How to remove ink from dead mx870?

[johneltin]

How to remove ink from dead mx870?

I can't figure it out - the carriage/printhead is locked and won't move without power. Any suggestions please, or is a big hammer the only way? JohnEltin

 

[PeterBJ]

To remove the ink cartridges without using a big hammer, you need to unlock the purge unit/print head parking station. To do this you will have to remove the printer casing. The service manual has some disassembly instructions. The service manual is found here, but before downloading see this instruction. The disassembly instruction starts at page 24/63 and notice page 42/63 image at the lower right. Try rotating the white plastic gears to unlock the purge unit. You should not need to do a complete disassembly, only remove the casing to get access to the purge unit.

After removing the ink cartridges and the print head, try putting the printer back together without the print head installed. If the printer can now turn on but of course with an error message, you know that a defective print head prevented the printer from turning on.

A new print head might then bring the printer back to life, but beware: When a canon print head fails it might damage the logic board, and a logic board damaged this way can damage a new print head. So replacing a Canon print head is a gamble and I cannot tell your odds for success.

 

[GMoze]

Here's a related question: My MX870 finally stopped due to the ink absorber pads being all the way full now. There was no coaxing it to start again without the flashing lights and error message. I'd like to retrieve my ink cartridges because my sentimental husband just bought a replacement used MX870 on eBay. So my old MX870 will power on, but the carriage is locked all the way to the right. Is there a different solution for this case? Thank you all - I never thought I'd enjoy reading about other people's printer issues, but I do!

 

[stratman]

So my old MX870 will power on, but the carriage is locked all the way to the right. Is there a different solution for this case?

You already know a solution - Enter Service Mode and reset the waste ink counter.

See your well detailed previous thread for instructions.

https://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/canon-pixma-mx870-ink-absorber-pad-almost-full.14025/

You previous said you had a lot to lose. Now you do not. You can do it. You might end with a working printer and a replacement waiting in the wings.