Samsung CLX-3175 Imaging Unit Solved/Closed

Question

Hello,
The Samsung CLX-3175 printer of my association displays on its screen:
"Replace the imaging unit soon."
Since then, we have printed a few hundred more pages.
However, it continues to function without any problems, after several toner changes.
It still prints quite clearly.
What should we expect? A refusal to print? Or a degradation in print quality?
Should we change the unit right away? Is the machine at risk of something?

In short, if anyone has any tips...

Best regards and Happy New Year.
Orph

Configuration: Windows Vista / Firefox 9.0.1

jaco2151 · Accepted Answer

Hello,
Here is some good news for experienced DIYers.
I also received the message "replace the imaging unit" even though the drum seemed intact; I took the plunge and I am sharing the positive outcome of my work with internet users.
I disassembled the unit, for this, remove a staple from the drum shaft, pull the shaft out from one side and carefully take out the drum without scratching it.
Remove the side panel opposite the gears (3 screws on the outside and 1 between the panels), take out the white strip by lifting it from the side where the panel was removed and extract it laterally.
Remove the small piece of transparent plastic on which the strip was inserted by slightly lowering the tab on the outside side of the panel still in place and pushing the small piece of plastic outward (to access the screw on the inside side of the panel).
Remove the second panel, take off the metal piece with the scraper and then the two small rollers, as well as the black gear connecting the two white gears.
You now have access to the reservoir containing the dirty toner that you will pour into an old toner bin (the amount is quite impressive). You can take the old toner to the recycling center or container park.
I recommend wearing a mask and safety glasses.
Once everything is emptied, blow with compressed air (preferably outside with the wind at your back) to clean everything thoroughly.
Reassemble in reverse order.
The unit does not have a sheet counter, so how does it work?
On the side of the unit, there is a small receptacle with two small brass contacts; remove it.
Inside, there are two resistors, one of 100K ohms (brown-black-yellow-gold) and another of 56 ohms (green-blue-black-gold).
When installing a new unit, the 56 ohm resistor is treated as a short circuit and resets the counter (which is located on the printer) to zero; since this resistor is undersized, it blows immediately and only the 100k ohm remains in service and the counter starts counting.
If you want to give the printer the impression of installing a new unit, you must replace this 56 ohm ¼ watt resistor (no more). A few cents at an electronics store.
There you go, the unit is good to go for a long time, it's up to you to keep an eye on the quality of the copies.
You have saved more than €100.
Good luck.

orpheu48 · Answer

Hi,
After a few weeks and 500 prints, there are still no warning signs of malfunction or degradation in print quality.
Apparently, it won't be necessary to change the UI right away when the invitation message appears.
A message like "Change this right away or else!" has not yet shown up.
I will provide updates later.
Orph

orpheu48 · Answer

Well, a few hundred pages later, it happened:
I got the message “change the imaging unit.”
And then the printer got stuck.
So it didn’t wait for me to notice a degradation in the print quality and change the cylinder myself, but it’s a forced change.
That being said, an imaging unit is supposed to last for 20,000 pages, and we were far from that.
It’s a pity to see such a petty scam for a printer that otherwise worked properly.

orpheu48 · Answer

The Samsung imaging unit costs 110 Euros. Just slightly less than the price of the printer.

The Epson imaging unit costs 2 times more... for 10 times more pages.

If my association could afford it, we would buy an Epson printer, which also costs 2 to 4 times more than the Samsung, always for 10 times more pages.

Moral of the story: the more you give in to the temptation or the necessity of low prices, the more you get taken advantage of.

Aside from that, it's true that the Samsung is a good little beast. It ends up being expensive to use (imaging unit and toner), that's its flaw.

One question though: since you have experience with the Epson, how reliable and long-lasting is the one you know (and what model, while we're at it) in terms of mechanics?

Best regards,
Orph.

orpheu48 · Answer

Hello jaco2151  It's too late for me and my association this time, but THANK YOU A THOUSAND TIMES! It will surely be useful to me.

robert · Answer

Hello,
The same issue regarding this imaging unit on a CLX3185W. I just changed the two components that are in a small cover on the side of this unit.
Cost of the component is 0.10 euros, totaling 0.20 euros. Desoldering and soldering again requires a bit of solder and a small soldering iron. I reconnected everything and it works perfectly. It's good for another 200,000 prints.

GTAM01 · Answer

Hello,
I am interested in your tip.
I have a Samsung 3185FW, I assume it's the same principle?
I tried to figure out how to do it according to your indication, but I couldn't find a way.
Thank you for shedding some light on this.
Best regards,
GTAM01

prosper964 · Answer

Hello
I emptied the sump, I changed the 56-ohm resistor and I still get the message "replace image unit." I tested the fuse and the 100-ohm resistor and everything is fine.
Does anyone have an idea?
Thank you

prosper964 · Answer

Hello again It seems I changed the toner again and the light has turned green and the message has disappeared, but now it’s printing all pages in black! Any idea about this problem?

Brucemaga · Answer

The imaging unit is also a toner powder recovery reservoir.
It needs to be emptied by dismantling the roller and tilting the unit or by drilling a hole underneath.
Then you can reset it by placing a copper wire between the two front contacts.

AnnaM34 · Answer

Personally, I just resolved the same issue on my Samsung CLX-3185 in a similar but slightly different way...

1/ I agree with Brucemaga, the imaging unit (which we do not wish to replace...) also serves as an additional toner reservoir.
So I emptied it at the same time as the first toner cartridge.
To empty the toner from the imaging unit without disassembling it... I made a small hole in the right place (I used a Dremel, but the plastic is not very thick so it's quite easy), I emptied all the toner (and there was definitely more than in the first reservoir..), of course, do this outside!
Then I simply taped up the hole and thoroughly cleaned (microfiber cloth, but paper towels work too) the entire unit, especially the roller.

2/ To make my printer think that I had indeed changed this imaging unit, I attempted the short-circuit wire method on the resistance terminal of this unit, but my printer crashed during initialization!!!
To find a solution in my case and make it easy to test, I attached 2 very thin electric wires to the resistance terminal and long enough to come out of the printer once everything was closed up (imaging unit, toner reservoir, and all 4 colors reinstalled).
Since I didn’t have a 56ohm resistor on hand, I used 2 x 120ohm in parallel (equivalent to 60ohm), but in my opinion, the value doesn't have to be precise, it just has to be much lower than the 100kohm... so that the printer sees the difference!
My "resistor" of 60ohm did indeed heat up when starting the printer but didn't blow because it really needs to be rated for a maximum of 1/4 watt!
So I simulated this blowing by manually disconnecting my external resistor during the printer's initialization... I had to try 2-3 times to find the right moment to disconnect it during this initialization phase.
But with the wires coming out externally, you can easily perform all tests and startup conditions to find a solution!

Regards.

Chuppito · Answer

Hello, I have cleaned the drum and the tank. Now my pages are printing completely in black. Do you have any tips or solutions? Thank you.

jpdubuc · Answer

I just completed the full procedure on my Samsung CLX-3175.
Thanks to jaco2151 for his tutorial.

In addition, I separated the two black casings to really clean everything.
In total, more than 2/3 liter of toner was extracted.

The drum shaft is easier to put back by passing it through the gear side.

My recommendation: clean instead of just resetting.
It was physically overflowing with almost 22,000 pages (7 and a half years).
The issue is not the drum, but the volume of toner.

I used a 51 Ohm resistor (measured value 52 Ohms) and it’s OK,
but after the second initialization: strictly adhere to the power.

I have an important note: protect the drum from light: I just saw this on this site, but after:
http://dm.jh.free.fr/COMMENT-D%c9PANNER-LA-CLP-300-SAMSUNG.pdf
Now, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the future of my drum.

Arnaud · Answer

Tested successfully today on a C460W with the same resistor (56ohms).
- printer turned off
- resistor inserted between the drum blades
- printer started again

The printer completed its drum calibration cycle and is ready to go for a few thousand pages.

The resistor was indeed very hot :)

Samsung CLX-3175 Imaging Unit

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