SOLVED: Canon MP830, new PGI-5BK and new (reman) print head - no black

[hagar]

Same problem here, it happened after I touched the black pad with toilet paper to suck ink, I felt the area was too dirty. I know now that I found this thread, it was a ridiculous idea.

I'm wondering, does the black pad need to be dry for the pump to work, or does it need to be "wet"? Tried to pour ink or water on it, it doesn't get sucked by the pump. I don't feel I disconnected anything cause I touched it really gently. Gee this thing is fragile!

BTW have to open it all, wanted to clean the pad by removing it to have it more handy, and guess what, it fell down the innards, no way to have it back without dismantling everything. One of these days you wish you never left your bed

 

[hdhammer]

The messages posted here are very helpful and describe exactly the type of problem I have except that today I installed a brand new Canon head and a Canon PGBK black cartridge. It means that the head cannot be obstructed. Several deep cleaning did nothing to improve it. Still the test print is blank in the PGBK section.
Does it mean that I need to look on the vacuum system on the left cleaning pad? There is nothing to clean in my view.
By the way, I first bought a head cleaning kit for the old head and it worked for about a week then nothing again. I don't want to use the cleaning kit in the new head unless I get some advice here on that direction.
Thanks.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Yes, if the liquid (Windex or water) that you place on the pad does not disappear after closing the cover for a few seconds and reopening it, then you have a problem that will not be fixed with a new print head. I ordered Trigger 37's repair manual which clearly shows separate tubing for the pigment black ink and the dye inks. I have not yet had a chance to dig into the guts of the two MP780's that I have this problem with, but after I have figured out what's involved, I'll post my results.

 

[hagar]

This week end I tried to open my mp610 to get near the vacuum system, needless to say I stopped quite far from reaching it. Managed to get off all the "plastic" covering it, but as trigger describes it, the pump is probably the last piece you'll reach after dismantling everything.

I don't have the patience for what it's worth, so call me fool, but next week I'll drill a circular hole in the plastic under the printer. Either I'll get easy access to that mess, either the printer is going to garbage and I'm done with it, professionnal quality 4*6" prints online are $15 for 100 afterall.

 

[ghwellsjr]

That sounds like what the Cash for Clunkers project does with the cars people turn in--permanently disable them so they can never be used again. Except in your case, you'll probably end up with a big mess all over your drill and work bench in the process of disabling your printer. Take pictures so we can learn from your experience.

 

[hagar]

So this is how the story ends. I managed to cut a clean aperture without damaging anything, actually there was the colour waste ink tank absorber sponge below to take any damage from the cutting tool. The black ink waste tank is somewhere else, go figure. It took me several hours to find out that a small inner part of a tube connector was clogged. That clogged part was the red line in the pic below. It's really as narrow as I draw it.



The black markings that seem to run from the black tubes and then inside the transparent tubes are actually makings painted on the transparent tube. You can see them better on the right lower side, on the color ink output tube.

I tried to pour isopropyl and run the purge unit several times, but no luck. I had to disconnect that small part connecting the black tube from the purge pad and the transparent tube from the purge unit. Unfortunately, after cleaning that middle part and thinking I met with great success, the transparent tube escaped inside the purge unit while I was struggling to put it back on. I tried to catch it with a screwdriver but that only made a hole in it, metal and plastic dont mix. Game over. I tried to run the purge unit to see if it would somehow blow the tube out of the purge casing, but it only made the tube wrap around the purge and stuck it.

So, why did that small piece clogged in the first place ? I would say arguable design, its too tight and worse of all, there is a 90 degree turn as you can see, so you cannot just take the black tube apart, put a needle and remove the clog, you have to disconnect the transparent tube and thats the tricky part where I failed.

But now I know I didn't made anything wrong by touching the pad in the first place, it clogged because I was filling my carts with maybe poor quality ink for more than a year, added to that tubing design. Should have poured isopropyl on the pads every other week.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Thanks for the picture, the report and the warning.

Did you ever get the clog cleared up? If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently? I still haven't taken apart the two MP780's that I'm trying to unclog so I'm really interested in what you have learned.

 

[hagar]

First thing to catch my attention, you see that the black ink tube is filled with ink, but the color ink tube is clear. I thought that the black ink waste tank was full, so I first disconnected the tube on the upper right corner of the picture. When I ran the purge (just switch the printer on or off) I could see the ink going back and forth in the black ink tube, proof that it was somewhere clogged, and the waste tank was probably not the issue.

Next step, I disconnected the 2 black tubes, and poured isopropyl in the transparent tubes from the right side of the pic. It got out through the black tube connector for the color channel, but not through the black connector, so that was it. I removed that small piece connecting the black tube and the transparent one, where I draw the red line on the pic, and cleaned it. Thats how I saw that it was clogged. So yes, I cleared the clog, and at some point I thought I repaired my printer. But you have to know that the clogged connector was a real pain to remove in order to clean it, I think it's not made to be taken out without removing the whole purge unit. I had to break a small part of it.

The real problems began when I had to put it back together. As you can see, the transparent tube hardly comes out of the purge casing, so there is no way to use your fingers to put the transparent tube back on the connector. You'll probably have to use small tools like tiny forceps.

You warned me that it seemed to be a bad idea, I agree cause even if I connected it back, I would had to put the color ink waste tank back and it would have been bleeding through the aperture I cut.

Another thing worth to mention. The way the purge unit works, I dont think its a good idea to drop any fluid in it. But when messing with it for hours, you'll end up dropping ink or isopropyl or whatever inside. Its probably doomed from that point.

So there is just no easy way to fix that purge issues. It leaves me with the feeling that those printers are made to last a year or so. Why aren't we able to flush the waste ink tanks easily, why aren't we able to get easy access to the purge unit ? and why are those tube connectors made in a way it's a one way ticket ?

 

[Trigger 37]

hagar,...I wish you had found some of my posts and contacted me first,...you could have avoided many of your problems. I have helped many people fix there problems with the purge unit and it is no where near as complex as the things you did (or broke). You've done so many things wrong I don't know where to start to help you fix this unit.

How about this, just disassemble the entire printer down to the chassis, then remove the purge unit. Call Canon Parts department and order a new purge unit for $30 and re-install it. Then you can put the entire printer back together. If you want more information about how to take your printer apart, send me an email and I'll respond. I'm not allowed to advertise anything on this web site.

 

[mikeasmel]

I have the same problem with my Canon MP830...my PGBK doesn't work though it is half filled. Where exactly is the print pad that I am supposed to flood with Windex and what does it look like? I have taken out the print cartridges as well as the black plastic unit that holds all 5 cartridges, however I don't understand where I am supposed to put Windex? Please advise and/or post photos and specific locations. Thanks much!