply PC Board. The board is covered in Samxon Capacitors - which show no evidence of problem.
2. There are three Samwha Capacitors mounted on this PC Board. They are the output filters for the 24VDC, 5VDC and 3.3VDC lines. These are the only Samwha Capacitors in the printer.
3. On my printer, two of the three Samwha Capacitors were bulged. Because of what I have read about Samsung Monitors with these Capacitors - I replaced all three Samwha units.
4. The suspect capacitors are Radial Electrolytic - marked on the SMPS PC-Board as:
C15 - 1000uf@10V, 105degC, 10mm dia. x 18mm high x 5mm lead spacing
C19 - 1000uf@35V, 105degC, 12.5mm dia. x 25mm high x 5mm lead spacing
C23 - 1000uf@16V, 105degC, 10mm dia. x 20mm high x 5mm lead spacing
Replacements:
1. I was able to source Panasonic FM-Series Replacements in identical can sizes and with identical lead spacing. These are 5000hr or 7000hr units with 40% to 70% lower ESR than the typical Panasonic FC-Series replacements.
2. The FM-Series Capacitor with a 1000uf@10V rating is an 8mm unit with 4mm lead spacing. It also has a lower rated lifespan. I decided to subsitute a 1000uf@16V capacitor in this location - since there is more than adquate clearance in the area for the taller capacitor.
Another alternative would have been to use a 1200uf@10V unit, which has the same can size as the 1000uf@16V unit. The selection of which option to exercise is left to the discretion of the user.
3. In the area where the three Samwha Capacitors are located on the SMPS Board - there are two Samxon Capacitors as well. The Samxon Capacitors exhibited no signs of degradation.
4. Interestingly, one of the Samxon Capacitors in the same area of the board as the Samwha Capacitors - is another 1000uf@16V Samxon Unit with identical can size and lead spacing to the Samwha. Odd. I can't see the need for two different brands of capacitor for the same service characteristics.
Resolution and Testing:
1. After replacement of the three offending Capacitors and reassembly of the Printer, it has run on test for 3 days now, returning flawlessly from Standby without any spontaneousl-reboot activity. And yes, the sound of the Laser Scanning motor has returned to the volume and pitch it exhibited when the Printer was new.
Hope this helps others who have "flakey" Samsung Printers.
Printer displaying the problem:
Manufacturer: Samsung
Model: ML-2152W
Network Printer: Yes
Duplex Printer: Yes
USB 2 Interface: Yes
Wireless Printing: Yes - 802.11b
Symptoms:
1. The Printer will spontaneously reboot when coming out of its "Sleeping..." mode - when a print job is sent to the printer while it is in standby. The print job is lost.
2. The Printer will spontaneously reboot at the end of the data transfer phase of the print job - before the printer starts the actual printing phase. The printjob is lost.
3. The Printer will spontaneously reboot at the end of a Print Job. Subseuqent printing is delayed until the printer has finished re-initializing.
4. The sound of the Laser Mirror motor is harsher than when the printer was new.
5. In the early phases of items 1-3 above, the problems are intermittent and change when the printer is turned off for a couple of days and then started up again. The problem gets progressively worse - with increasing instability over time - over a period of 6 months to a year. This variability in symptoms - depending on circumstance - with increasing instability over time - lead me to investigate for possible problems due to bad capacitors.
The Problem:
1. This Printer has an integrated High Voltage/Low Voltage Switch-Mode-Power-Supply PC Board. The board is covered in Samxon Capacitors - which show no evidence of problem.
2. There are three Samwha Capacitors mounted on this PC Board. They are the output filters for the 24VDC, 5VDC and 3.3VDC lines. These are the only Samwha Capacitors in the printer.
3. On my printer, two of the three Samwha Capacitors were bulged. Because of what I have read about Samsung Monitors with these Capacitors - I replaced all three Samwha units.
4. The suspect capacitors are Radial Electrolytic - marked on the SMPS PC-Board as:
C15 - 1000uf@10V, 105degC, 10mm dia. x 18mm high x 5mm lead spacing
C19 - 1000uf@35V, 105degC, 12.5mm dia. x 25mm high x 5mm lead spacing
C23 - 1000uf@16V, 105degC, 10mm dia. x 20mm high x 5mm lead spacing
Replacements:
1. I was able to source Panasonic FM-Series Replacements in identical can sizes and with identical lead spacing. These are 5000hr or 7000hr units with 40% to 70% lower ESR than the typical Panasonic FC-Series replacements.
2. The FM-Series Capacitor with a 1000uf@10V rating is an 8mm unit with 4mm lead spacing. It also has a lower rated lifespan. I decided to subsitute a 1000uf@16V capacitor in this location - since there is more than adquate clearance in the area for the taller capacitor.
Another alternative would have been to use a 1200uf@10V unit, which has the same can size as the 1000uf@16V unit. The selection of which option to exercise is left to the discretion of the user.
3. In the area where the three Samwha Capacitors are located on the SMPS Board - there are two Samxon Capacitors as well. The Samxon Capacitors exhibited no signs of degradation.
4. Interestingly, one of the Samxon Capacitors in the same area of the board as the Samwha Capacitors - is another 1000uf@16V Samxon Unit with identical can size and lead spacing to the Samwha. Odd. I can't see the need for two different brands of capacitor for the same service characteristics.
Resolution and Testing:
1. After replacement of the three offending Capacitors and reassembly of the Printer, it has run on test for 3 days now, returning flawlessly from Standby without any spontaneousl-reboot activity. And yes, the sound of the Laser Scanning motor has returned to the volume and pitch it exhibited when the Printer was new.
Hope this helps others who have "flakey" Samsung Printers.
Comment