MP780 disassembly

[mmcmusnret]

Does anyone know of a source of instructions for disassembling the MP780 down to the waste ink pad? I purchased the online service manual but it was useless when it comes to disassembly. I got as far as getting the scanner portion removed before I gave up and re-assembled it. Thought I might take another crack at it on a snowy day. Thanks for any help.

 

[Trigger 37]

mmcmusnret,... after reading your first post about contamination, I thought you had said you had already take the MP780 apart. Anyway, it seems that Canon can't make up their mind about giving people help,... not even the service tec's. Your MP780 Service manual has nice pictures of the internal parts but no instructions on how to take it apart. Same with the Parts Catalog. However, the Canon MP730 manual has very good instructions on the total dissassembly of each major part all the way down to the waste ink pads. Now I have not had the opportunity to do a MP780 but they seem somewhat similar to the MP730. The real difference is where the logic card is located and all the cables that run to and from it. The MP730 is much more complex and they seem to have re-engineered the MP780 to help some of the Service problems in taking that unit apart. In looking at the internal pictures of theMP780 you don't have to take apart any of the electronics to get down to the main asm and to the bottom of the chassis. For the MP730, you have to take apart several pieces, 14 screws, 16 logic cables, and the main logic board just to get at the 4 screws that hold the top cover onto the bottom asm. Much more work,... especially when you go to put it back together. Anytime you mess with the logic cables to the logic card, you can create all kinds of problems. The Parts Catalog for the MP780 does show the exploded views and all the screws and connections but is has no words of where to start and what is next.

Hope this information helps you.

 

[fotofreek]

All the sources I've read indicate that you can get away with at least one waste ink counter reset without servicing the waste ink pad. Apparently the water in the ink that is discharged into the pad tends to pretty much evaporate, so you don't have liquid ink sloshing around the bottom of your printer.

 

[mmcmusnret]

Thanks for the advice. I've decided to disassemble and clean my two remaining operating printers annually on an alternating schedule (each will get torn down every two years), starting next winter. That will give me time to obtain the MP730 manual and study it. I'll probably work on the iP8500 first since it appears to be the easier one to get to.

 

[Trigger 37]

Let me confirm what fotofreek has said,... I have seen the waste ink pads in many printers and I havenever found one that was really in danger of any serious problem. About 85% of them hardly have ink into the ceter of the 2nd pad. It is a joke that Caon has set the error message to come on so soon. I guress I have to plead guilty on that account as I have never had one printer that had the error message that cameup waste ink error. Of all the errors that any Canon printer could come up with,... this has go to be the most binine. While it will stop you from printing, it is the easist to fix and the least to worry about.

 

[rehardwick]

I have a Canon MP730 in-which I took apart and am having a difficult time putting back together. I have purchased those manuals for the Canon MP780 because I have two, and I find the manuals worthless for disassembly purposes. If someone can point me to the Canon MP730 manual that is really helpful, I would appreciate it.

 

[Trigger 37]

rehardwick,... I am the owner of the Printer Repair Manuals. The Canon Service manuals are not designed to teach you anything about repair. The were meant for Service Tech's and contain diagnostic information, error codes, and perfect test pattern results.

My manuals contain high resolution Digital photos and detailed instructions that show you each step of how to disassemble and repair your printer. It also shows you how to repair things like the Purge Unit, the Paper feed asm, the timing strip, the carriage drive motor and belt, and most of all how to take off the rear paper feed asm, disassemble the drive motor and re-align the gears. You've heard about the MP730 feeding two sheet for one print. This is a very common problem with the MP730. It is caused when someone sees a paper jam about to happen and pulls rapidly backward on the paper while the printer is still trying to feed it. This can cause the gears to slip, or to even break a gear or the shaft that holds the gear.

I'm sure you know how many parts,screws, cables, connector, etc. that have to come off just to get the top series of covers off of the MP730. If you don't keep all of these in order, you won't be albe to remember how and WHEN to put the back. My manual will show you all of this and more.

I just re-listed these manuals on eBay and the item number is 290209540344. This listing covers just about all of the Canon Printers from the i550 to the iP6700 as well as the MP700 MP730. My CD also contains the Service Manuals, the Parts Catalog, and all the Service Bulletins that Canon has provided. It includes sections to teach you how to refill your own ink carts and how to clean and maintain your printheads. It explains the Service mode and the test prints and how to diagnose problem with your photo prints and nozzle check patterns. It also provides all the Canon software drivers, User guides, Quick setp guides, and photo printing software for Canon Printers. All this information is contain in PDF format which has a great advantage. When you view the files on our PC in Adobe Acrobat Reader (which is provided) you can enlarge the high resolution photos to 500% and examine each part in great detail. If you have ever looked at the Canon Service manuals on your PC you will know that many of their pictures are terrible, they are hardly visible at 1X view. The key thing about these manuals is they "Teach YOU" how to do difficult things. Once you learn how, they are not difficult at all. It is all about knowing "What to do, when to do it, and how to do it". The reason I use a lot of high resolution photos is because I believe a picture is sometimes worth "More than a 1000 words"

If you still have your MP730 apart, this is a good thing. Don't worry, we can get it back together and it will work. The first time I took my apart, a long time ago, after I had most of it back together I had to take it apart again because I forgot to do this or that or whatever,... This is why I had to create specific steps and follow them very carefully. These same steps are what you use to get the printer back together.

 

[BigT]

Does anyone know the sequence for resetting the waste ink counter on the Pixma MP780?

 

[Trigger 37]

bigt,.. I got your note via eBay and I'm glad you posted the same question here. First off, don't worry too much about the Waste ink pads. The ones that are in all of the Multifuntion printers are very large and will hold all kinds of ink. Of the half dozen that I have repaired, I have not seen one that was anywhere near close to a problem with waste ink. Of course I have not seen one that had produced the "Waste INk Full" error.

Anyway,.. here is the process for the MP780. This is all done from the operator panel with power on. I suggest you unplug the USB cable. All of this information in located in section 3-5-3 of the MP780 Service Manual that you have. However it is not explained in words, but in pictures. The first 3 times I tried it it didn't work because I did not clearly understand it. I have written a better description below. I don't have the MP780 in front of me but I tested it again on the MP730, which contains a similar funstion but with different keys.

1. The display should be in default COPY mode and the display should say "100% LTR NORMAL 01"
2. Press the "MENU" button. The display should then say "1. Special Copy"
3. Press and release the "Scan" button, then the "Copy" button, then press and release the "Scan" Button. The display should now say "Service Mode"
4. Press the arrow ">" key until you get to "7 Print Test",..Then press the "Set" key.
5. Press the arrow ">" key until you get to "5 Ink ABS Capa",...then press the "Set" key.
6. The display should now show "0",... so press the "Set" once more to effect the command.
7. The alarm light should come on and the printer make one small internal cycle. The alarm light will go off.
8. The waste ink error is now reset. You should be able to print.

Be sure to read these instruction over several times and make sure you understand which button you are going to press at the right time. Don't hurry anything, nothing is going to happen if you press a wrong button. You can always press the "Cancel button" and start the whole process over again.

Now some day in the furture you are going to have to take the printer "TOTALLY" apart down to the bottom to get at the Waste ink Pads, remove them and clean them or replace them. The Canon Service center will charge you anywhere from $80 to $100 because of the amount of work involved, even thougth the waste pads probably only cost $6-10. Unless their top tech does the work, there is a good chance they will screw it up, forget something, put something else back together wrong, or have to take it apart again to fix and put it all back together again. It is not difficult if one has the correct instructions and 15-20 photos to show each step of the process, but the Canon techs don't have this. The odds are they havent' seen one of these printers in the last 6 months and no one there remembers how to do it.

This is the advantage of my Repair Manuals. It shows all of this and explains the little secrets about how to take it apart and put it back together, one step at a time.

Good luck in reseting your printer. You should be good for at least a year.

 

[BigT]

Thanks for the info Trigger 37. Althought I finally figured out how to get into the Service Mode and do this thing your information is goinf to help several others who are trying to get this done. In my search for these instructions I saw a lot of inquiries on the subject.