Init problems with 3880

[Robert Graham]

Hello all!

When I turn the printer on, it goes through its initialization procedure. During this process, the print head moves right to the capping station. This is where it makes some unusual repetitive sounds. It is like two cogged wheels are slipping against each other. I may know what has caused this. Previously I turned the printer on and unplugged it when the printer head moved against the other left side. I then moved it to see if it will move under hand control. It did. However, it was under some resistance. I think I broke it in this way.

What can I do about this problem? I am thinking of taking off the cover and seeing what is actually happening. I may be able to fix it in this way. But then I do not know what I am doing. Also I do not know how to take the cover off. Perhaps there is a technicians guide to this printer?

Bob

 

[The Hat]

My guess is the wiper blade and unit has got stuck in the up position and the head keeps on running in into to it, if you take the top cover off you might see the problem yourself, good luck..

 

[Robert Graham]

The capping station came loose.This may be the problem. I pressed down too much on the capping station with the needle of the syringe that I used to clean the pads. Now what? Meacula! LOL

 

[W. Fisher]

On the right outside case of the printer, there is a little silver cover about where the capping station is. If you remover that (difficult) cover, there is a white gear under it you can turn by hand that lowers and raises the capping station as well as moves the wiper to and fro. The head assembly has a belt in the back and there should be some resistance in sliding it once off the capping station.

Good luck with that little cover that you might end up needing to remove the outer shell both to in order to see the white gear wheel. I haven't looked, but you might be able to turn it with soemthing through the maintenance tray opening. It ain't the most easily serviced printer out there to get apart. I think there is also some wiggle room in the capping station itself to seal against the head too.

 

[Robert Graham]

So you do not think that I popped the capping station off of its hinges? Perhaps I can rotate the gear to the point where I can reinstall the capping station on its "hinge"??? I do have the maintenance manual so this may turn into a big project for me. BTW this is the last time I clean the capping station without being abler to see it!

Bob

 

[W. Fisher]

Hard to say what damage is done or if something isn't right.

There is also the possibility of a carriage and head strike off the capping station if it was in a position where the head got banged against it - or just a nasty paper head strike too. That part you may see once you tear into it and see the head setup and all the little springs holding it. The head unit floats in the carriage and sometimes the thing doesn't seat right when a spring comes off. If you have to pull the carriage and head, look real close around the head's nozzle for lint and big lumps of ink. There is a metal frame around the head and sometimes cat hair, lint, etc. gets stuck between it and the head and makes a mess on your prints if it gets a lot of ink on it. If dried you might not see it, until you do a lot of prints and then it gets freshly soaked and you wonder why it comes and goes streaking your prints.

I can't recall the looks of the capping station, but there is a small motor under it and some ink drain lines. A lot of linkage to the wiper arm and rubber pad too. That gear moves most all of it when you turn it and it's pretty hard to turn too by hand. I've had mine off before and forgot to reattach the wires when I put it all back together and it popped up some unknown error code on the LCD.

Found an underside photo of it here:

https://s17-us2.ixquick.com/cgi-bin...4ab9b7&f=88ddb851246802853c1f78ad5e33ebb9.jpg

You can see the white gear you turn by hand in the upper right that you can access through that right panel cover piece - if you get it off. Center is where the ink drains into the maintenance tank.

Give yourself a good day if you rip into it, and take a lot of photos and notes too. It's a bit labor intensive even with the book for the first time into one and lot of screws and snap panels. If you do it several times, you'll learn the tricks and speed up the process.

 

[Robert Graham]

Thank you for the tips. I will carefully take the housing off while taking photos. I will then figure out what is wrong with the capping station. Hopefully all the parts are still there. I see where I need to bend some plastic parts on the cover to get the cover off of its hinges. I wonder how delicate this part is?

Thanks again!

Bob

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

if the printhead carriage does not find a stop on the left side the coding strip may be covered with ink fog which happens with heavy usage. The coding strip is spanned over the print range and moves through a sensor on the back of the carriage. It is quite easy to clean it with a piece of kitchen towel and window cleaner, and you need to disengage the printhead as before to reach the right side of it.