brady38
Getting Fingers Dirty
My trusty i9900 which has worked flawlessly from day one suddenly started giving 5 orange blinks meaning my print head is bad. I thought of immediately purchasing a new print head to the tune of $90.00, but then decided I would first clean the ink pads, check out the interior of the printer and tubes from the pump. It only took me one hour to dismantle the outer case, remove the ink pads and clean them. Go to www.fixyourownprinter/forums/inkjet/47679 for case removal instructions. They are very accurate . I have taken the followings pics to show what the "guts" look like and pass on tips that helped me. After the pads dry, I will assemble the base and turn on the printer before I put on the outer shell. If everything goes O.K., but I still get the 5 orange blinks, I will probably break down and buy a new print head since I know the chassis and ink pads are cleaned up and all tubes connected.
Here are my pics which I hope will help anyone trying to open the case.
I made a stand to elevate the chassis to be able to swing the base 90 degrees to access the pads.
These are to total parts of the case. There are only 2 screws holding the base to the chassis. The third screw is for a ground wire.
Base for ink pads. The pads were 50 percent saturated, but the plastic base had little ink to clean up.
:| Left back view showing screw location for base removal.
:| Right back view showing screw location for base removal.
Left side detail.
Right side of chassis.
Back view.
Left back detail.
Right back detail.
View showing underside of pump with tubing. Note the corrosion on the chassis from the ink splashing up from the discharge tubes.
I then used Muratic acid to clean the metal and brushed on a coat of RustOlem for protection.
To disassemble the case where you have to push in tabs, I took popsicle sticks, sanded one end to look like a flat screwdriver. They worked out great, no scratching of the plastic and I could leave sticks in the slots to help disengage the tabs.
I am now waiting for the ink pads to dry. After that I will reassemble the the base and do some test runs. Hopefully everything will work.
I will keep you posted on the results. If you have any questions on how I did something, please feel free to ask.
Thanks for looking.
David Brady
Here are my pics which I hope will help anyone trying to open the case.
I made a stand to elevate the chassis to be able to swing the base 90 degrees to access the pads.
These are to total parts of the case. There are only 2 screws holding the base to the chassis. The third screw is for a ground wire.
Base for ink pads. The pads were 50 percent saturated, but the plastic base had little ink to clean up.
:| Left back view showing screw location for base removal.
:| Right back view showing screw location for base removal.
Left side detail.
Right side of chassis.
Back view.
Left back detail.
Right back detail.
View showing underside of pump with tubing. Note the corrosion on the chassis from the ink splashing up from the discharge tubes.
I then used Muratic acid to clean the metal and brushed on a coat of RustOlem for protection.
To disassemble the case where you have to push in tabs, I took popsicle sticks, sanded one end to look like a flat screwdriver. They worked out great, no scratching of the plastic and I could leave sticks in the slots to help disengage the tabs.
I am now waiting for the ink pads to dry. After that I will reassemble the the base and do some test runs. Hopefully everything will work.
I will keep you posted on the results. If you have any questions on how I did something, please feel free to ask.
Thanks for looking.
David Brady