Canon Pixma MP500

[iandee]

Thanks for the comeback George.
I had a magenta stop working, but several cleans did the trick -although it packed up again about 2 weeks ago.
Cyan and Yellow are OK.
I had not used the printer for about a week. Trying to print a document -in black-, it chugged away, paper came out but nothing printed. I changed some sentences to cyan wording, it printed them but not the black ones.
Both black cartridges were empty. I have refilled them, but nothing has changed. I left it for day, still no black printing.
I appreciate your time and help with this.

 

[ruffin]

Iandee: Try Canon OEM cartridges with Canon ink. Do cleaning process with Canon ink and then retry printing.
If successful, then try refill with Image Specialist ink from Precision Colors or Hobbicolors ink from EBAY. Refillers this forum report success with both.
Regards

 

[The Hat]

iandee
I think your print head is clogged up and you'll need to soak it overnight or even longer.
Take out the cartridges first then the print head and run some tap water on it for a few minutes
then leave the print head soaking in some window cleaner.

Next day dry it out completely by leaving it somewhere warm for a few hours.
When you are sure its dry pop it back in to your printer and dribble a few drops
of the window cleaner on each inlets for the cartridges, then reinsert the cartridges (with ink in them).

Start up the printer and do a double head clean and then a nozzle check and examine the results for quality.
You should to able to see if the heads are clear of dry ink if not try another head clean followed by a nozzle check,
dont be tempted to print anything till you get a good nozzle check..

 

[stratman]

Iandee:If successful, then try refill with Image Specialist ink from Precision Colors or Hobbicolors ink from EBAY.

Since iandee is from the UK, it might be less costly to purchase IS inks from Octoinkjet.co.uk if he's looking for Image Specialists inks. Precision Colors is awesome for us in North America.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Fortunately it's not an electrical problem so you can probably get it working again.

The first thing you should check is the purge unit because if it is clogged, you won't be able to do head cleanings. You can do this by putting some window cleaner on the two black pads off to the right where the print head parks. Make sure you can see the liquid pooled on the pads. Then do a head cleaning and look again to see that the liquid has been sucked away. If it has, you can proceed with other cleanings. If not, you need to get the purge system working again. Let us know what happens.

 

[iandee]

Fortunately it's not an electrical problem so you can probably get it working again.

The first thing you should check is the purge unit because if it is clogged, you won't be able to do head cleanings. You can do this by putting some window cleaner on the two black pads off to the right where the print head parks. Make sure you can see the liquid pooled on the pads. Then do a head cleaning and look again to see that the liquid has been sucked away. If it has, you can proceed with other cleanings. If not, you need to get the purge system working again. Let us know what happens.

Sounds like a good thing to try
unfortunately
"black pads off to the right where the print head parks." I dont quite understand this, can you make it a bit simpler for me to understand and do it:/

I have nevr delved into the innards of the MP500 e.g. how do I 'remove' - lift up the top/scanner or get acess to the purge unit

 

[ghwellsjr]

When you open the top of your printer to gain access to the ink cartridges so that you can change them, you will notice that the print head moves from the right side of the printer where it usually sits to the center of the printer. Look where the print head came from off to the right. If you can't identify the pads where the print head parks, close the cover momentarily and reopen it so that you can see where the print head goes when the cover is down. A flashlight will help. On some printers it is very difficult to see because it is so far off to the right but you should be able to find them if you look carefully enough.

 

[iandee]

OK, thanks. I have found how to undo the 'arm' on the MP500 so the top(scanner glass etc) goes higher. It is very inaccessible in there due to the casing.
With a flashlight I can see 2 ?rubber? pads which spring up and down when touch with a cotton bud. They seem to be covered with black ink. I dont know how I can get some window cleaner in there. Will any window cleaner do? e.g. I have some made from corn alcohol,but others have no content listed other than vinegar.

 

[ghwellsjr]

The preferred window cleaner in the UK is from Halfords auto shop but you can use just plain water. You can use a syringe, eye dropper, or a bent straw to deposit the water on the pads.

 

[Redbrickman]

If you live in a hard water area i.e. have lots of white deposits on your shower screen or taps then do no use tap water. Use the halfords window cleaner or plain distilled water.

Some people have also used ECO window cleaner form Lidl but I am not sure what that one looks like. Search the forum for halfords and you will find a post about it with a description and picture.