ip3000 magenta fails after start of page

[sneezer2]

I have an ip3000 that has given great service. I've been refilling cartridges for nearly five years
with little trouble. I've used inks from atlascopy.com and have bought only two cartridges in
that whole time. Some of you may have quibbles about that but it was before I discovered
this forum, so I didn't have much of the information you have developed.

Now, however, I have a problem and would like some help with a decision on whether to try
harder or to just junk it. Recently, I've had to print good quality photos for an upcoming court
appearance (tax appeal, I am not a crook . Suddenly, the printer started acting as if the
magenta ink was not available, though the cartridge was full. I've done a lot of cleaning and
even tried some strange tactics but the results are not good. I bought a genuine Canon
magenta cartridge but the results are the same.

What happens is that the magenta works fine for the first quarter of the page, then quits.
Apparently there is some kind of ink-flow problem but I can't deduce what it is. I have a
hard time believing the head is shot because it works fine for a couple of inches.

If any of you has some ideas or experience with this sort of thing, I'd like some help.

Thanks.

 

[crenedecotret]

Hello sneezer, what are the "strange tactics" you've tried?

 

[sneezer2]

Well, after looking around the forum, I've found that they may not be so strange after all. But anyway, here they are:

1) Took the print head out and washed it in tap water, trying to get as much old ink out as possible.

2) Subjected the print head to a treatment with an "ultrasonic cleaner" of my own devising. In other words, I
submerged it in ordinary tap water then immersed an electric toothbrush and turned it on. Didn't touch the head
with the brush, only put it close to get the "ultrasonic" effect.

3) Emptied the old magenta cartridge and refilled it with Windex. Put that in the printer and ran the
cleaning routine a dozen times and the deep cleaning several times.

4) Shot the print head with canned air a few times.

None of these methods appears to have done any harm, which encourages me fro the future as I may
do the same things on another occasion. On the other hand, none of them seems to have done any
good either, which depresses me and makes me think my ip3000 may be a goner.

 

[crenedecotret]

Is there any chance that the gromet between the cartridge and the printhead may be damaged? If any air is getting in, you would have feed problems.

I would also try saturating the purge pad with amonia, wait about an hour and run a head clean (normal, not deep clean). If the purge lines are blocked, your previous cleanings would have no effect at all. Try repeating this a few times to see if it helps..

 

[sneezer2]

I've looked at those "grommets" and none appears to be damaged. I can look again with a magnifier and since it is only
magenta that is affected, a comparison with the other ones would reveal any possible damage.

Haven't looked at the purge pad and I suppose I should.

Your last suggestion rings some bells (well at least it tinkles . The machine makes some strange noises while
cleaning, not always but most of the time. I put it down to just the carriage making noise while it moves along
its shaft with possibly not enough lubrication. But just yesterday I noticed some information in a service manual
about such noises. Besides there is no such noise when I try to print. Have to have a look.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I wouldn't use straight ammonia, it is VERY caustic. At least dilute it 1/20 or just use Windex with ammonia.

 

[sneezer2]

Alright then, how do you open an ip3000. I'm sure I could scope it out but with so many here who
seem to have done it already, I'm hoping one of you will know the tricks.

Thanks

 

[sneezer2]

OK, got the sides off and the top off.
For anyone else who cares here is the link:

http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel.ph ters_sides

http://www.druckerchannel.de/artikel.ph ters_sides

etc., etc.

 

[sneezer2]

crenedecotret said:
"If the purge lines are blocked, your previous cleanings would have no effect at all. Try repeating this a few times to see if it helps.."
Strange though, I can't find any purge lines. Also, the pads were definitely not full. The two long ones on top were almost dry and the only
ones with any amount of ink were the small ones on the bottom. Of those, only the very bottom one was really saturated.

There appears to be a sort of "landing area" under where the print head comes to rest and under a couple of small pads there are four
little hose ends. They don't appear to be purge lines though as they end up being attached to some small levers on a motor nearby.
Does anyone understand how this thing works? I've cleaned all that out but found nothing really suspicious looking so don't really
know where I stand.

Any suggestions?

 

[ghwellsjr]

The purge pads and lines are the ones you found under where the print head parks. The hoses, as you call them, or tubes go to a pair of peristaltic pumps driven by the motor(s) near by. See this thread for a complete discussion of the purge lines and pads:

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4246