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

[ghwellsjr]

It sounds like you have an electrical problem in the print head that prevents the pigment black from working. Sometimes the same symptom is caused by the pigment black purge system not working but since you are getting black ink on the purge pad after a cleaning cycle, that appears not to be the problem in your case. You can try removing the cartridges and then the print head and cleaning off the contacts to see if that will get it going again but usually a new print head is the only way to solve an electrical defect in a print head.

 

[ghwellsjr]

One of the dangers of removing and replacing the pads is that it is very easy to get ink on the timing strip that goes from one side of the printer, through the back of the print head and to the other side of the printer. It's very hard to see because it is almost clear plastic. Just be careful.

Does that happen due to spilling or accidentally touching the strip ?

It usually happens because people are not aware of the timing strip and they accidentally touch it while removing the purge pad which is always very messy. On many printers, it's a very tight squeeze to get to the purge pad.

 

[kayannebotts]

Thank you, ghwellsjr,

Okay, that seems to make sense with what very little knowledge that I have. And at the time that I manually cleaned the print head, I did also very gently clean the group of gold contacts on the back side of the print head, and the group of gold contacts on the print head contact receiver surface on the printer itself (downward - they are spiked as it seemed to me) with a Q Tip swab, moistened with just water, and then gently wiped them dry, with the other end of the Q Tip, and then allowed everything to dry over night. I will reiterate that all the colors continued to work just fine. Also, I should mention, that later that day, I actually got, for the first time, a 5200 error message (print head overheating), and turned off the printer, unplugged it for a while to cool off, just in case it really was overheating, and then did (in my case) a required reset (see my previous post above, if you like) again. I was unsure about purchasing a new print head (because of all of the information overload (as always) out there ), but now I will give it some more consideration.

Again, thank you so very much!

Kayanne Botts

 

[Teodule]

Hello,

I would like to share my experience with a canon MP830 AiO printer. I have owned so far 3 printers of this type. All died in more or less the same way, after 2 years of service (on the average). I had with the last one the problem of PGBK not printing. But the printer already suffered some malfunction as e.g. cross color printing (magenta getting blueish). I had followed the instructions to have to purge unit cleaned or freed from potential clogs by soaking the pads with Windex. I didn't get any improvement. In the meantime I opened an older MP830 which I had in the basement. I have disassembled the unit until I could see the purge unit. But I didn't know how to dismount it even less how to refit it in another printer. I then tried another pad soaking operation on the functioning MP830, but when i pressed the switch to have to print head cycling to the departure position, I have heard a "click" of a relay and the display turned dead and so the unit. It was finished. Does anyone know why this printer is soooooo sensitive to tampering? IMHO it could be a great piece of hardware but I suspect a clever engineering designed it in a way that anyone trying to repair /tamper/ experiment with the unit will end up with a "suicided unit". Did anyone have success in resurrecting a MP830 from nearly dead condition?
I would appreciate comments on that issue. Thanks.

 

[stratman]

Did anyone have success in resurrecting a MP830 from nearly dead condition?
I would appreciate comments on that issue. Thanks.

Forum member @jimbo123 is the resident MP830 expert. He has a fantastic post on dissembling the MP830 when he replaced the waste ink pads: http://www.printerknowledge.com/thr...-pad-replacement-at-37-000-pages-w-pics.7646/.

I wonder if your print head failed (too). Did you try a different print head before taking it apart or did you know the purge unit was clogged before taking the printer apart?

As far as maintaining the printer, something should be printed once a week or so to prevent clogs, such as a nozzle check that uses all the ink cartridges. Also, the ink should be high quality, such as OEM or third party, to decrease risk of clogs as well. If you are able to get your MP830 running again, or if you get another Canon printer, then consider these two tips for keeping you printer running well.

 

[Teodule]

thamk you for this suggestion. I have owned 3 different units of this same mode. I believe the print head was still in good condition although I have experienced a problem which I never had before: color crosstalk from ther C channel into M channnel. However the problem disappeared after the first print or two. I guess what led the printer to fail was over flooding the ink pads with Winhex. I had certainly a short circuit somewhere.