Ink Flow Problem

[jaxink]

I think you are correct with the ink flow. I did blot some windex / ink mixture from the pad with a paper towel after cleaning the head. It looked like it was ready to overflow. That must have been some of the last ink available since it isn't pulling any new ink from the cart. The bit of splatterd ink inside may be from a disconnected tube. I guess it is time for some surgery.

 

[Trigger 37]

jaxink,... If you want more information about how to do the "Surgery", send me a email.

 

[lin]

jaxink, this can happen to your nozzle check if your cartridge has ink flow problem, it does not always mean that the purge unit tube has been dislocated.
You haven't answer the question I asked before, Are you using Pigment or Dye ink in your PGI-5BK? Have you tried what I suggested? Of course, if you think dismantling the printer to find whether there the purge unit tube has been dislocated is much faster than getting a dye ink for your PGI-5BK cart than by all means.

The purge unit tube do not get dislocated that easily unless you are talking about having gotten a printer where someone has open it up before and accidentally dislocated the purge unit tube.

While it's possible that the purge unit tube can get dislocated, it can occur, but quite hardly that easily falls off. So do the simple thing first.

 

[Trigger 37]

lin,... I have sent jazink a special set of instruction on how to test the printhead and the purge until before he goes any farther. I always ask people to do this test before they ever consider taking apart a printer. That is pretty serious work for most people.

What you are suggesting is absolutely correct, and I will update all my tests to make sure people are smart enough to make sure they are using a GOOD ink cart (of whatever color) before they do the test. The printer would not let him print if there was any ink cart missing, but as you indicate, it could be totally empty, or he had left the air intake blocked with tape, or some other &^$#@&*(^$%$ thing.

I would also point out to you that over the last few years 60% of the problems that I have fixed with people have been clogged or defective purge unit. I could send you pictures of clogs down inside the printer that you would not believe. It is not limited to the tubes of the purge unit,... those are only two parts. There are actually 4 tubes, 2 valves, 1 vacuum pump, and all kinds of exit pipes, not to mention the timing guts of the purge unit. It is without question, the most important component in the printer.

Canon has continued to cost reduce all the newer printers, including changing the purge unit, and because of this there are more and more problems. However, the real problem is that people just don't know anything about how to take care of a printer, nor what to do about maintenance or cleaning,... they just use it till it breaks,.. and then they scream out loud,.."What the &%%$#(^% is wrong with this stupid printer"

 

[jaxink]

Sorry I haven't gotten back with anyone - my daughter has been sick and now my wife is ill. My mother is in the hospital too!

Lin, I am using a new canon cart with canon ink.

I haven't taken anything apart yet and haven't run any tests. I will get back to that in a couple of days.

 

[lin]

Hi jaxink, hope your daughter, wife and mother gets well soon.

Take your time in recovery your printhead as your family now has higher priority.

 

[jaxink]

Ok, my wife and daughter are better and my mother is out of the hospital. Time to get back to work!

After several attempts to clean the black tray port holes with a fine wire and a lot of windex, I disassembled the printer with some help from a youtube video. It wasn't too bad once I got the outer case off. I took the black ink suction tube off and cleaned it out. I then took a syringe full of windex and shot it into the purge unit. It blew out some ink and now the purge unit will empty the tray!

I got the printer back together, put the print head and carts back in and ran a cleaning cycle. The pads look good and primed now. But now when I try to print I get an error message that the inner tray door is open! It doesn't close completely but even a piece of tape holding it close will not clear the error message. Seems like I got 90% there, now this. Can anyone assist me at this point? It must be something I missed reassembling.

Thanks.

 

[Trigger 37]

jaxink,...First I want to congratulate you on what you have done. It shows great initative. That tiny little front cover switch is a bear if you did not re-assemble the right way. It won't matter if you tape the door up or what ever since it is not closeing the switch. Since you fixed it the first time, you will have to do it again.

 

[jaxink]

Has anyone had this problem with the inner cover giving an error message that it is open on an ip4500 or similar printer? I am trying to find the switch that controls this and have not found it yet. This wouldn't be a software problem - I have seen some results on Google adter people installed a CD tray?

Thanks.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I'm going to take a wild stab at this. On my older printers there is plastic cam on either side of the bottom of the inner cover which is hardly noticeable when you take the printer apart and they can even fall out of the printer or not engage correctly when you re-assemble. Here is a picture of the two cams on my MP780:

And here is a closeup of one of them:

The cams on this printer are white but on my iP4000 they are black.

If you look inside your printer with the top cover open and you open and close the inner cover, you can see a piece of plastic that runs the width of the printer immediately inside the inner cover that moves up and down as a result of the action of these two cams. If they are not engaged properly or missing, you won't see this action and I would guess that the switch you are looking for is activated by this up and down motion.