Canon MP530 - carriage/ purge unit movement

[hardy]

I have been troubleshooting my MP530 for the 6A00 error, following everything I could find about it...
I have slid the print head back and forth, checked/ cleaned the pads on the purge unit, cleaned the print head, even opened it up just to look for obstructions/etc.
My observations:
I noticed my print head doe not seem to want to return to it's park position (most of the time), it goes to a spot a few inches to the left of it and then the error code is shown.
I have also noticed the purge unit in action: pads go down, wipes come across, pads go up. It usually does this however, when the print head isn't above it (that's why I saw it)...
In my troubleshooting I have determined that ink is being purged; after a thorough print head/ absorber pad cleaning and a few repeats of the on/off process I observed ink on both the pads and the print head again so it seems that the purge unit is working... This only works the few times that the print head decides to properly seat itself on the purge unit (I assume). Also, the error code comes up at two different times depending on the sequence of events:
If the carriage does not find it's home after startup and ends up about 6 inches from the far right then the error occurs right away.
If the carriage does park itself then everything seems fine after startup (no error codes) until I try to print/scan/etc. The error code comes as soon as the print head tries to start the print job.
My questions:
If it is a purge unit error (that is the 6A00 code right?) then what is the proper mechanical sequence of the purge unit that I should be looking for? It seems to be doing it's job, just not in sync with the print head. How does the carriage interact with the purge unit (does the print head always sit on the unit, it the unit supposed to be up or down when parked? What is the proper startup sequence of the print head? Is the purge unit just supposed to go down when the carriage approaches and up when it's parked?) Also, is there a way to reset the movements/timing of both the print head and the purge unit? Why could my print be parking itself away from the unit? Is it scared? Did it forget where it lives? Did it get bored of it's old house?
Lot's of questions, but hopefully someone can shed some light on this...

Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

[stratman]

The 6a00 error for an MP800 means:

AP position error [6A00] - An error occurred in the AP motor during purging operation.

Cause (what may need replacement)
- Sheet feed unit
- Logic board ass'y
- Purge unit

Searching Google on "6A00" found this interesting suggestion: http://tricks-collections.com/solution-canon-pixma-ip4300-error-6a00/. Don't know if this applies to your model.

A search on Google for "MP530 A600" resulted in a number of potentially helpful suggestions, including some suggestions that may be from Nifty-Stuff forum member Trigger37.

 

[PeterBJ]

I wonder if the erratic carriage movement could be caused by a dirty timing strip ?

 

[hardy]

what's the best way to clean it?

Also, thanks for the previous link, my purge unit doesn't have the white plastic piece stuck (everything seems to move properly, I can't see the same piece as in the picture)...

 

[PeterBJ]

Gently wipe the timing strip with a piece of paper towel/kitchen paper moistened with windex or similar. Be careful not to tear or loosen the strip. It is held taut by a spring.

 

[hardy]

So I wiped the strip, a bit of blue did come off... Now it is doing a slightly different startup routine, the carriage is still missing the purge unit movement ( even if I put it into the park position it will move left/right a couple of times as the purge unit it in motion). Then it slides all the way to the right, the ink carts do a little light display (I think it's the 2001 space odyssey jingle) and then the print head stops again, this time giving a 6502 error... I have pulled out and reseated all inks, as well as cleaning the print head...
One time it also gave a 5110 error, it threw that one in for a giggle.
So 6502 has to do with ink carts right?
It basically starts the same as before, gets a bit farther, then hits a new(different) problem... I heard that pouring milk into the transducers might rectify the situation, is this advisable?
Thanks for your help so far, looking forward to proving my mastery over this printer!

 

[PeterBJ]

A service manual for the MP530 can be viewed online here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/60846471/Pixma-MP530-Service-Manual-Canon

scroll down to pages 12/78 and 13/78 in the viewer or pages 1-7 and 1-8 in the manual. Here you find descriptions of errors 6205 and 5110.

You can view the manual for free, but if you want to download it, you will have to join. I don't know if that is free.

Good luck in troubleshooting
Peter.

 

[hardy]

The manual was a great link! Got into service mode, was even able to print the service print & EEPROM print, also able to run a head alignment (not all three at the same time). This issue is seems intermittent, that is to say that my printer working is intermittent (highly sporadic) at best. It does seem more likely to work when I push the carriage towards the left side before powering up (this isn't sure fire though). Then occasionally it finds it's base, everything works and printing is possible for the time that the printer is on. Turning it off and trying again will reboot the whole error. I still get 6A00 as an error code in many cases, and the last noise I hear when it does go to error code is a bit of a hiss from the purge unit (?), is that hiss normal? The service manual didn't have instructions on purge unit removal, and I've read that sometimes the tubes go loose/etc. There is (was) a fair bit of ink all around the purge unit, is that normal? How would I go about getting at the unit? Thanks!

 

[hardy]

Also noticed...
It seems to almost always work when I move the carriage to the left, at least it doesn't show the error code right away. What does happen often in that case is the print head goes through it's purge cycle and then sits idle: everything looks good to go. Then trying to print causes it to fire up again (another purge?) and shortly thereafter it does get stuck on a 6A00 error, I also notice the carriage is at that point locked over it's base, I can't even move it after the power is shut off. Another on/off cycle will release the carriage, return another error and then I can once again manually move the carriage. ???

 

[PeterBJ]

In another post I found this link to a list of errors, It has the 5110 and 6502 errors included, but I don't know if it provides more information than found in the service manual. http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=47312#p47312 .The link is in post #2

I cannot figure out what is causing your printer to misbehave like that.