In need for an advice regarding my MP630

[mmiskovic]

Hello,

After all of a sudden, my MP630 started producing some "regular check patterns of mixed stripes", or to be exact, white brakes on the nozzle check pattern. I've tried regular cleaning, deep cleaning through software maintenance, but it didn't show any kind of improvement.
So, by all means left, if no by changing the head itself, could there be any way or repair possible & proven to be possible (head cleaning, contacts cleaning, changing chips/cartridges as of an electrical problem,...)?

Here's the pic:

www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/uploads/9559_printer_dillema.jpg

Thank you for your help,
cheers

 

[stratman]

Your image looks like a checkerboard pattern with alternating blocks of normal color and blocks of horizontal striped colors and missing ink. The Pigment Black nozzle check grid at the top of the page looks good with maybe one nozzle printing lightly in the upper right-hand area, though this could be an artifact made during creation of the JPG image.

If this checkerboard pattern is correct then it is either a print head failure or a logic assay board failure. Did you receive a warning message on the printer or your monitor?

 

[mmiskovic]

You're spot on regarding the description. Pigment black's all ok.

Huh, so in either case, the best solution would be to take it to the nearest service center and let them try another head, or in the worst case scenario, if it is the logic board, repair would be too expensive.

Now that you mention it, there was a power warning/error that asked me to turn off/on the printer again, but afterwards there weren't any problems whatsoever (34 months ago).

Thx once again.

 

[stratman]

A service center may charge you money to diagnose the problem. It is also possible that if an electrical short of some kind ruined your print head, you might ruin a replacement print head. This is where you need a little luck and proper diagnosis to understand risk and rewards.

Chances are trying a new print head will not ruin it, but there is the possibility at this point given the information available. It also might be the logic assay board, which you could replace yourself if you are mechanically inclined to take apart and put the printer back together again. It is a multi-stepped process not for the light-hearted, but can be done with directions and patience.

If a service center will check it out for free, or a low cost, that would be nice. Otherwise, you could try a different print head, maybe a lower cost refurbished or known working used one from eBay, Craigslist, or a thrift store.

If you have money then nothing is too expensive.


One thing to try, though I doubt it will fix your problem, you could try cleaning the electrical contacts on the print head and printer with a soft pencil eraser or isopropyl alcohol and a lint free cloth. Doubt it will work but it should not hurt anything either. Another thing is if there is a new or failing electrical device in the home, on the same circuit as the printer, that could be causing electrical interference and creating that alternating pattern.

 

[mmiskovic]

As an enterprise system architect (Windows, networks), I have connections, and although I've done some minor repairs of myself in the past, I'll rather let them carry out the testing further from this point along. I've read in several other ports that the possible damage done to logic board, could possibly ruin the new head, so I'll give them a heads up, just in case (although, it would be great if it's just the head, so I could buy one via them, as shipping of a new via sources like ebay to Croatia, are more than terrifying ^^).

Just as a reference point to others, I've tried cleaning out the contacts on the printer and the head, but to no avail, as just after U've post it, I've tried switching to another outlet/circuit, still the same issue.

If there's no hope for a fix at resonal cost, I think it's gonna make a fine grayscale print/scan/copy machine for resell (perfect for a small firm), and I'll just take a look at a new one, just to be sure, cause its mainly purpose is photo printing and it's repaid itself already

So, thx again for all the help and assistance.

cheers

 

[stratman]

Sounds like a good plan.

If this were an logic assay board issue, an error message would more likely occur. An error message may not occur with an electrical issue with the print head. So, I am leaning towards a print head problem based on the information so far.

Good luck! I hope you can get your MP630 up and running again soon. It is a good printer.