MX850 - Little Foam Pad under the ink cartridges....

[NeptuneNancy]

This morning, after printing one page, we got an error code on the MX850 - "5C00" (if I'm remembering correctly). Looking online, I read that "fixing" this problem involved absorbing the ink from a small, approximatey 1" square foam pad that resides under the ink carriage when it's positioned all the way to the right. My husband has done this in the past a few times (maybe for an A600 error code? I'm not sure). I then read that this pad does lift out, and the recommendation was to lift it out, squeeze the excess ink out of it and replace it. Sounded good, as I thought we'd have to do this less often if I squeezed enough ink out. It was going well, until the tweezers I was using slipped and the pad went flying. I think it's down in the printer somewhere on the right hand side because I can't find it.

I've lifted and moved the printer around (gently!) every which way, hoping to get it to drop to a spot where I could lift it out. No such luck. I decided to take my chances and plug the power cord back in to see if I still got the error message. No - the usual display when it's ready to print came back on. So, I tried printing a page - and it worked! It took awhile to print, sounding like the carriage was moving back and forth more than usual before beginning to print, but it hadn't been powered down in a few weeks. So far, it looks like the little lost pad isn't interfering with anything mechanical. *fingers crossed*

My problem is I'd like to buy a new little foam pad to replace the one I lost, as I figure it played some important role in the functioning of my printer. Does anyone have an official name for this pad, or a part number and maybe a website where I can get one? Does anyone know the approximate cost? I figure I can call Canon, but I don't know what to ask for.

Thanks in advance~

 

[on30trainman]

You are probably talking about the purge pad. I had one do the same thing on an ip4500. Mine could be seen sitting on the ink absorber pads on the bottom of the printer. I ended up taking the printer apart to retrieve it. Probably wouldn't have hurt to have left it there - didn't seem to be interfering with any operation. Aside from taking the printer apart the best bet would be to call Canon and ask for new purge system pads - make sure you tell them the small hard foam looking pads that are under the printhead at rest. The problem with running the printer without the pads is that the purge unit won't work. If you start getting a clog there is no way for the printer to clear out the printhead.

Steve W.

 

[NeptuneNancy]

Thanks, Steve. I'm trying not to use the printer until I can replace the pad. Now that I have a name to call it, I can call Canon.

Thanks again~

 

[NeptuneNancy]

Canon had me on hold forever, so I decided to have them call me back. In the meantime, I called a local repair place, but one that unfortunately only deals with laser printers. The man I spoke with was very helpful, though, and tried to find the part for me. Unfortunately, there's no individual part number for the (color) purge pad I'm now missing, and the one supplier he looked up no longer carries this part.

I guess without a purge pad, the printhead will dry out and not work properly?

Does anyone know of a source that carries replacement purge pads for the MX850? When I did speak with someone at Canon, (before being transferred to tech support, where I stayed on hold for quite some time without anyone coming on the line) all they could offer was an "ink absorber kit" containing 13 pads. She did not know if the purge pads were part of this kit. I figured these were the absorbers that go down in the bowels of the printer, and not the little pads under the printhead when it's resting. She also suggested a replacement printhead, but couldn't tell me if the purge pads come in the box with the printhead, and the printhead wouldn't be returnable if it turns out the pads aren't included. ($50 for a non-returnable printhead that may not be my solution; $150 for a new MX860 st Staples...)

Google searches aren't turning up anything besides this interesting forum. (I will say I've learned alot about ink jet printers today!)

 

[leo8088]

Thanks, Steve. I'm trying not to use the printer until I can replace the pad. Now that I have a name to call it, I can call Canon.

Thanks again~

You better hurry up to retrieve the purge pad and put it right back to where it belongs. The purge pad is a critical little thing that for one thing it covers the print head after the printer has idled for something like 30 seconds and its print head moved to park above the purge pad. Without the purge pad the ink in the nozzles of the print head will dry up in a matter of a few hours and next time you want to use the printer the print head is clogged. The second thing it does is when the printer needs to prime the print head the purge pad provides the vacuum chamber so that the purge unit (a little vacuum pump) can suck the print head to get ink withdrawn from the ink cartridges above the print head. If the purge pad is not present the vacuum won't be there (air leaked) to such the ink though the print head. As a result the print head will never be properly primed when need to. The print head will be clogged soon.

You need to retrieve the purge pad and put it back. You need to put it back the way it was there. Or it won't work properly. It is a critical little part that should not be tampered in any way unless you know exactly how it should be removed and replaced.

 

[NeptuneNancy]

Thanks, leo8088. (You're not named after the old Motorola 8088 chip, are you? )

It seemed easy enough to remove this little pad, and then put it back, as per advice I had read online this morning. Unfortunately, the tweezers I had used was from a computer repair kit, not too rigid, the prongs sliiped sideways, dropping the pad out of reach. I know folks on this forum like taking their inkjets apart and repairing them, but I don't think I have the time or the patience! (Not to mention a handy repair manual...) I have enjoyed reading the various threads and looking at the photos of the inkjet innards today. Quite educational, and I thank everyone for their kind help and advice today.

I am trying desparately to find a new pad, but I think I'm going to find myself at Staples in a short bit, purchasing a new MX860...

 

[on30trainman]

The pads will not be with a new printhead so don't order the printhead hoping to get the pads. Not sure about whether it would be with the absorber pads, but I kind of doubt it. I just looked in a Parts Catalog for an ip4000 and it appears that the only way to get purge pads for that printer would be to buy a complete purge unit - expensive I would think.
Maybe you could try to vacuum the pad out of the body with vacuum cleaner with a small nozzle tip. Might be able to pull it out. Hopefully you won't suck out a lot of ink in the absorber pads. Maybe that is what I should have done before taking my ip4500 apart. I could see the pad but there was no way to get tweezers in and snag it. Tried various combos of tweezers and picks, but to no avail. Good luck with whatever you do.

Steve W.

 

[embguy]

I would look for Craigslist or Kijiji local calassified ad for used MX850, iP4500 or MP610 printers. They are using the same printing engine in these three printers.

I have couple of i550s without working print head. But the i550 uses a square purge pad and iP4500 uses a rectangular purge pad. Otherwise, I will be sending it to you.

BTW, I cannot see the purge pad on my MX850 with the scanner cover open only halfway (i.e. 45 deg). How can you get to the MX850 purge pad to get you into this trouble?

 

[NeptuneNancy]

According to Canon (finally) the purge pads are part of the purge unit. It took them awhile to find this out for me. (Thanks, on30trainman - you got it right!) It would have been about $25 including shipping.

As I would have to wait until the purge unit got here, and in that amount of time, I was afraid I would have ruined the printhead, so I traded it in for an MX860. Currently $150 at Staples, plus a $50 trade-in for the MX850 and $15 credit for the ink cartridges (by mail). New multifunction printer for less than $100. So, new purge unit + possibly new printhead would have cost just about as much as a new printer. (Not to mention being without a printer/copier for most of the week until the parts arrived...)

embguy, thanks for your kind offer! With the carriage moved to the left, and a flashlight(!), the purge pads can be grabbed with a tweezers. After this morning, I wouldn't recommend trying it! It was hard to see anything in there, as you say, because the top only tips back that 45 degrees. Didn't make looking for the dropped pad easy! I couldn't see it after it dropped to even try to get it out.

 

[leo8088]

You probably could have tried to take the chassis apart and see if you could retrieve the purge pad before trading it in. Oh well. It may not be that easy because it is a multifunction. It's not bad for $100 for a new one with a full set of new cartridges. It will serve you well for many years to come. Just don't tamper that purge unit any more. It is not a device that can go bad frequently. If a printer is in storage for a long long time then it is OK to give it a few drops of water to moisten it so that it will be able to prime the print head without air leak. Other than that it is better left alone.