JBH
Getting Fingers Dirty
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2017
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 20
- Printer Model
- Canon MP620
I chose that title on purpose, because my MP620 started by giving me a B200 error, but now it's started to do something else—it turns itself off when I try to run the Canon Service Tool v3400 (which I learned about in another thread on this forum).
More info: I'm able to get the printer's little LCD panel to show "Service Mode," but the LEDs on the printer cover are alternately flashing green and yellow/orange. The Readme file of the Service Tool says that's a problem—but doesn't say what to do about it.
The much longer version, with background info:
I bought my MP620 in November 2010. Until 2015, I used only OEM cartridges or Office Depot cartridges and never had any problems. In May 2015, I got a bunch of free cartridges from a fellow member of "ReUseIt" (formerly called Freecycle). She described them as "off-brand." They were all sealed and appeared OK. However, some time after installing one or more of them, the printer stopped printing any cyan or yellow. :-( It would only print magenta and some black. So I bought a four-cartridge set of remanufactured Dataproducts cartridges from Micro Center, thinking that would solve the problem. But it didn't. Even with all new cartridges (except the PG-220 pigment black, which was still an OEM cartridge), yellow and cyan still wouldn't print at all. But it still printed in that limited fashion.
I kind of gave up on the printer for a while, but recently decided I'd try again to fix it. I did a lot of searching and watched a lot of YouTube videos (of varying quality and reliability, I now realize), and guessed the problem might be a clogged print head. I tried various soaking methods, which didn't help. So then I tried what I figured was a "last resort" strategy: I removed the two screws that hold the ceramic piece in place on the bottom of the print head, removed the little rubber gasket that connects the ceramic piece to the body of the print head, and looked at it carefully. The holes that serve the yellow ink were partially clogged, but you could still see some light through them. I decided to try flushing the printhead with water (again, figuring I could hardly make it any worse), and I also blew some canned air through the little holes of the print head itself (which blew some ink out of the screens). I was able to clear out some of the gunk. So I let the cartridge dry, reassembled it, put it back into the printer, and ... that's when I got my first B200 error.
So I did a lot more searching and decided to buy a new print head, which I got from Amazon. When I installed it, the B200 error went away, and I printed a nozzle check that seemed perfect. I assumed the problem was fixed. I turned off the printer when I went to bed that night.
The very next day, when I turned on the printer and tried to print a small photo on plain paper, the B200 error was back. That's right, I'd gotten exactly one page printed before it happened again. Yargh. :-(
After more research, I found this forum and a thread about the "service mode" (which I hadn't heard of before), and I downloaded the Canon Service Tool v3400. But, as I described in the first paragraph above, when I try to run it, the printer turns itself off.
At this point, I'm pretty much out of ideas. Anyone care to chime in? I welcome any and all advice, constructive criticism, even a bit of "if you had a brain, you'd be dangerous" kidding. I just want to get my damn printer fixed.
More info: I'm able to get the printer's little LCD panel to show "Service Mode," but the LEDs on the printer cover are alternately flashing green and yellow/orange. The Readme file of the Service Tool says that's a problem—but doesn't say what to do about it.
The much longer version, with background info:
I bought my MP620 in November 2010. Until 2015, I used only OEM cartridges or Office Depot cartridges and never had any problems. In May 2015, I got a bunch of free cartridges from a fellow member of "ReUseIt" (formerly called Freecycle). She described them as "off-brand." They were all sealed and appeared OK. However, some time after installing one or more of them, the printer stopped printing any cyan or yellow. :-( It would only print magenta and some black. So I bought a four-cartridge set of remanufactured Dataproducts cartridges from Micro Center, thinking that would solve the problem. But it didn't. Even with all new cartridges (except the PG-220 pigment black, which was still an OEM cartridge), yellow and cyan still wouldn't print at all. But it still printed in that limited fashion.
I kind of gave up on the printer for a while, but recently decided I'd try again to fix it. I did a lot of searching and watched a lot of YouTube videos (of varying quality and reliability, I now realize), and guessed the problem might be a clogged print head. I tried various soaking methods, which didn't help. So then I tried what I figured was a "last resort" strategy: I removed the two screws that hold the ceramic piece in place on the bottom of the print head, removed the little rubber gasket that connects the ceramic piece to the body of the print head, and looked at it carefully. The holes that serve the yellow ink were partially clogged, but you could still see some light through them. I decided to try flushing the printhead with water (again, figuring I could hardly make it any worse), and I also blew some canned air through the little holes of the print head itself (which blew some ink out of the screens). I was able to clear out some of the gunk. So I let the cartridge dry, reassembled it, put it back into the printer, and ... that's when I got my first B200 error.
So I did a lot more searching and decided to buy a new print head, which I got from Amazon. When I installed it, the B200 error went away, and I printed a nozzle check that seemed perfect. I assumed the problem was fixed. I turned off the printer when I went to bed that night.
The very next day, when I turned on the printer and tried to print a small photo on plain paper, the B200 error was back. That's right, I'd gotten exactly one page printed before it happened again. Yargh. :-(
After more research, I found this forum and a thread about the "service mode" (which I hadn't heard of before), and I downloaded the Canon Service Tool v3400. But, as I described in the first paragraph above, when I try to run it, the printer turns itself off.
At this point, I'm pretty much out of ideas. Anyone care to chime in? I welcome any and all advice, constructive criticism, even a bit of "if you had a brain, you'd be dangerous" kidding. I just want to get my damn printer fixed.