PCU running out quickly

Sometimes you have to power the machine off to get it to reset.

Hi, PCU stands for photo conductor unit, most of us call it a drum unit. You should be able to order from any office supply. It is easy to install and will come with directions.

Hi, my experience with this machine is that the gear that drives the black pcu breaks or cracks. Usually caused by the pcu being too hard to turn. I always turn the developer gear in the pcu before installing it just to loosen the toner.

One of the most common reasons for a Lanier 5222 or 5227 to make dark copies is a problem with the drum unit or developer. Fortunately on those machines, the drum unit and developer are all self-contained in one easily-replacable unit, called the PCU (photoconductor).

If you don't have a new PCU handy, you can order one from the same company you get your toner from. The PCU should generally be replaced every 60,000 copies, but sometimes it may need to be replaced sooner (especially if you run a lot of dark copies or make a lot of copies of images) and it can often run longer than 60,000.

Replacing the PCU is easy -- it sits right next to the toner bottle, and all you have to do is slide the old PCU out and slide the new PCU in (once you remove all of the tape and other trappings from it). Instructions will be included in the box with the new PCU.

Please rate the effectiveness of this solution. Thank you!

This must be done before drum is replaced.
Resets counter.

Start the SP mode and execute the
New Unit Set:
• PCU: SP5-999-001 ∼ 004

Order a new PCU from Ricoh. Power off the machine and replace the pcu.
If you try and cheat it it will run for a short while and then lock-up breaking some gears. Cheeper just to order a pcu. Check Ebay, i see alot of Ricoh supplies there.

What copier is, in order to be able to help you. It can be damaged the paddle roller of the develop unit.

I believe its asking you to change the photo conductor unit. From what I can tell there are 2. Theres a black photo conductor and a color photo conductor. If its not telling you which one you should be able to print a supplies status page and you can see which one needs to be replaced. I'm not totally familiar with the machine but the PCU's should be located in the cartridge area. I just checked out our supply catalog and you should be able to order them from any office supply store or Ricoh dealer. Just a heads up..from what I'm looking at the black pcu is pretty reasonable, but the color one is $300 plus! For your sake I hope its the black one that needs replacement! You should be able to verify the error message in your user manual and more than likely find the part number for ordering.

I suspect that it is the PCU causing the problem, and the message should clear once the PCU is installed and it (automatically) runs it's calibration cycle. Likely the toner auger gear has seized on the PCU, and broken. If the light does not go off after installing the PCU, then you may need a technician, as the toner motor may not be working, or there is a blockage within the toner hopper itself.....but again it is likely the PCU, especially if the toner bottle was empty when it needed replacement. Was it empty?? Did the machine work for a few days, or at least for a while? If so, it seems like too much of a coincidence that this problem would come up at this time.

Good Luck :)

Replacement parts can be ordered from the company . Use this link. http://www.focuselectrics.com/catalog.cfm?dest=itempg&itemid=3671&secid=53&linkon=category&linkid=87