mx850 don't print black, cleaned head, new carts, new head, whats next

Skorpian I've seen the MX870 on sale for $100 after rebate at Office Depot. I'd recommend getting the 2 year extended warranty if you can.
 
Hi

Update on progress....

I followed the instructions in the manual to dismantle the printer. The instructions were good for removing covers, duplex-er, scanner, etc. But when it came to removing the bottom tray for the print mechanics, there were no instructions, apart from how to remove the screw from behind the purge unit. However, it was simple enough to remove half a dozen screws around the outside of printer mechanism - it was fairly obvious which ones need to be removed, and would be screwing into the bottom tray. I hesitated because there were no instructions, but I came that far, so I wasn't stopping there...

Now I didn't take photos, sorry, but there was enough ink everywhere already - didn't need extra on the camera. There are 2 smaller black tubes going in, and 2 larger clear tubes going out , of the purge unit. I found by removing and testing these tubes , I could find what was blocked. I poked and cleaned (Windex) best I could. I completely removed the black tubes, cleaned them, and then also poked and cleaned into the purge unit as best I could, from both inlet and outlet sides. I used a pin, a syringe, and Windex water, and ear bud / cotton tipped cleaners. There are two sides in the purge unit, one for the black and other for colour. The black path was pretty well gummed by ink in most areas of the piping and inlet / outlet of the purge unit.

Now I though that I had done everything that I could, and was ready to put it back together. I wasn't keen to put it back together though, and find out I didn't do a good enough job of cleaning, particularly in the purge unit itself. The meaning pull it all apart again. No thanks. I decided to do a manual test of the purge unit. I filled the black rubber trays which sit under the print head, with water, and I manually operated the purge unit by rotating the plastic gear. Within a couple of turns I could see one of the outlet tubes dribbling liquid, but no the other. LUCKY I TESTED. The black side was still clogged. I cleaned again and finally the black side operated as well. Thereafter, I also found that by using a syringe (without needle) on the outlet side, that you can clean through the purge unit, by sucking and pushing liquid through.

While the printer was apart I also cleaned the absorber pads. I removed them and cleaned under running hot water for 5 mins or so, until the run off was mostly clear, then "rolled" the water out of them, so they were as dry as possible. They didn't really swell or anything, but I didn't soak them wither, just a 5-10 min wash. Chucked them back in, no worries.

My greatest fear was putting it wall back together and then either not working, or one of the those error codes. however, all went well, printer worked when reassembled. The original print head did not print a good test page, but the new print head worked fine. I will clean the old print head again to see if its going or not -good to have a spare I suppose.

I will now Windex the rubber "under the print head pads" every cartridge change - hopefully this will stop the problem reoccurring.

So problem solved. I wanted to sincerely THANK YOU very much ghwellsjr, and other co-contributors, for your assistance.

I fixed my printer for $3.50 myself, instead of forking out another $185-$250 for a tech to do it, or having to buy a new printer. I've learned something, and I'm proud for being able to do it myself - but again, it would have not been possible with out your assistance. Thanks again....
 
Now that you're an expert, you can go into business and fix other people's printers at $75 per hour--wouldn't that be nice?

One issue: I hope you gave time for your ink absorber pads to thoroughly dry out before installing them back in the printer because they won't dry out inside the printer.

It would also be good for you to find out how to reset the counter that keeps track of when the ink absorber pads are "full" because the printer will refuse to print when it reaches 100%.
 
Expert ? hahaha.... not!

I'm happy simply to be able to fix my own though... I'm not sure if fixing other peoples would make me happy though...

Thanks, that reset in in the manual, and ill deal with it when it comes around, I guess.

I wrung out the absorber pads, but no didn't dry thoroughly, so they were dampish when they were reinstalled. I figured, that over time, the water *maybe* would slowly evaporate, due the heat from machine. If not, well that's ok, if they happen to fill up with ink down the track, I know now how to get to them. I figure some water / dampness may well help to disburse the ink as it drops into the pad - I noted the old ink was really only around the purge unit outlets anyways. There was lots of pad with no ink.

Has there actually been any issues caused from anyone installing absorbers while they were damp , that you know of ?
 
Hint...

I've successfully dried waste pads by repeated MONITORED heating in a microwave oven with 1 cup of water also in the oven (to prevent oven damage if the pads dry out completely). Seemed to work fine....

Wayne
 
My experience with attempting to clean the waste ink absorber pads was:

It's a giant mess.
You can't get them pure white.
If you try to squeeze the ink/water/cleanser out of them, some of them will not restore to their original thickness.

It is very important that the pads are thick enough because the ink will not migrate from one pad to the next unless they are in physical contact.

For these reasons, I encourage replacing the pads with new ones. I haven't priced the pads for the later model printers but for the printers I have they are only $7 for a set from a local authorized Canon repair center.
 
skorpian said:
The original print head did not print a good test page, but the new print head worked fine. I will clean the old print head again to see if its going or not -good to have a spare I suppose.
Click to expand...
In case you haven't read my warnings before: after cleaning a print head, let it dry for two days in a warm spot before putting it back in your printer, otherwise you run the risk of permanently damaging both your print head and your printer as a result of liquid getting on the internal electronics when power is applied. I would hate for you to lose your printer after putting so much work into it just by trying to get your bad print head working again.
 
Whether a print head can be damaged by installing it before it is thoroughly dried or not is a mystery. Theoretically the print head is constantly wet because of the ink. A new print head coming out of the assembly line is always cleaned (washed) by pure water. All electronic PCBs are washed at the end of the assembly line. I have seen such operation in a large electronics manufacturing factory assembling very expensive PCBs costing tens of thousands of dollars each. The very last stage at the end of the line was a wash station. The cleaning fluid used to be Freon, yes, the material used in compressors of air conditioners. It has been replaced by pure water for protecting Ozone layer in the sky.

Maybe if the water is not clean, containing ions of metals or acid something like that which would then possibly cause damage to print heads. But if this is true then drying the print head after being treated with such water will not avoid damage still. I would use distilled water for print head cleaning after soaking with whatever cleaner used. I will install the print head before drying it. I have done that many times and I have not damaged any of my print heads.
 
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