Pixma Pro 1 - Ink doors not releasing

[PeterG]

Hi,

I'm new here but have been looking through the old posts and can't find anything on this so have decided to ask, I'm sorry if this question has been asked before please send me in the direction of the post.

I've had a Pixma Pro 1 for about 4 years, no issues at all in that time, other than the 'there's no ink' when the cartridge still has some in it stuff. I've recently acquired an additional Pro 1 with an issue, the ink door will not release, what happens is this;

• Power the printer on
• Printer does all checks
• Printer turns the blue 'ink' light on and flashes the amber light 4 times
• Press the ink button
• Printer makes all the correct sounds
• Printer then flashes the white and amber lights alternating until power switch is pressed
• The doors do not open.

I've opened up the printer and was able, after pressing the blue switch, to trigger the doors to open by manually activating the switch inside. This lead me to think the solenoid was broken so I swapped the door with my working printer, no change. The door is therefore not the issue, it works on my old printer and not the new one.

This is where I'm at currently, I've taken the case off the broken printer to check the wiring but nothing is loose and I've no idea where to start with the control boards without a service manual.

My questions are;

• Is this a 'common' issue?
• Does it have a fix?
• What is the fix?

Then I can get it up and running without the thought of taking it apart again just to opening the ink doors when the cartridges run out.

Thanks in advance.
Peter.

 

[The Hat]

Hi @PeterG and welcome, you’re not satisfied with just one beast, you had to get another, I would have taught that owing one would have been sufficient to keep you happy, brave man..

You have been pulling around inside your second printer and may have caused some damage, because this printer has an active EPROM memory chip that always needs power and if interrupted will render the printer useless.

When you have the top cover removed its vital you keep the printers power cable plugged in at both ends, that way you always insure the EPROM remains active.

There is more to your problem than just the notice that you need to exchange an ink cartridge, how many times are the Amber / White LED lights flashing.

When they start you need to count them carefully, and if its 26 times then it’s game over, because you are now the owner of a very large door stop, and the machine will need to be returned to a Canon Agent for service and reactivation..
Sorry....

 

[PeterG]

Ok, Thanks.
That had me worried there for a bit as I've had the PSU apart to check the 12V line was ok, seemed good to me but no way of checking it 'on load' on my bench.

Anyways, got the 'new' printer back together and with the help of the inks from my old one got it printing a picture but I'm still plagued with the doors not opening. The steps above have changed now though as the inks are all good;

• Power the printer on
• Printer does all checks
• Power light stay on constantly
• Press ink switch
• Blue light flashes for a while
• Amber and white lights flash, I've counted now it's 8 times

If you have the door with the buttons hanging down to allow access to the wires behind, press the ink switch and wait for about 30 seconds, when you manually press the switch to open the door, at the bottom of the solenoid, it triggers the other ink door so they both open.

Any ideas as to what may stop the door from triggering?

Thanks.
Peter

 

[The Hat]

It’s good you got the printer running again but the LED blinking 8 times is not so good, that is referring to a rise in the temperature of the print head, and the problem with the ink doors might be the plugs are in the wrong position, (Backwards)

The only other thing you can try is when you press the ink door button and wait for it to respond, (About 2 minutes) if it still fails, then press the Resume/Cancel button and hold for two seconds, then try pressing the ink door button again.. (It's like a reset)

P.S. Keep a good eye on any on screen error messages you get and how many times the buttons are flashing either singly or together, that’s important, O’ this printer is intelligent so be prepared for just about anything...

 

[PeterG]

OK, i's been useful having a working Pro-1 to swap bits out with.
The door works, in the working printer, so nothing the wrong way around there.
The printer iteslf works, when you don't need to open the doors, and prints very well.
If you manually open the right hand door, by pulling the facia off and triggering the switch yourself, the left hand door automatically opens, so it would appear the volatges and power are good too.
The only thing you can't do is trigger the doors using the button.

Still investigating though.
Thanks.

 

[The Hat]

The only thing you can't do is trigger the doors using the button.

The most obvious thing to look at then is the button switch itself, just remove that instead of taking the facia off each time..

 

[PeterG]

I'm trying to clean everything but can't get the print head out, it appears to be a dark art thing that isn't documented anywhere on the internet. Please can someone help if they know how.

Thanks.

 

[The Hat]

Don’t bother, it will serve no purpose, the Pro 1 does all its own cleaning, both internally and externally, the print head is not a removable part on this machine, that’s why the information is not available.

The reason, because it’s so easy to shortcut the removal procedure and run the risk of doing something you shouldn’t, it's a harsh lesson to learn, new print heads are available but are very difficult to purchase from stockists for the same reason.

Have you ever taught how much ink you’d waste if you removed the print head...?
That waisted ink also has to go somewhere..

 

[PeterG]

Problem dodged, and now I have 80% of a Pro-1 as spares for my working Pro-1, and we have purchased a new ip8750, cheeper than a new set of inks..!!