Canon MAXIFY MB5050 doesn't finish start up process

[sieben]

Hi,
I got this printer from someone that hadn't used for quite some time and even when first connected it was barely used (some kind of unwanted gift).
After turning it on for the first time, I got the language selection menu and maybe one or two other options after, but it then went to an error screen (error code 5102). Here's a video of the start up process (right after pressing the power button):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/afx0f7ovnn90td8/IMG_8693.mp4?dl=0

The error message suggests checking for any paper jams (there isn't) or to see if the cartridges are properly set, which I can't do (the printhead never moves to the center, even if I wanted to take each one manually).

I have also tried to enter service mode, but it didn't make any difference. The cartridges are Canon original.

Should I consider this one is toast, or at least in need of service repair?

Regards

 

[The Hat]

Hi @sieben, I wouldn’t give up on it that easy, viewing the video the only thing I could see wrong was you have left the ink panel door open, the printer won’t work unless the door is closed.

The print head will only move to the centre position when it’s time for a cartridge change...

 

[sieben]

Hi @sieben, I wouldn’t give up on it that easy, viewing the video the only thing I could see wrong was you have left the ink panel door open, the printer won’t work unless the door is closed.

It's actually the same behaviour with the ink panel open or closed (i.e. if I open it after the error pops up, it will be like that, and by the noise it makes it does seem to do pretty much the same.

The print head will only move to the centre position when it’s time for a cartridge change...

Yeah, I found that information as well, but I found some videos of guys explaining how to unlock the cartridge manually, if the printhead is unlocked (i.e. not locked while resting on the right side).

I've really tried a lot of different things, restarting it dozens of times and the behavior is always the same.

 

[sieben]

Here's one of those videos, for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mysHiP3-PHg

I'm really out of ideas on how to make this error disappear :/

 

[The Hat]

@sieben, It would seem your quite good at fiddling with the printer, so remove all the carts and turn off the printer and unplug from the wall.

Next remove the paper tray and turn the printer upside down, now examine the paper path thoroughly, use a flashlight if necessary, and make sure there is nothing sticking up in the paper path.

If you satisfy that its clear then put the paper tray back in and turn the printer the right way up and turn it on without fitting the carts then note what message is on the LED screen...

 

[sieben]

It would seem your quite good at fiddling with the printer, so remove all the carts and turn off the printer and unplug from the wall.

Hehe, thanks for trusting, but that’s exactly what I can’t figure out how to do: how to move the printhead into the center in order to move freely and remove the ink cartridges... Do have an idea on how I can do this manually?

Thanks

 

[The Hat]

Do have an idea on how I can do this manually?

As soon as the printer starts up, pull the plug very quickly, at that point the head should have unlocked and you’ll be free to move the head by hand..

 

[sieben]

As soon as the printer starts up, pull the plug very quickly, at that point the head should have unlocked and you’ll be free to move the head by hand..

Thanks for the tip, but I wasn't able to make the printhead unlock itself by using that method. I tried at various instances in time, from straight after powering on to when the noises/clunking appear to have some kind of variations...

Next remove the paper tray and turn the printer upside down, now examine the paper path thoroughly, use a flashlight if necessary, and make sure there is nothing sticking up in the paper path.

If you satisfy that its clear then put the paper tray back in and turn the printer the right way up and turn it on without fitting the carts then note what message is on the LED screen...

In any case, I was reading your suggestion on the paper path and so I kind of propped up the printer so that I could inspect it from below, without actually turning it upside down. I had a look at every possible point of the path, and there is no piece of paper there - I saw the initial feeding area below, the duplex door behind, when it first appears inside the printer, before the printhead, and when exiting to the output tray.

I also remembered to try and kind of "jumpstart" the paper feed, to see if the paper would stop when bumping into a stuck piece, and it didn't. Anyway, I don't know how this printer should behave when, while powered off, and with a sheet of paper midway in its path, "unstuck" - like if the power went out mid-printing - but I was expecting the printer to just spew it out after powering on, as many do. In this case, that doesn't happen. When powering on the printer, the paper is moved about an inch or so (2 to 3cm), but it then stops. I haven't been able to make an entire sheet of paper feed out of the printer this way, but it got pretty far on the outside tray, enough for me to pull it out gently. One thing is noticeable with this process, there is a paper crease across the entire sheet, that repeats itself for every time it had stopped.

This got me thinking it could be the feeding mechanism, and not the ink cartdriges...?

 

[sieben]

Actually, a correction on the "jumpstart" method I mentioned: the paper does move out into the output tray just a bit (about a cm or something), but if I power the printer again, it won't move from there - However, the back of the printer is trying to push the paper forward anyway, and it starts to crumble back in the duplex area. Here's some photos of this:


- paper being pushed in the back of the printer


- paper inside the printer (notice the crease that appears here)


- paper edge appearing in the output tray (won't move any further).

 

[sieben]

One additional thing I tried was feeding the page through the back of the printer, with the duplex door open (i.e. skipping the initial drawer feed). In this scenario the sheet would still just move a bit every time I powered on the printer, but there were no creases and the sheet eventually (after 10 to 15 cycles) exited the printer entirely.

In every single one of these cases I've been describing the printer stops at the 5102 error (observing the same behaviour as portrayed in the original post's video):