IP 5000 only prints black for colour

[rodbam]

My Canon Pixma IP5000 has suddenly started to print black only when I try & print a colour photo. If I tick the greyscale box it will print a greyscale photo but unticked & trying to print in colour it will only print in black with no grey tones. My nozzle print for all inks only shows the pigment black ink with no headings for the colour inks. This happens on two different computers so it seems to be printer related.
Anyone have any ideas on whats going wrong? I have also done a deep head clean & all OEM cartridges are full of IS ink.

Here's a shot of my nozzle print test with only the Pigment ink showing & none of the colour nozzles. The greyscale shot (top left) which is OK & the black only shot (bottom left) which is how it printed in colour mode & the colour one is from my pro9000.

 

[PeterBJ]

Most likely the print head and/or the logic board has developed an electric fault. There is a slight chance that the problem is caused by dirty contacts on the print head or in the print head carriage, so you could try cleaning the contacts with isopropyl alcohol and kitchen paper and Q-tips.

In case the cleaning doesn't help, only a new print head might help. But if the logic board is defective then a new print head will be of no use, it might even be damaged by the defective logic board.

So replacing the print head is a gamble and I have no idea of your winning odds. You decide if the printer is worth it.

 

[ghwellsjr]

Have you checked to make sure the purge unit for your dye inks is working? It's kind of hard to see but it way off to the right where the print head parks. Open the cover and wait for the print head to stop in the middle. Then use a syringe, eye dropper, or bent straw to put some water on the square pad and see if it stays there for a minute. It will appear shiny. Then do a normal head cleaning and see if the water has completely disappeared. Let us know what happens.

 

[stratman]

As ghwells said - check the purge system by flooding the purge pad for the color ink. I have used a syringe with a needle and a flashlight to see better. Water, Windex, isopropyl alcohol or whatever fluid you use, should pool up on the pad and not disappear immediately until after the purge system is activated, such as by a head cleaning or a maintenance cycle of some sort. This is why you first flood the pads, close the lid, try a head cleaning, then open the lid and look at the pads. If everything works OK then the pads will look a less black.

If fluid does not pool at first or does not go away with a head cleaning then it is your purge system that is at issue.

It is unlikely a giant clog has affected ALL colors of the print head simultaneously all at once (except for Pigment Black, which uses separate nozzles and separate purge pad). It still could be an electronic print head failure (less likely) as well as a logic board failure (more likely) considering it was a sudden loss of ALL dye based color inks without warning signs or an error message points. I'd more expect an error message if the logic assay board failed but not always one if the print head failed.

I take it your greyscale printout was done on Plain Paper setting? If so, it appears the IP5000 does use Pigment Black in greyscale plain paper printouts like other Canon models. Otherwise, if this is dye-based Black then we have a puzzler.

 

[fotofreek]

Since there is a cleaning routine separate for pigment black and for the dye based nozzles, I'd suspect the dye based purge unit. Hope you can trace it down and fix it. This is a wonderful printer and I don't believe there are any more printheads available.

 

[rodbam]

Thanks everyone I will try what you suggest & keep my fingers crossed.

 

[rodbam]

I put a drop of water on the waste pad & it soaked in straight away, I put one more drop on & that did the same & the sponge went white where the drop was.
I've now got the head soaking & when it's dry I will clean the contacts & will try printing again.
Here's some shots of the ink pads, there looks to be some ink spots on the plastics & some messy ink just left of the ink pads.
I also saw another pad with clear plastic for ink to run down on the left of the printer.
Left side of printer

Here's the ink pads

Just left of the ink pads with messy ink.

Some of the ink splash around ink pads

 

[stratman]

Rod:

When did you turn into a dainty old lady? A drop of water on the waste pad?

You need to flood the waste pads, meaning more than two drops, in order to see if fluid pools. Less than a cc may do the trick, but certainly more than 2 drops. Whatever you do, resist the urge to piss on it like you say Aussies do on everything.

If fluid does not pool then it could mean the purge system tubing has become disconnected.

 

[rodbam]

Gawd I was scared to fill up the waste ink tank. OK I will flood it tomorrow before I pee all over it

 

[stratman]