Nikon Super Coolscan LS-8000 ED and LS-9000 ED: diagnostics and troubleshooting.

Some notes on failure diagnostics / troubleshooting the Nikon LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners.

Nikon LS-8000 and LS-9000 scanners are, in my opinion, very well built and are extremely reliable. Still some maintenance is desirable to make sure the scan image quality remains high. In particular, there is one optical component, a mirror, that is more likely (than other components) to accumulate some dust. I think it is worthy checking the mirror cleanliness if your scanner was stored in a dusty environment, or used extensively (over 10,000 scans), or if you purchased your scanner used and the seller did not clean the mirror prior to sale.

If you experience a problem and decide to troubleshoot it yourself, hopefully these notes may help you.

There is a Nikon Coolscan group on Facebook, if you have more questions, you may consider posting there there.

There is also Yahoo group devoted to Nikon Coolscan 8000/9000 scanners:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/coolscan8000-9000/info

When the scanner is turned ON, it initiates a sequence of self-tests and the power light starts blinking slowly (once every two seconds). It keeps blinking at this rate as it progresses through these tests. If it fails any of these tests, it flashes the power light rapidly (at a rate of approximately 5 ties per second) and then the power light turns solid ON. If you see the power light flashing rapidly during the start up sequence, you can try to determine at which stage it happens and then try to see if you can identify the problem.

Here is a link to a video I took of a Normal power-up sequence of Nikon LS-9000 scanner.

Symptoms	Problem	Solution

1. Unrecognized Film Holder (UFH). Scanner does complete initialization properly. However when the film tray is inserted, the scanner dies not accept it. Scanning software displays a message stating that scanner cannot recognize the film holder. See the video here.	Unrecognized Film Holder (UFH) problem can be caused by a number of issues:	I would recommend first checking that the scanner passes initialization properly. If the scanner starts up properly, I would recommend cleaning the imaging mirror and cleaning / lubricating the rails first.
	Sticky guide rails (most common)	Clean and lubricate the rails.
	Dirty mirror	Clean the imaging mirror.
	Failing LED	Replace LED.
	Failure on the motherboard.	Check replace voltage regulators and electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard.

2. Scanner does not turn ON	The power button does NOT latch in ON position	Replace the power switch.
2. Scanner does not turn ON	If you have the power supply made by SANSHIN (usually in LS-9000 with serial number 4XXXXX), then there is a very high chance that the failure is caused by a bad control IC in the inverter section)	Replace the part STRW6756 manufactured by Sanken.

3. The scanner passes power-up initialization fine (no fast blinking), but is not recognized by a computer (in Windows - Device Manager does not see it), the scan software reports that it cannot find a scanner.
	There are two IC's on the motherboard, that are directly responsible for IEEE communication: TSB41AB3 (for LS-8000) or TSB41AB1 (for LS-9000) and SAA7356HL. One or both may have failed. Complete loss of communication is usually an indication of failed TSB41AB3 (for LS-8000) or TSB41AB1 (for LS-9000)	Replace TSB41AB3 (for LS-8000) or TSB41AB1 (for LS-9000) and / or SAA7356HL.
4. When scanner is turned ON, the power light blinks slowly (no fast blinking) indefinitely. Scanner does not make mechanical noises typical for start-up process and is not recognized by a computer. This happens with firewire cable connected to the computer and scanner. If the firewire cable is NOT connected, the scanner starts properly.	I have seen many cases where a failed IEEE controller (TSB41AB3 for LS-8000 or TSB41AB1 for LS-9000) was pulling down the power supply voltages and the scanner was failing to boot up properly.	Check if the scanner starts properly with firewire cable disconnected. If that is the case, replace TSB41AB3 (for LS-8000) or TSB41AB1 (for LS-9000)
5. The LS-8000 scanner passes power-up initialization fine (no fast blinking), and is recognized by a computer (in Windows - Device Manager), BUT - Nikon Scan does NOT see it.	In every case (that I saw), it was caused by a failed SAA7356HL.	Replace SAA7356HL.
6. Intermittent loss of communication with computer	In every case (that I saw), it was caused by a failed SAA7356HL.	Replace SAA7356HL.

7. Flap door-related problems - The thumb view scan (under Nikon Scan) fails (scanner makes whining noise and has to be shut down). - Scanner fails to scan last frame on the film tray.	Flap door is malfunctioning. There is an optical interrupter sensing if the flap door had closed (which should happen when the last frame had been previewed or scanned). If that does not happen - scanner will report hardware error and stall.	Replace / repair the flap door.

8. Image is skewed.	CCD is mis-positioned (angular)	Perform CCD alignment.
9. Image is shifted.	CCD is mis-positioned	Perform CCD alignment.

10. Image is doubled	Imaging mirror was placed wrong side in.	Flip the mirror to make sure is placed with correct side facing in. See photo over set 9) here. The mirror should be sitting in the housing at an angle, reflective surface down (if the scanner is placed upside down as in my instructions).