Canon pixma IP5000 - no cyan at all

[QE2]

Thank you very much, ghwellsjr, for your clear summary, and for the clarification. And thanks to everyone else for your contributions.
I'm going to try it in the am when I'm feeling clear and I'll report back. I think it will work out, and at least I'm trying.
I hate the idea of throwing out all these electronics after the slightest thing goes wrong - contributes to a bigger problem. For most people, the problem is they don't have time/patience to try and it's cheaper to replace things than to have them professionally repaired.
Thanks again to all.

 

[Ron350]

You can always try using vinyl tubing filed with Windex and running a purge cycle.
This way you can watch and see if the purge pump is draining all the tubes equally.

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3965

 

[ghwellsjr]

Thanks for the link, Ron350, and for this embedded link:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=23937#p23937

I thought I had remembered someone doing the suck and squirt scheme on the inlet port but I thought they had used a syringe like I did. I'm going to try to get some tubing that will securely fit over the inlet port and over the syringe.

 

[QE2]

This is all very helpful.
Ron350, what do you mean by "running a purge cycle"?
I don't believe I have that option on the Printer Utility for my IP5000...

 

[ghwellsjr]

A purge cycle is the same as a cleaning cycle. The purge unit serves several purposes and several names are used to describe its functions including priming, purging and cleaning.

 

[QE2]

urgent request:
RE: You remove the print head by lifting the grey lever at the right side of the assembly. (This is the only time you want to lift this lever, don't lift it to remove the cartridges.) Then you grab the black handle that is also on the right side of the assembly and gently pull it toward you and up and out. It is very important to put the grey lever back down because at some point, the printer may decide to park the print assembly and you don't want to get that lever smashed.

I am not finding a black handle on the right side of the assembly on my ip5000. I tried to hold the black plastic on the side and 'gently' pull up and out (after the Gery lever was up. Part of the black plastic head assembly seems to have separated at the bottom (perhaps I wasn't gentle enough) seems to have separated at the bottom (I fear I may have broken it?) but it's bound at the top.

It also seems that there are two little tabs on the top of the assembly that need to be freed, so it may be necessary to gently squeeze the black plastic from both sides to release the little clips. Tried this but the whole thing seems to be stuck and the bottom of the assembly is partially out. It doesn't seem to want to be pushed back in place either. eek!

Anyone know where the black handle that should be on the right side of the assembly is? Perhaps that willl release the whole thing and I can snap the bottom back in place once it's out of the machine.

I also fear that if the assembly automatically moves to the left, that the whole thing will smash into the top of the printer housing as the head seems a bit too high now in the front (because it pivoted up slightly at the bottom when I pulled on it to try to get it out).
Thanks for the continuing support.
I'm still hoping to work it out...

 

[QE2]

OK... got the head out. I was trying to take out too much.
Luckily, the part that separated snapped back into place with a little pressure. Seems Ok now.
I put a drop of water on each screen and they all drained clear/silver metal except for the cyan, which is blue liquuid. So it seems that as all suggested it's clogged.
Will run to the store and see if I can get some tubing. Guess I should try only unclogging the blue, or would you recommend putting all the colors thru the process?
Sorry for the alarm - it was a bit scary...

 

[Ron350]

Carefully remove the rubber seals from each inlet port and put them in a container so you will not loose them. Those little rubber seals sure like to hide from me.
Then put the tubing over each port so the print head looks like the picture above.
The tubing in the picture above is only 2-1/2 long to give vertical clearance in the printer.
Fold up a piece of paper or something and jam the lid switch down so the printer thinks the lid is shut.
Take a syringe and fill tubes up with Windex and run a cleaning cycle.

 

[QE2]

OK, I got the tubing and put it on all the inlets. Syringed distilled H20 with a bit of windex through each.
Seemed like the cyan unclogged a bit but was still tough to push through compared to other colors. Soaked it in a very shallow 1/4 inch bit of H20 with a few drops of windex. Cyan seems to flow a bit easier now when pushed thru with the syringe.

Now I have the tubes attached and testing (as per the photo) to see if the water drains through.
The big tube - black - drains itself right through.
The small tubes (all of them) don't seem to be draining at all, even though I can syringe-push water through them.
Any experiences with this happening?

If the small tubes all don't drain (there was only a problem with cyan before) does it mean that one is clogged? Are they interconnected/interdependent?

Should I just dry the thing off and put it back and try it in the printer now?
Thanks for the continued advice!

 

[ghwellsjr]

Each ink path is separate from all the others. The reason the big tube for the black drains right through is because its nozzles are bigger since it has to handle the pigment in the ink which is made up of small black particles. If all your dye ink tubes are behaving the same way, which I think you are indicating they are, then you have probably cleared up the obstruction.

Now it is time to make sure your print head is thoroughly clean and dry. Start with paper towels dampened with Windex and wipe up or blot any residual ink. Then use fresh paper towels to blot away any remaining liquid. Then get some canned air and blow it all over the print head, especially into the holes behind the various electronic parts. If you really want to be safe, put the print head in a warm spot (like near a heater vent) at least overnight but preferably for a whole day or two.