Alignment error on Canon i9900

[Grandad35]

With the printhead removed from the printer, hold it above a paper towel and use a soda straw to blow into the cyan ink pickup. Does any ink come out of the cyan nozzles? If it does, your print head isn't completely clogged and something should be printed on the nozzle check. Put the print head and carts back into the printer and retry the nozzle check (the printer will automatically run a long cleaning cycle because it knows that the print head has been removed). You might also want to try printing the extended nozzle check pattern (http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=869#p869). If the cyan is still completely missing, I suspect that the problem may be electrical.

The first image that you posted showed that the problem was only happening on the right side of the print. A failure like this could be caused by a bad flex cable (that carry the signals from the mother board to the moving print carriage) or a loose connection on one of the flex cables. As the carriage moves, an intermittent connection in one of these cables could come and go at the same position. You might want to carefully inspect these cables to see if there is something obvious.

 

[TecHomer]

damn it!!

Ok... removed the print head, used the straw... still the same thing...

guess I'll have to start looking around for a new printhead... crap... any idea how much this one goes for?

oh wait... do'h!

http://www.inkcessories.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=70

so what do you guys think?... is it worth it?... i really don't know what else to try to fix it

by the way, when I blew air into the cyan head, color did seem to come out under it

 

[Grandad35]

TecHomer,

Your situation presents a real dilemma. If you knew for sure that the problem is in the print head, $100 would make sense to save a $500 printer. However, the problem shown in your first image could be caused by a different electrical problem, and a new print head might not fix the problem. Do you know of anyone else with the same printer that could test your print head in their printer?

You might want to contact your local Canon service center to see how much they would charge to diagnose the problem. IIRC, Canon's price for this print head is about the same as that shown in your link, so even if the problem turns out to be the print head you are only out the service charge and shipping charges. If the problem turns out to be something else, you will save the cost of the print head and you can then decide if their repair estimate is something that you want to pay.

Good Luck.

 

[TecHomer]

mhh... nah, I know of none with a printer like this one, I'll see if there is a Canon service center near where I live and see what options I have.

Thanks for all the help never the less.

mhh... ok so there doesn't seem to be a service center in Chicago IL...

 

[TecHomer]

mmhh... sorry to keep beating a dead horse... just kind of hoping is not dead yet I guess...

Ok, so I was just about to order a new printhead and the more I think about it the more it sounds like an electrical error, so I didn't.

As stated before at the begining of my post, I am not able to do a simple alignment, the printer goes through the regular alignment, but the moment it tries to finish the process, (when it gives the message that it will now finish the rest of the process automatically), it gives me the error message and ask to press the re-set button on the printer to fix it, mainly just to reset since that doesn't actually fixes the ink problem.

I'm thinking then that there is indeed a problem with the signal going to that specific color... specially since after using the straw I did see ink coming through the printhead.

 

[jflan]

I have not tried this, but I have heard on good authority that there is a Canon "Customer Loyalty" program.
If all else fails, contact Canon and ask about that...it might make the fix less painful.

 

[Grandad35]

Ok, so I was just about to order a new printhead and the more I think about it the more it sounds like an electrical error, so I didn't.

Remember that there are a lot of electrical components embedded inside the printhead, and that even if the problem is electrical, it might be inside the print head. The problem is that we don't know the liklihood that the problem is in the print head. This is why it would be helpful if you could have a Canon rep diagnose the problem.

Here is a link to Canon service (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ContactCanonAct) - call (1-800-828-4040) to see if you have an authorized service center near you. AFAIK, there are only two FACTORY Canon service centers in the US (one in New Jersey and one in California), but there are numerous other authorized service centers scattered around the country. I found one within 50 miles of my location when I had a warranty problem 2 years ago.