Canon TS8251 - intermittent 5011 error

[donaldolsen]

I got a 5011 error out of the blue. The error appears a few seconds after I power it on, the carriage doesn't move, sometimes it tries to move right before the error appears.

I have had it running normally 2-3 times, when it starts up normally it's nothing wrong, no strange sounds.

There was quite a bit of ink in the area around the pads, I've cleaned this up.

The encoder (?) strip is clean as far as I can see.

I cleaned a metal plate facing forwards, the carriage moves along the plate, it was full of ink.

No paper jams.

Nothing loose that I can see or hear when I tilt the printer to all sides.

I've had it disconnected from power for days etc.

I'm planning to remove some panels to get a better look at things, but I really don't know what I'm supposed to look for.

Usually 5011 errors are due to the carriage or a sensor. Check to see if anything is in the path of the carriage or if there is any ink around the sensors or cables.