mp640 no longer prints color

[clouseau]

Hi,

my mp640 does no longer print any color, just black and white. I have already tried cleaning the print head, re-seated all cartridges, tried all sorts of cleaning options from the maintenance menu and did a factory reset. No luck - it's still black and white only. Does anyone have suggestions what else to try?

Thank you!

 

[pebe]

Are the coloured parts missing or are they shown as shades of grey?

 

[The Hat]

Hi,

my mp640 does no longer print any color, just black and white. I have already tried cleaning the print head, re-seated all cartridges, tried all sorts of cleaning options from the maintenance menu and did a factory reset. No luck - it's still black and white only. Does anyone have suggestions what else to try?

Thank you!

Can you give some more information on your printer setup, like cartridges, do you fill your own,
when did you first notice the loss of colour.

It maybe too late at this stage but dont print any more till you can resolve the problem.

One cause of all colour loss together can be a purge unit failure, so please report back..

 

[clouseau]

Are the coloured parts missing or are they shown as shades of grey?

Yes, the coloured parts are completely missing, there are no shades of grey whatsoever.

 

[clouseau]

Can you give some more information on your printer setup, like cartridges, do you fill your own, when did you first notice the loss of colour.

I use the same 3rd party compatible cartridges for 2+ years now and had no issues so far. I started to get error code 5200 when turning it on so I took out all cartridges and the print head, cleaned it, and put it back. I think that's when it stopped printing in colour.

 

[PeterBJ]

A service manual for the MP640 is found here: http://www.bendata.de/Downloads/Canon/mp640_e.pdf

See page 12/54 for the 5200 error. The error message means that the print head is too hot. This normally means the print head is defective, and a new print head may bring your printer back to life.

But when a Canon print head fails, there is a risk that it also damages the logic board in the printer. A damaged logic board can damage a new print head, so replacing the print head is a gamble. I cannot tell what your chances of success are, you decide if the the cost of a new print head is worth the risk.

If you search the forum, you will find both success stories where a new print head revived the printer, and stories of failure where the new print head was lost.

 

[clouseau]

Thank you very much for the link to the service manual. I'll look around for a reasonably priced printhead. If I can't find one, I'll write the printer off and get a new one.

 

[turbguy]

It is very possible that the purge system for your color carts has become defective for some reason. Your printer uses dye inks plus Black Pigment ink (the PGI-220 cart). The pigment cart has a separate purging/parking pad from the color carts. Do you know how to test the purging system for problems (described elsewhere in the threads)?

Wayne