It Was Only A Printers Tale

[The Hat]

I went to print yesterday with my trusty old 9500 and it went gaga on me, ten flashing orange lights.

It was only used the day before that to print 50 A4 colour documents with not a bother on it,
I must have done something on the Gods of Canon printers to warrant this retribution,
my iX4000 print head has gone west also, but that another story.
I now face a big decision as to what to do about it, do I try to get a new print head, logic board or both ?

I reckon a new printer would probably be cheaper than trying to fix this old girl up again;
buying two new parts will easily equal the cost of 1 new printer.

I can here you guys saying but its only this or that thats wrong with your printer surely it would be very easy to fix this or that again ?

Ten orange lights in the manual comes out as, the front paper tray is still in the upright position, which of course is rubbish;
Ive had to dismantle the printer today to unlock the print head from its docking position and now it is at least back partially functioning.

When I turn it on with no print head installed it starts up normally and then gives the error that no print head is installed (5 orange lights)
which is correct and when I re-install the print head I get the error B200 (10 orange lights) which is of course wrong.

The fact that it is giving incorrect errors makes me think its the logic board, so getting a new print head maybe counterproductive,
if it is the board it can very easily blow the print head to kingdom come, strike out one new print head.

My heart says one thing and my head says another, listen to this whilst I had the printer naked (covers off)
I was able to re-route the waste ink pipe to an external bottle, cleaned up the ink spills around the platen area,
rinse the purge unit out and clean up the wiper blades, its all like new again.

The waste ink is currently at 55% but looking at the inside you wouldnt think so because theres ink all over the bottom of the case
which I managed to mop up some of that too, all this to bring the printer back to good working order
and then the frigging thing still isnt fixed properly, what am I.

 

[Lucas28]

Youre right, Hat, this sucks so much.
But look on the bright side of this matter: now you have an excuse to buy yourself a new printer.
It is the expensive solution. But hey, now you can finally buy that XP800

Now for the cheap solution: start reusing one of your older printers, like the ix7000 or the i9950 until they are worn out too.

 

[PeterBJ]

If you take the question of resetter/no resetter into account, doesn't it tip the balance toward rebuilding the Pro 9500? Even if it is expensive, I think that if you chose to rebuild the printer, it would be very wise to change both the print head and the logic board.

 

[Tudor]

Brian, when you opened the printer, did you notice the sensor for the door? Can you check it?

 

[PeterBJ]

I once had problems with the microswitch indicating output tray open/closed on a Pixma 4000. I replaced the switch with a switch from a defunct printer, but the switch might also be cleaned, see this thread: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8716 . Don't try to unsolder the switch, you will melt the plastic housing of the switch and ruin it. Instead loosen the connector on the logic board or if the connector is stuck, cut and resolder the wires to the switch, and use heat shrinkable tubing to insulate the solder joints.

So I think it is a good idea to take Tudor's advice and verify the function of the switch. A digital multimeter with continuity test function is perfect for this.

 

[The Hat]

When it comes to cheap solution there are none and as this printer is the flagship of my printer group
it cant be allow to just sink without me trying everything to keep it afloat.

It has served me faithful for more than 4 years without a hitch and was always 100% reliable so I reckon I should try and fix my beautiful beast,
in the mean time my flag will be transferred to the Pro 1 so it better behave itself.

This 9500 is a dream printer to own it has everything going for it, no problem getting I.S. inks,
none with resetting the chips and above all no problems refilling the OEM cartridges.

So my way of thinking is that no other printer has all of these accolades and if I so decide
I can always use dye inks with this printer, not to mention gloss optimizer, this is why I truly love the beast.

So is it going to be logic board or print head or both ? Or will a new 9500 printer be the cheaper option ?

This cursed B200 error is a bloody joke it could mean anything but the orange flashing lights are usual more accurate
than the stupid on screen error messages are, but in this instance therere not.

I turn on the printer and I get the five orange lights so I then install the print head.
The next error message is the crap B200 error along with 10 orange flashing lights.

So given that the printer doesnt know its arse form its elbow it could only be a logic board error from my way of thinking,
any taughts on my diagnosis, see also this thread posted by britechguy

http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=66464#p66464

PeterBJ So I think it is a good idea to take Tudor's advice and verify the function of the switch.
A digital multimeter with continiuty test function is perfect fot this.

I will try every suggestion put forward at this stage because therere just as lightly to work,
everything is still possible and nothing is going to be over looked, thanks guys..

 

[PeterBJ]

Most likely you know, but there was one warning I forgot. Remember to disconnect the switch, before testing its continuity. Modern digital multimeters use low voltage and current for this test. My DMM uses an open circuit voltage of 2.75 V and a short circuit current of 1.5 mA. But you never know what voltages and currents are involved. Avoid old analog multimeters with a mechanical buzzer for continuity testing. A such inductive device could create nasty voltage spikes, that could ruin the electronics.

 

[MP640]

I have the same problem: http://www.nifty-stuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9006

What if we would swap printheads for testing purposes?

 

[Emulator]

Hi The Hat

I Googled "b200 error Canon Pro 9500" and this appeared among many others.

http://www.fixya.com/support/t10134559-canon_pixma_pro9500_mk2_error

The RANDY paps answer seems to indicate some pre-knowledge?

Emu

 

[The Hat]

Thanks Emu

But this B200 error a real bummer, it can certainly account for some hair loss when it popped up.

The B200 error is a fatal error that requires Servicing by a Canon agent because it could be almost anything,
and is usually fixed by replacing the logic board and print head together, which can cause no further damage;
parts are cheaper than man hours I reckon.

Its one of those unknowns that is not spoken of because nobody knows anything about these unknowns,
so therere just left unknown.

I have two problems with mine, one is the B200 error which is easily got rid of by removing the print head
and the other one is the ten flashing lights (Front print tray not in the correct position).

The best diagnosis I have is that:- its a print carriage error equating to data strap failure, print head failure and finally logic assembly board failure.

This B200 error is so vague it could be all three or none of them, because the flashing lights (Error codes) are usually correct
but not if the logic board is damaged in some way, as I said back to the service agents, and in my case thats a definite no no.

Normally when you get the B200 error the LED lights are supposed to flash Orange/Blue repeatedly
indicating that a fatal error has occurred which cant be fixed by any further button pressing.

As this didnt happen in my case I still had to strip the covers from the printer
to release the print head lock to gain access to the carriageway for examination.

I have since checked (This morning) the front print tray micro switch and its perfectly fine
(Nothing wrong with it) so its back to the drawing board for more inspiration.

I will play around with it for a while longer before deciding whether or not to get new parts for it
or just invest in a new one, there is still hope..