Why won't my Canon waste ink error reset ?

[Lilla]

Patrick, I did a google search on S630 and waste and found a problem/solution for a S600 printer that just might fix your S630 too. Maybe you've already bought a new printer and don't want to try this, but just in case you do, I wanted to share this with you.

On FixYourOwnPrinter.com Inkjet Forum, I found the following posts...

Waste tank counter reset code for Canon print by gojollybill (6/17/05 6:59 PM)
Well, I have a Canon S600. Tried the "generic waste tank reset" procedure several times to no good effect. Result was the orange flashing 8 times light is still doing that AND the print speed dropped to like a minute for one page, printing about 3 lines at a time with long pauses. I fixed that by going into Maintenance, Custom Settings, and marking ECP mode. But it was all working fine before trying to reset the waste tank error. So, don't know what to do now. Looks like the waste tank error reset procedure just DON'T WORK here. Any suggestions welcome. bill

Waste tank counter reset code for Canon print by gojollybill (6/19/05 7:24 PM)
snip... I did solve the problem of the waste tank error at last. I went to the link where you can get pages from manuals for all the popular printers -- the service manual pages. I found on page 7 of the Canon S600 manual that they described the service codes including the waste tank counter reset. I noted that the procedure was much more clearly laid out and was a bit different than those given in the various posts on this forum. So when I followed the procedure from the service manual it all worked just fine. So I reset the waste counter, re initialized the EPROM, and reset the market code. Now the printer works like new. My suggesting if you are having trouble resetting the waste tank counter for a printer, go to the service manuals and download the appropriate page for the real scoop. Thanks for reading. Bill

See my post #6 (in this thread) this link, I modified it to give a link where you can buy a service manual for cheap. I also included some S600 codes I found that you can try, however, I think you are going to need the Service Manual so you can do all the steps that Bill did above. I think that after Bill (and you) applied the Generic "S" reset code, which is the same as appears on Neil Slade's page (which didn't work because it is wrong for your printer), something got changed that should not have been changed and the extra steps Bill does corrects these changes.

Good luck,
Lilla

 

[vaindioux]

Patrick, I did a google search on S630 and waste and found a problem/solution for a S600 printer that just might fix your S630 too. Maybe you've already bought a new printer and don't want to try this, but just in case you do, I wanted to share this with you.

See my post above, I modified it to give a link where you can buy a service manual for cheap. I also included some S600 codes I found that you can try, however, I think you are going to need the Service Manual so you can do all the steps that Bill did above.

Lilla

That is quite amazing indeed. You are more stubborn than me even!

I will definitely try it, but where is that link you mention posting?

You can email me the info directly at vaindioux@NOSPAMyahoo.com and remove the obvious if you get a chance.

About an eventual new purchase, I am down to 2 brands "Brother" and "Epson" all in one. I sent some more emails left and right and searched google a little bit more and "brother" is in the lead as far as cheap ink goes.

Keep in touch

Thanks again I really appreciate your help.

Patrick

 

[Lilla]

That is quite amazing indeed. You are more stubborn than me even!

I will definitely try it, but where is that link you mention posting?

Amazing, that's what I thought too. I just kept thinking that it seemed like it wasn't recognizing the code. And then I found Bill's post. Sure hope it works for you.

See my post #6 (in this thread) this link for a link to a place to buy a service manual cheap.

I also found this, both posts below were written by the same person at this link.

Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 6:38 pm:
I have and S630 and i've always had problems getting them to settle down.
Try a fresh install, delete the printer and remove anything in add/remove programs.
Download the driver from canon, run it and only connect the printer once it says to.

Posted on Friday, July 09, 2004 - 7:50 pm:
My problem was sending items to print and the printer not responding, the light still flashing to say its accepting data.... but nothing. I was told by the helpline to pull the power cord out and leave it for a few min. This cleared whatever internal memory, and the next time i attempted to print it did the business.... so maybe try that.

Lots of luck,

 

[vaindioux]

Lilla

See my post #6 (in this thread) this link for a link to a place to buy a service manual cheap.

Well I first followed the instructions you gave me from that link. They were actually different at one point in the procedure. I tried with and without the head to no avail and I had removed all the connections to wall and PC first.
I am getting the 7 flashes now of a bad head.

Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 6:38 pm:
I have and S630 and i've always had problems getting them to settle down.
Try a fresh install, delete the printer and remove anything in add/remove programs.
Download the driver from canon, run it and only connect the printer once it says to.

I know exactly what this guy is talking about problems with them settling down. It is so hard to install drivers on these sort of printers that I myself have the instructions printed out. If you don't do it exactly as supposed to, you can't install it at all.

I have decided to not get the manual as I am fairly sure my head is dead. It's only $5 or $10 but I had enough.
In the good news department, at Christmas I am getting a new PC and as soon as I do, I will try to install this printer and see what appends just for the hell of it. Your other post that you linked to gave me the idea.

About my new baby that I am on my way to order right now:

I am getting a Brother MFC-240C all in one for less than $70 new shipped from office max, Print/fax/Scanner/Copier. It is pictbridge enabled no need for the PC to print pics from digital camera directly. Good reviews for a machine in that price range even if some just hate it.

http://www.epinions.com/BROTHER_MFC_240C_MLTFUNC_25PPM_COL_PR_COPY_SCAN_FAX_Printer/display_~reviews

Ink compatible is between $3.50 and $5 at most outfits online and Ebay , some with free shipping. New Belkin USB cable for $10 shipped, all set.


Thanks again Lilla we need more like you, you save people money!!!

Patrick

 

[Trigger 37]

Lillia & Vaindoiux,.. I've been working a couple of day on a used i550 I just got which would power on with a green ligth and then 7 orange flashes. Since I have the Service Manual, I followed the instructions which also indicates the "Waste Ink Error" condition. As with many other people, including Vaindoiux, none of the reset codes worked. I did them very carefully and in watching the light responses I know that the printer executed them. Let's back up a little.

I had to use Neil Slade's point of removing the printhead since when you first turn the power on, it starts the Green-Orange blinking process and will not stop,... so from this mode there is no way to get into Service Mode. You have to remove the ink tanks and the printhead, and then when the unit powers on you get the green steady light. From here I tried all of the resets including the EEprom and destination. You can't try any others since there is no printhead. After the resets and re-installing the printhead, and power on,... right back to the 7 orange flashs. Does this sound familiar???

So I went back to the Canon support web site and went to the drivers/software page where I selected the "Step by Step Trouble shooting suggestions. In that area under "Blinking lights", I found a table of all conditions of blinking lights. It also has one other VEREY inportant comment. I noticed that when I opened the cover the printhead did not move to the center but at first this didn't bother me. Finally I started looking deaper in the "Step by Step Troubleshooting" and found the exact description. Here it is;

Category : Printer operation problems
Description : The print head holder does not come to the center

List of power lamp indications
The power lamp blinks in the three ways described below, depending on the printer's conditions.
After conferming the power lamp's indication, refer to the Note below.

1. After lighting in green, the power lamp blinks in orange.

<1> Lights in green
<2> Blinks in orange (Sample is three blinks)

No. of Blinks Cause How to correct;
Two times No paper. Paper is not feeding. Set paper, and press the Resume/Cancel button.
Three times Paper jam Remove the jammed paper, set paper in the printer, and press the Resume/Cancel button.
Four times Empty ink tank Confirm the empty ink tank, and replace it with a new one.
Six times No print head Install print head.
Seven times Print head error 1) Turn the printer off and then on.
Eight times The waste ink absorber (the waste ink tank) is almost full *1 Press the Resume/Cancel button to clear the error.

Memo:
*1 The waste ink absorber (the waste ink tank) is a part in the printer that absorbs ink used in operations such as print head cleaning. If this error has occurred, replacement of the waste ink absorber (the waste ink tank) and printer inspection are required.

2. When blinking alternates between green and orange.

When the blinking alternates between green and orange, the printer may need repair.
Turn off the printer and disconnect from the power outlet. Reconnect the printer and try again.

3. When blinking in green
When blinking in green, the printer is in operation. Please be patient.
When finished, the lamp will light in green.

I check the Canon i550 and the S630 and they both say the same thing. This is clearly the printhead, but because so many people have access to the Service Manual, that leads people down the path of "Waste Ink Error". He said one time that there were 7 or 8 flashes. It couldn't be either. I suspect that it ended up being 7 which is "PrinHead" On my i550, I took the covers off and took out all the ink pads from the base of the printer. Then I cleaned and dried the base and put back a couple of paper towels folded up to fit into the first ink absorber location under the Purge Unit and park station. I put the mechanism back in the base and reconnected the power. The three push buttons that are "Power, Resume, & "Open Door" indictors are right on top of the Main Logic board. It is easy to press and hold them there. I left the printhead out and used the power and cover buttons to move the carriage to the center,... but of course it will only go there if there is no head in it. ONce in the center I used a syringe with Windex to put about 1/2 ml onto the cleaning pads and then cycled the power. I was doing this to test the ink suction cleaning cycle and to see if the waste ink tubes were clogged. When I had the printer upside down, it is very easy to see the 2 tubes that drain the 2 ink pads. From the bottom there are two black small tubes coming from the ink Purge pump up to the ceramic housing that holds the 2 ink pads. Below the pads there are 2 "Clear" tubes that drain the ink down to the ink absorbtion pads in the bottom of the machine. The clear tubes are only about 1 ink long. This entire area was soaked in black ink. (By the way, it would be very easy to install a extension tube to drain the ink to an external waste ink cup on outside of the printer. The sell these on some websites)

The ink Absorbtion pads in the bottom were not that bad. The small ones directly below the pump were saturated in black, and this was wicking over to the large pads to the left of it. The wicking had only penitrated the very bottom large pad (there are two large pads in the middle, one on top of the other and they are both about 1/2 thick) and only about 1/2 of it. The cleaning job was not that bad. The small pad was mostly black and took a lot of rinsing and the larger pad had some black but also had a lot of cyan.

Anyway, I used the Windex several times to flush out anything that might be in the tubes and to verify that the pump was working and that it was sucking up the windex. I took the print mechanism out again and removed the paper towels which had a lot of black and a lot of windex color. I confirmed the pump had sucked a lot of black ink out of the 2 parking pads.

The bottom line is that when it was all back together I got the same error,...Green -then 7 orange flashes. I guess I'm looking for a new printhead. Looking back at the many people that have had similar problems,.. I wonder how many of them were really clogged printhead, or clogged waste ink Pumps, or filled up waste ink pads, or a bad printhead. Orginally I thought there was a sensor coming from the main PC board to the base of the machine that really detected the pads were full. There is a Ink Sensor signal but it goes to the two photo cell lights on the left side of the printer that detect the level of ink in the tanks. I checked all the other signal lines from the Main PC board and there is only one connector to the Purge unit and that is CR 507 which carries 3 wires,.. 5V power out, Ground, and one Signal back which is called "Purge Sensor ouput Signal". All of these wires run to the intenal part of the Purge unit so it seems impossible to say what it is detecting. I suspect it is a pressure or vacuum sensor. One main point,.. when the carriage is moved off of the park position and you open the lock for the printhead and take out the printhead,... the orange flashing stops immediately and stays green. The instant you put the head back in and close the lock, the flashing begins,.. and this is before the carriage has moved and nothing else has changed. The purge unit has done nothing. This again tells me the main PC board sensed the printhead was inserted and found it was bad.

One last point. When the printhead is out of the unit,.. it will power on and come to a ready state. This is where I tried to enter Service Mode. Somewhere on this web site I saw one time a post that talked about the i550, i560 or some other i series printer being capable of loading the "Flash" memory on the main PC board. The troubleshooting section at Canon implied these error codes could be read at the PC and it fact my service many has 3 and 4 digit error codes assigned to the flashing lights. Does anyone know anymore about the possibility of updating the flash code on any Canon printer.

Also, if anyone needs any help getting there covers off, it really helps to have not only the service manual but also the parts manual as that is where they show you how to get the covers off, and the service manual shows you what signals are on what cables and connectors.

Sorry for being so long,..but I hope this helps others. It is pretty obvious to me now,... if you try to reset the waste error and eeproms and it still won't work,... it is probably a bad printhead. I'll have more to say about that another day.

 

[vaindioux]

Trigger

Excellent post indeed and you come to the same conclusion as me, the print head has died. I had tried everything for close to 3 weeks and it was time to let it go.
At one point you mention that I couldn't get 7 then 8 flashes, well I did and it happened several times too. The 7 flashes where very quick, the 8 much slower. I must have counted them to make sure 40 times while standing right on top of the printer.
I had so much stuff to print that I couldn't wait any longer. I have installed my new brother and printed a few things and am happy with it. It is a cheaper machine and the ink is also cheap, I hope it will last for a few years, time will tell.

Thanks again

Patrick