Canon Pixma MP620

[barfl2]

error 5100 has halted operations. I cleaned timing strip, reset carts no difference. Pulled mains plug and pulled carriage to the left, and I had another clean then I noticed a irregular shaped black mark on timing strip approx. 3" from R/H end. tried cleaning with Octoinks head cleaner and also isopropanol. But mark is still there and error persists. Put a new head in short while ago, would hate to lose this printer. Been working fine no jams, any ideas appreciated.

 

[barfl2]

Have managed to clear error 5100 repeated all what I had done before and then tried holding the On button and pressing the Stop button 5 times. This seems to have worked, printed a copy and printed a nozzle check which was fine.

 

[stratman]

tried holding the On button and pressing the Stop button 5 times. This seems to have worked

Congratulations!

How did you come up with this solution?

 

[barfl2]

Congratulations!

How did you come up with this solution?

Random google search of error 5100 which included a you tube video.most of the many suggestions covered the ones we know about, paper debris, reset ink carts etc. However my ink monitoring system seems to have become unreliable because it was showing yellow with the yellow warning triangle. I refilled cart but was horrified to find that cyan/magenta tanks were empty as well. I will have to check more often and not rely on the levels displayed.

 

[PeterBJ]

The printer and the chips might be OK. The problem could be the cartridges losing capacity after several refills. If the cartridge has lost capacity then it will be empty before the chip count down signals empty. Weighing the cartridges after refill will show if the cartridges are filled up to full capacity. I have experienced this loss of capacity with Canon cartridges.

The weight of a properly refilled PGI-520 PGBK cartridge is 35.3 g and the weight of the CLI-521 CMYK cartridges is 20.3 g. These cartridge weights are without the orange sealing clip.

If a cartridge cannot fill up to the proper weight a flushing and drying might restore the capacity. Additional treating of the cartridge with pharmacists conditioning fluid might also be a good idea.

The loss of capacity is most likely caused by using up the ink in the sponge after the reservoir is empty. Ink in the sponge is then replaced with air and this air is not replaced with ink when refilling. @mikling demonstrates this in this Youtube video.

A way of avoiding these problems might be to refill the cartridges before the reservoir becomes empty. When topping up cartridges early I have found that the topfill method works best. I guess @The Hat recommends this procedure?

 

[barfl2]

The printer and the chips might be OK. The problem could be the cartridges losing capacity after several refills. If the cartridge has lost capacity then it will be empty before the chip count down signals empty. Weighing the cartridges after refill will show if the cartridges are filled up to full capacity. I have experienced this loss of capacity with Canon cartridges.

The weight of a properly refilled PGI-520 PGBK cartridge is 35.3 g and the weight of the CLI-521 CMYK cartridges is 20.3 g. These cartridge weights are without the orange sealing clip.

If a cartridge cannot fill up to the proper weight a flushing and drying might restore the capacity. Additional treating of the cartridge with pharmacists conditioning fluid might also be a good idea.

The loss of capacity is most likely caused by using up the ink in the sponge after the reservoir is empty. Ink in the sponge is then replaced with air and this air is not replaced with ink when refilling. @mikling demonstrates this in this Youtube video.

A way of avoiding these problems might be to refill the cartridges before the reservoir becomes empty. When topping up cartridges early I have found that the topfill method works best. I guess @The Hat recommends this procedure?

Thanks for all that information duly noted. Video very informative but with black tanks not so easy to establish what state you are at but weighing might help.I had selected this refill method because of this the method recommended by one of our senior members, who has done hundreds of refills this way. In the past if one cart is low I have checked the others. Anyway my recent reply to Stratman regarding a way of getting rid of error 5100 has come back to haunt me. Managed to print Doctors appointment this morning got the yellow flashing light again. turned M/C off waited a while turned it on tried the hold on button and 5 clicks of the red button. A lot of cleaning seemed to go on, and then normal printed a nozzle check which was perfect, then again after a while got the 5100 error again. I had previously cleaned rollers and bottom plate and paper and other prints have gone through smoothly. The timing tape appears spotless apart from an odd shaped mark approx. 3" from R/H end efforts to clean it with various cleaners but nothing shifts it so assume it is meant to be there. How to check for debris without dismantling visual checks paper entry/exit points show absolutely nothing. Any ideas appreciated

 

[PeterBJ]

I have an MP620 and I used a webcam to shoot a photo of the right hand side of the timing strip. At approximately 7 cm or a little less than 3" from the end is a black circular dot with a diameter of approximately 5 mm or 13/64 ". I think this is a position marker of some sort:

Does your MP620 timing strip look like mine?

 

[barfl2]

Amazing clarity, yes I have a mark in that area but not circular but of irregular shape, perhaps some has come off although cleaning did not make any difference to the shape. but it obviously had nothing to do with my 5100 error subject of my original post. Hopefully now cured.

 

[barfl2]

The video gives a very clear indication as to what is going on. However this is shown with the older clear carts, how do you apply these parameters to the clear tank/opaque carts?. I have 2 top fill both the blacks the rest the German method. This I prefer because I can see when full. With the top fill ones I always have difficulty getting them full, air bubbles rise towards the end and I get ink going everywhere. My technique obviously not right. I am worried because the optical warning of low ink does not appear to be working. Today I took all carts out, took the print head out and cleaned the contacts and replaced it. Then found both blacks tanks were empty. These have the small tapered fill plugs which are difficult to get out, and even more difficult to get back in with gloves on. The flanged ones get ripped off because of the clearance is so close. Anyway to summarise I refilled both, put them back in printer and after the usual cleaning operation and so far have done 2 copies and 2 nozzle checks without the error appearing.

 

[stratman]

how do you apply these parameters to the clear tank/opaque carts?

The principle should remain regardless of cartridge opacity. The theory is that when you cannot properly fill up a cartridge due to Mikling's air-foam theory then flush the cartridge to reset the sponge back to "normal".

How will you know if you are not filling the cartridges with sufficient quantity of ink? Not getting proper empty warning before the ink runs out, or, you can weight the cartridge after filling to see if it matches the weight of a properly filled cartridge.

he flanged ones get ripped off because of the clearance is so close.

There are low profile plugs to avoid this situation. Sounds like you are using them. If these plugs are sufficient obstacle to refilling, and not just something to complain about, then it may be good reason for you to use the Durchstich method for refilling as it avoids refill plugs. The German method, however, is poo-poo'ed on the forum.