Canon mx870 - dead but ticking

[johneltin]

I left home with my big mx870 printer in the van - drove over 1,000 miles and then the printer was dead....just a faint ticking like a watch. Pulled out the bit where the power cord plugs and there was a loose white wire. Shoved it back in and the machine was still ticking - no power just an occasional flash of an alarm light.

Looked on the net and found another mx870 for sale in a town I was driving through - lucky? - not really. Bought it for $50, plugged it in and it printed fine; put it in the van, safely on the floor, drove another 1,000 miles and, hold and below, plugged it in and it's same as the first printer - dead with a faint ticking-like-a-watch noise.
Can anyone help? Is the mx870 that sensitive to travel??? JohnEltin in Australia

 

[PeterBJ]

I think the ticking noise is caused by the power supply trying to start and then shutting down due to a short circuit. Many switch mode power supplies behave this way in case of a short circuit.

The most likely cause of a short circuit is a defective print head and/or logic board. I think it is a coincidence that the second printer also failed in this way after the transportation.

Here is a thread about an Epson power supply that behaves in the same way, with a guess to what causes the ticking noise.

 

[johneltin]

Thanks for your replies to both my questions - seems like I now have 2 dead printers; gigantic machines taking up my bed while I travel Australia.
So.... my best idea to solve the problem is to remove all ink cartridges, dump the machines and purchase a new printer @ AU$28 from a chain-store: MP230 - horrendously expensive ink but then I think I can siphon and refill from my reclaimed mx870 cartridges!

What do you think? I need a compact printer that can scan as well. J