Canon i860 only prints from e3bk black cartridge

[eastavin]

Hi. I have this nice i860 printer that has worked well for years. It has 2 problems I need advice on.

1) when I open the lid the printer head moves to the middle- pauses--then moves to the left then the right then back to the middle and keeps on randomly moving every few seconds. I generally have to unplug the printer when the head is in the middle if I want to change cartridges. As it wont wait for me. I recall that it is supposed to stop and wait isn't it?

2) about 2 weeks ago the colour cartridges stopped printing. In fact when I do a nozzle check the only one working is a black 3ebk. I have done numerous cleaning/deep cleaning but not even a hint of ink coming out of brand new cartridges. Is it possible this is a circuit problem or is it just dried ink?? If so, how do I prove one or the other as the cause?

Advice appreciated.

Thanks

Ed

 

[ghwellsjr]

1) Yes, it is supposed to stop. I suppose if your work-around allows you to change cartridges and the printer functions properly otherwise, then you have a good fix. I have no idea how to make it work correctly.

2) Chances are, the problem is your prime/purge/cleaning unit. It needs to suck on the bottom of the print head to get the ink to start flowing. The way to find out is to unplug your printer as if you were going to change cartridges, then look off to the right where the print head parks for two small pads. Squirt a little Windex or water if you can't get a liquid window cleaner on them using a syringe, eye dropper or pinched straw. Make sure the liquid remains on the pads for a few seconds. Then close the lid on your printer and plug it in. After the motion stops, open the lid and pull the plug again when the print head gets to the center. Look at the two pads to see if the liquid has been sucked away. If it has, then your purge units are working. Chance are that the one on the right will still have the liquid on it. Let us know for more advice.

 

[eastavin]

Well I tried that... in fact I figured how to get the cover off and was able to remove and clean the pads..and some other gunk around there... of course after plugging it in and checking soon after I again I noticed the pads had changed from the greyish/white of post cleaning back to a blackish color. However I still got no colour printing.

I also came across a service manual on the web... and figured how to run one of those service reports and it said that thing for waste ink was like 82.7... Is that a factor here? Would it be worthwhile to figure out how to remove it and clean it out? I dont mind the mess and have lots of latex gloves.

Thanks

 

[ghwellsjr]

When you perform the test I described previously, does the liquid remain on the right hand pad or does it get sucked away?

Your waste ink pads are not related to the problem you are having now. If your purge unit is working and cleanings won't get the colors to print, then you probably have an electrical problem in your print head but it may also have burned out your printer. If you buy another print head, it may or may not fix the problem. In fact, it's possible that your printer may burn out any other print heads you put in your printer so be aware. The safest thing to do is take your printer to an authorized service center where they will figure out whether the problem is just in the print head or also in the printer. If it is in the printer, it will probably cost too much to fix, but they may not charge you anything if you let them recycle your printer.