i9900 Pics showing disassembly for ink pads

[brady38]

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

 

[Nifty]

Fantastic! I love all the pictures and detail.

Great job bringing the corroded metal back to like-new condition!

 

[nickart]

Hi Brady,

Great. I'm doing the same with my i9950. Opened the top case, but now I have trouble finding the right way to lift the chassis.
I removed the 2 from the bottom but that does not make the chassis loose from the plastic body. Any idea what to do?

Nick

 

[SpideRMaN]

Great pics and work.


do you consider fitting an external waste in tank ?

 

[nickart]

a picture:

 

[nickart]

Hi Spider,

No, I just want to clean the wastepad. I have no idea how to get to the underside of the chassis. Do you?

 

[pharmacist]

Since the printer is open I would redirect the tubing to an external bottle, so you won't need to clean the waste pad as much !!!

 

[nickart]

Ok, How do I get to that tubing? You see it is still attached to the base plate. No idea how to dissasemble it further.
Do you need any detail pictures? I can make them since it is now open.

Nick

 

[brady38]

nickart:

Sorry to take so long to answer. Just got back last night from a Carribbean cruise. To remove the chassis, you need to take out the two screws from the back. The front of the chassis is held in by "L" shaped molded clips fasten to the inkpad base. Once you remove the (2) screws, lift the back of the chassis up about two inches, then slide the chassis to the rear releasing the front of the chassis from the base. Thats all there is to it.
You can see the clips in my third picture. I did consider piping to an external waste tank, and it would not be hard to do, but since it takes several years to load up the ink pads, and due to the simple removal, I did not think it was worth it. I can take the printer apart in about 15 mins and cleaning the pads takes about 1/2 hour and in 3 years of ownership of the printer, my pads were about 40 percent filled. And that with printing several thousand pictures. Of those pictures, I would say 80 percent are 4x6, 10 percent 8x10 and 10 percent 13x19.

Hopes this helps your problem of removing the base from the chassis.

David

 

[nickart]

Thanks Brady,

I removed the two screws from the bottom. Are those the ones you mean? If so, then the chassis sticks to the plastic frame because I tried to lift it up to no avail. Should I use some force to do this? Can you confirm you mean the two screws from the bottom? Do I need any force?

Nick