Pixma iP4850 Won't Turn On - Help Please!

smartest_smarty

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Hello all,

I have a canon iP8450, it was working fine up until yesterday. I left it to print a lot of pages and came back to find it off. It would not turn back on again!

I've tested the power supply and the lead, and these are working fine!

Any idea what it could be? Some one on a different forum told me when the printer heads have a fault it kills the logic board?

How can I confirm if this is the case?

Thanks in advance, all help is appreciated!
 

Łukasz

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Hello,

In simplest words - remove printhead first, then try to power on.

If carriage is locked in purge unit, you have to remove upper casing in order to unlock carriage by rotating APP gear (see service manual for details).

Cover removal and carriage unlocking procedure is same for following printers:
iP4600, iP4700, iP4820/iP4850 (iP4800 series), iP4920/iP4950 (iP4900 series)
(any service manual for listed printers will be sufficient).

Please note - it is only carriage unlocking, not carriage removal. It is only to allow carriage move freely to center position to allow printhead removal.

Alternative cover removal procedure (some www translator may be helpful):
http://www.startcopy.ru/repair/rol_c_ip4600.shtml

Ł.
 

smartest_smarty

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Hi, thank for your reply.

It seems hard to find a service manual anywhere. Is the service manual method quicker than the one you posted. The one you gave a link to seems like such a long process.

Is there any quick remedies?
 

PeterBJ

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If the print head is locked in place at the purge unit you will have to remove part of the casing to get access to the purge unit gears to unlock the print head.

Here is an instruction from druckerchannel.de for disassembling an iP4600 for absorber change. The instruction is in German, but here is a Google translation to English.

You find a simplified service manual for the iP4700 here. The manual also has some disassembly instructions, and the printer is mechanically similar to your printer. Before download see this instruction.
 

smartest_smarty

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Thanks for your reply!

How would I know if the print head is locked in place? What is the print head?
What is the purge unit? and the absorber?

I don't mind opening it up, but is there a way to see if this is necessary first?
 

PeterBJ

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The print head is the part you attach your ink cartridges to and that does the printing. It is seated in the print head carriage and held in place by a locking lever. The purge unit is a pump that cleans the print head by sucking ink through the nozzles. The ink from the cleaning is dumped in the absorber that is a felt like material at the bottom of the printer casing. The purge unit also caps the underside of the print head to prevent the nozzles from drying out and also locks the print head in the parked position, when the printer is not in use.

With the printer disconnected from the mains, open the lid as if you would change a cartridge. If you can slide the print head carriage freely, you will need to do no disassembly. If you can centre the print head by hand, then remove the cartridges and lift the locking lever and remove the print head. After having removed the print head lower the locking lever again. and close the printer, connect it to the mains and try if it wil now turn on. It will of course give an error message, as the print head is now missing.

If the printer will not power on without the print head, the logic board and/or the power supply are damaged as well, making the printer a total loss.

If the printer will power on without the print head, there is a chance that a new print head will revive the printer. But a print head failed this way can damage the logic board, and a damaged logic board can damage a new print head. So replacing the print head is a gamble, and I cannot tell your chances of success.

Sadly this mode of failure is typical of Canon printers and it can happen without any apparent reason, even if it is a rare occurrence.
 
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smartest_smarty

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Thanks,

I tried it: the printer head moved freely. I then removed the head as you said, and it still wouldn't turn on! So I guess it's had it!

Probably not worth trying to fix :(

Anyone recommend a good printer? One which is quite fast, with good printing quality, and doesn't cost much?
 

PeterBJ

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Sadly I think the printer is a total loss. The cost of a new print head, a new logic board and possibly also a new power supply/AC adapter will far exceed the cost of the printer. I guess the printer is out of warranty?
 

smartest_smarty

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No warranty unfortunately.

Thanks for all your help! I really appreciate it.

I'll have to get a new one.
 

Łukasz

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Please consider to keep printhead.
Sometimes motherboard breaks down but printhead turns to be fine.
I'll try to put some instructions within weeks how to check printhead without putting it to printer.
Even if printhead is broken down, some subparts are usable - gaskets for example.
 

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