ARG! IP4200 keeps jamming!

[mobbarley]

Hi all, I have a reletively new IP4200 which has just started to jam!

Looking behind the print head there is a series of 8 white rollers. Paper scrunches under the 2nd from the left, whether it is from the feeder or cassette. I cant turn the left hand two by hand where as the middle ones can...

can someone offer some advice or check if their left hand rollers are free?

thanks,
john!

 

[canonfodder]

Mobbarley,

In my iP4200, with it OFF, I open the cartridge door and look in. The white rollers are all 'down' in contact with the black textured long roller beneath them. They may feel like you can turn them with a finger tip, but you can't. They feel like they might be turning only because they are quite smooth and your finger tip slips on them. If you can definitely turn some of them when your printer is OFF and you have opened the cartridge lid, something is amiss, and I would guess there is paper back under the white roller's frame. I can't tell you how to open that up and clear it. You may need to send it for service. Under warrantee, I hope ?

With my iP4200 OFF, I opened the lid, pressed the ON switch and watched. The row of white rollers lift for a moment, then go back down in firm contact with the black roller. The print head starts to come out but goes back to park, the black roller turns a couple of revolutions and all the white rollers turn too. The black roller slows down, turning a bit more, and stops. Then the print head comes out to the cartridge access position.

When your printer first jammed, did you pull the paper BACK out to clear it? Whichever way you cleared it, did ALL of the paper come out, or was a bit missing?

If someone knows how to open up the printer to see more of the guts, log in and tell mobbarley what you know. Would you risk feeding in a heavier sheet of photo paper thru the top paper tray? My thought is that it might push an offending piece on through.

 

[fotofreek]

My wife's ip5000 had a couple of jams. She has a bulletin board over her desk. The first jam was a bit of paper cought in the drive area and the second was a push pin that had fallen off the board and into the printer paper drive area. Needless to say, I asked her to stop pinning items directly over the printer!

 

[mobbarley]

Mobbarley,

In my iP4200, with it OFF, I open the cartridge door and look in. The white rollers are all 'down' in contact with the black textured long roller beneath them. They may feel like you can turn them with a finger tip, but you can't. They feel like they might be turning only because they are quite smooth and your finger tip slips on them. If you can definitely turn some of them when your printer is OFF and you have opened the cartridge lid, something is amiss, and I would guess there is paper back under the white roller's frame. I can't tell you how to open that up and clear it. You may need to send it for service. Under warrantee, I hope ?

hey fodder, thanks for the info! I see what you mean about the rollers lifting when you turn it on, mine do too. On closer inspection all the rollers are pushed down except for #3 and #4 from the left. They are slightly lifted and can be turned by hand. I assume that something must be jammed under them.

I'll try sticking some stiff paper in and seeing if I can help it through when it feeds.

The printer is under warranty, or was, before I installed my CIS kit. I might try the service department and see if they will have a look (seeing as its not print head related).

 

[canonfodder]

Mobbarley,

Just one more thought. As long as we are guessing that something is jammed near #3 and #4 white rollers, try this trick to have a slight chance of fishing something out.

Remember how the white rollers lift for a short time soon after the printer is turned on? Well, prepare yourself for a very quick unplug of the power cord, have the cart lid open, and push the ON button. JUST AS SOON AS THE WHITE ROLLERS START TO LIFT, PULL THE POWER PLUG. If you successfully stop the thing with the white rollers up, leave it unplugged and try to look in there with extra light, say a good flashlight, and even a small mirror if needed. If you can spot something, maybe a small hook made from an opened up paper clip or other wire could be used to gently extract what is there. BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU GO POKING WITH A WIRE HOOK. You don't want to pull the guts out or break something. If you are uneasy about any of this at all, go for authorized service. I am an experimenter, and if you are not, stay out of there.

canonfodder

 

[mobbarley]

Hi everyone. Unfortunately it took me a while to get around to it, but the printer is now fixed!

Using canonfodders idea of pulling the power while the rollers were up I was able to see a foreign object under the white rollers while shining a torch through the rear flap.

I removed the top cover to try and get to it but dropped it somewhere lower in the printer. I fead some paper through by hand and it seemed okay so I put it back together.

So it is printing now, but the bit of plastic from my desk is still in there. At least it isnt in the paper path! I will keep an eye on it.

Thanks for everyones help!!

 

[canonfodder]

Mobbarley,

Helping each other is enabled by this Forum. We owe thanks every day to Rob for hosting the InkJet Stuff Forum. I'm glad that your printer is up and running.

canonfodder