Ip8500 ink tank full error message

[Trevors]

Mnay thanks PBJ for taking the time to look over the printout and your detailed explanation. As you say, a mass of information is stored behind the scenes showing the history of use.

I'm a member of the local camera club here in Sussex, UK and we regularly compare notes about printers. I do seem to be one of the lucky ones as far as problem-free printers go. Do I have a secret?? Take this as you will............

I have used Canon ink throughout.
I always keep the printer closed when not in use.
However I don't throw away the ink cartridge when the printer says it's out of ink, I continue to use it until the felt on the nozzle side is almost dry!

I can't think of anything else that I do that's different to anyone else.

Thanks again for your help.

Trevor

 

[PeterBJ]

To decode the listed errors see the service manual pages 1-4 to1-7 incl. I have noticed that error codes for operator call errors are decimal numbers and <2000. Service call error codes seem to be hexadecimal.

The ER0 = 1660 is an operator call error meaning an ink tank not installed. It could be caused by a missing cartridge, a cartridge not clicked properly in place or a dirty or defective chip.

The ER1 = 1003 is a harmless operator call error meaning no paper in the cassette.

I'm impressed by no other errors recorded over the 6 year 50,000 printer usage period. Not even a paper jam. I guess you changed the absorbers before getting a warning code 1700, meaning absorber is getting full or a code 5B00 meaning the absorber is full and the printer has been locked, as no such codes are recorded.

A thing that sticks out is CH = 00012, meaning the print head was changed or removed 11 times.

PC(........) is the Purge Counter. It list purges both initiated by the user and by the firmware. The total is = 997, and it breaks down to 31 regular and 19 deep print head cleanings ordered by the user, 712 cleanings ordered by a timer, at startup and during large print jobs, no cleanings ordered by the dot counter, and 235 cleanings caused by cartridge or print head change. I think the values are true, the printer does a lot of print head cleaning not ordered by the user. It is a necessity to keep the print head in good working order. Assuming a deep clean uses twice the ink amount of a regular clean, it looks like only around 5% - 10% of the ink dumped into the absorbers is caused by user ordered print head cleaning, the rest is caused by automated cleaning.

The service manual explains the items of EEPROM printout from page 1-50 and on. To decipher the EEPROM print, it is a good idea to print this explanation and use a highlighter on both this explanation and the EEPROM print, to keep track of items deciphered.

 

[jimbo123]

PeterBJ, thx for the explanation. some more details below

i do remember getting both a warning and then the 5B00 code when the waste pads hit 100%, so not sure why that was not recorded.

re: "A thing that sticks out is CH = 00012, meaning the print head was changed or removed 11 times."

is probably right, this MP830 is on its third print head:
- #1 died after 20,000 pages
- #2 died after 25,000 pages
- #3 currently at 5,000+ pages

the count of 12 is probably correct due to my swapping back in print heads that i unsuccessfully attempted to clean, etc

BTW, this MP830 was a Canon refurbished printer purchased for $89 back in the day, over its 6 year life approx 350 ink carts refilled.

the build quality on the older canon printers were impressive, including Trevor's Ip8500, hence the effort to save it !

J

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• Printers: Canon MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870, MP980
• Method: German Durchstich Method, Lazy Method(refill single set of ink carts)
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

 

[PeterBJ]

PeterBJ, thx for the explanation. some more details below

i do remember getting both a warning and then the 5B00 code when the waste pads hit 100%, so not sure why that was not recorded.

I don't understand this, maybe the errors were cleared when doing the absorber reset. But it doesen't seem logical to me that an inportant part of the printers usage history is deleted. The recorded absorber error would explain a low D-value compared to the number of printed pages.

I have an iP5200 that I think needs an absorber clean, which I'm going to do in the near future. The D-value is 70%, but I made an accidental reset or EEPROM clear due to an error in the service manual. IIRC the D-value at the time of the incident was around 30%, so sadly I cannot check if an absorber reset clears a recorded absorber warning or error.

I agree with with you about the build quality of the older printers. The older printers are heavier than the newer printers. This also indicates better build quality to me. More steel is used in the old printers. Out of curiosity I bought a relatively new entry level 2 cartridge iP2700 at a thrift store. I of course dismantled it to investigate the build quality, and was disappointed. This was certainly not built to last. Even cheap HP supermarket bargain AIO's are better build quality with a polished steel cartridge carriage rod.

 

[The Hat]

@PeterBJ I printer out your explanation fact sheet from the EPROM too and intend studying it against some of my other machines, except my Pro 1 of course I’m still trying different button combinations on that to see if I can figure out the new darn code !

 

[PeterBJ]

The explanation for the printed items in the EEPROM info print is found in the service manual for the printer, the items in the EEPROM print are similar but not identical for different Canon printers, so the service manual for the actual printer is needed.

 

[jimbo123]

trevor, the waste pad removal instructions link that PeterBJ provided says that it applies to the iP8500, so give it a shot, take pics and let us know how you make out.

Your printer is mechanically similar to the iP4000, so this excellent instruction also applies to your printer:http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel.php?ID=1831&t=workshop_change_waste_ink_tank_canon_pixma_ip4000​

looks less complicated compared to when i did my MP830 AIO, i had to removed the ADF and disconnect many cables to lift out the print engine so to get to the pads
http://www.printerknowledge.com/thr...-pad-replacement-at-37-000-pages-w-pics.7646/

PeterBJ, agreed on the weight differences old vs new. wish they made them like they used to. i used my last MP830 print head a few months ago, but still have a brand new MP830 waiting as a spare w/o a print head. so i did go out and purchase a new genuine MP830 print head for $80. small investment compared to the ink refill savings.

as one major printer's executive once said, "our printers are just disposable ink vending machines".....

ouch !

J

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• Printers: Canon MP830, IP4500, MX700, MX860, MX870, MP980
• Method: German Durchstich Method, Lazy Method(refill single set of ink carts)
• Ink: Hobbicolors and OCP
• Misc: Squeeze bottles - so much easier than syringes

 

[PeterBJ]

Yes the printer only models are much easier to disassemble than the multifunctional machines, as there is no scanner part to deal with.

I also consider getting a new print head for the Pixma5200R mentioned in this post, if not a little fairy will help me save the clogged print head. The Pixma 5200 is the same excellent printer as used as print engine in your MP830.

 

[Exspextations]

This looks to me like you didn't enter service mode, but instead switched the printer on in normal user mode using the on/off button.

The reset of the ink absorber counter is done from service mode before starting to disassemble the printer. There are no internal switches in the printer that will do a reset.

The instruction in the service manual might be a bit confusing, the instruction in the Druckerchannel instruction step 6 "Reset the Counter" is better.

I have edited the instruction from the service manual slightly to make it more clear.

1. With the printer powered off, press and hold the stop/resume button.
2. While holding the stop/resume button also press and hold the power button. The green power light should now come on. Now release the stop/resume button, but still hold the power button.
3. With the green power light on and still holding the power button, press and release the stop/resume button, The power light should now turn yellow. While still holding the power button press and release the stop/resume button again. The power light should now turn green.
4. Release the power button. The green power light should now start blinking for some seconds and finally change to a steady green light. The printer has now entered service mode.

In service mode the the stop/resume button now serves as a selector button, the number of times it is pressed and released determines which service mode operation is selected. Each time the stop/resume button is pressed it toggles the power light between green and yellow, to help in keeping track of the number the stop/resume button is pressed. Don't make any mistakes here as you could select a wrong service mode operation.

Pressing the stop resume button once when the printer is in service mode selects the service test print with an extended nozzle check plus more.

Pressing the the stop/resume button twice selects the EEPROM info print that holds a detailed record of the printers history, and also the ink absorber usage expressed as a "D-value" D=xxx.x , The D-value is a percentage of ink absorber usage, D=000.0 means the absorbers are new and contain no ink, and D=100.0 means the absorbers are completely full, and the printer has been stopped.

Pressing the stop/resume button four times resets the ink absorber to 0.

After having selected a service mode operation, execute the command by pressing the power button. After the operation has finished, you can select another operation and execute it by pressing the power button again.

When you have finished the wanted service mode operations, switch the printer off by pressing the power button without first selecting an operation.

I recommend that you first reset the counter by selecting the reset absorbers command, and when the reset is done, verify it by selecting and executing the EEPROM info print. The D-value should now read zero, if the reset is successful. The printer now works again, and you can print a few urgent print jobs if you need to, but don't continue using the printer without changing or cleaning the absorbers. I recommend printing a small print job to verify that the printer works again before dismantling it.

You can read more about service mode operations in the service manual in pages 1-11 to 1-15 incl.

You are now ready to start disassembling the printer. note that you can enlarge the pictures in the Druckerchannel instruction by clicking them.

Some say you can get away with resetting the counter without changing/cleaning the absorbers just once. This is not recommended and if you do so do it at your own risk. Some sort of safety tray under the printer to contain leaked ink would then be a good idea.

I came across this thread, along with a number of others offering similar solutions to the 'ink absorber full' after I started getting the message and a repeated green power LED followed by eight amber flashes on my Pixma iP8500 after changing an ink cartridge.

I have dismantled the printer following a Youtube video and cleaned all the pads and removed all the dried ink gunk from around the pads and the inside of the printer. However, I cannot get the printer to reset the counter to zero following the instructions provided in this post.

I'm not sure that the printer actually goes into service mode after step 4 above. Step 3 completes correctly but after I release the resume button in spte 4 the power LED starts blinking green for several seconds while the printer makes mechanical sounds, but then starts the ink absorber full sequence of flashing lights rather than giving a steady green LED indicating it has entered service mode.

I can't find any forum posts providing solutions to this and would be grateful for any help that you can provide.

Thank you in advance.

 

[PeterBJ]

I have the smaller but similar iP4000. Following my procedure it enters service mode without problems. The procedure is the same for the iP8500. I don't know if you are doing something wrong or the printer is defective, I suggest to read the whole thread and specially notice posts # 2, 6, 8, 12, 15, 20 and 22.

The links in post #2 are still active so I suggest to download the zip folder from electrotanya with the service manual, parts cartalog and more if you haven't done so already. Also study the excellent instruction in English from druckerchannel.de.

Do you have a link to the YouTube video? Not all YouTube instructions are OK, to say the least.