Recently acquired two Canon MG5650 showing error 6000

[Elle T.]

Hi there, I read all pages here full of useful information, but unfortunately I couldn't find solution to my problem, so I'm asking for some help.
Recently aquired two Canon MG5650 - one for use with edible inks and one for office purposes. My boyfriend decided when the original cartridges on the office printer ran out, to replace them with refillable ones, but the ones he ordered obviously had some problem because they were losing ink, which all went into the absorbers and flooded them. Then he opened and cleaned the whole printer and the absorbers, dried them and closed it up. And here comes the real problem - the printer shows error 6000, the alarm orange light flashes three times - as far as I could find out this means some problem with the paper tray or foreign object inside or paper, but my boyfriend is sure everything's fine inside. I'll make him open it again to check once more. I tried to put it into service mode to reset the ink absorber but with no luck. Found out pressing resume button, then on button, then resume 6 times and release, results in power button in white light, like when it is turned on, with no flashing. I thought it is in service mode, a few times the computer showes found new hardware, but couldn't get the service tool run reset. Tried service tools 3200, 3400, 3600 and 2000 - either everything is greyed out or it gives error 006. I found really little info on this model, maybe because it's recent, and need some help figuring out how to fix it.
I'd be very grateful for any ideas, I would try them all. If someone has the same printer or had the same problem, I'm all ears on ways to fix it.
Thank you!

 

[The Hat]

You say you have two MG5650 printers and one of them is showing error 6000, now the most lightly cause is a foreign body inside the printer or a sensor that was tripped accidently when disabling the machine and this can sometimes be reset while using a Service tool.

To enter Service Mode, (this is different to Service tool) you much have the printer connected to a PC (Not a MAC) with a USB cable.

Try holding on the Resume button and then the Power button simultaneously (Together)

Then release the Resume bottom only, now press the Resume button 5 times and only then release the Power button.

That should put your printer into Service Mode, then you can run the Service Tool Application, but be careful what you do with it and only press the buttons you know and don’t experiment because this tool can be very destructive.

Your printer can use compatible cartridges but they need to be good quality ones and not cheap rubbish ones from EBay, and last but not least the MG5650 will not print with edible ink, you’ll need an Epson for that type of ink..

 

[PeterBJ]

The service tools cannot correct errors in the printer. Errors in the printer can even prevent the service tool from working. The only error you can clear by resetting is "ink absorber full".

Service manuals for the newest printers seem nowhere to be found, but many error codes are common, so a service manual for an older model might give a clue. For many Canon printers the error 6000 is a line feed error that could be caused by a dirty timing disc or timing disk reader. Probably one or both of the timing disks were stained with ink when the absorbers overflowed.

Your problem is very similar to the one in this thread, so maybe a tip to solving the problem can be found in that thread.

 

[Elle T.]

Thank you for the quick response!
The Hat,
I'll try to check if there is something inside the printer. If the case is a sensor, where in the Service tool should I reset it, once I get to the service mode?
I have the printer connected with a USB cable, to a PC, tried it with Win7 and with WinXP. When I do the steps you describe, and press resume 5 times, the orange alarm light stays on, no flashing. Still no 'found new hardware' and service tool stays grayed out. When I press resume 6 times, the light on the power button stays on, no flashing, and service tool can't be used. I can't seem to find the secret to the service mode.
Aboute the other printer, it prints with edible ink, no trouble for now, it's with bought compatible empty cartridges with chips filled with edible ink. It works ok, at first it had a problem when printing - some lines appeared on the paper, I thought the printer model was not suitable for edible ink, but we tried with other fondant paper and now it prints just fine.

PeterBJ,
Maybe the error is the reason I can't access the service tool, we thought we had to reset the ink absorber, and that's why we try with the service tool. We'll try to check and clean the timing discs, thank you for the idea. I'll also check the thread you suggested.
From what I read in the thread, it's most likely some ink left stuck on the sensors or the disks. We'll open and clean and I'll get back what happened. Thank you!

Thank you for your assistance!

 

[Elle T.]

Update:
It turned out that there was no problem with the timing disks, but the problem was with a disassembled part of the purge unit. I'm attaching a photo, if it could be of use to someone who would have similar problem. We put the part back on (1) and cleaned from ink some silicon part (2) and the error was gone and it's printing again, we even didn't have to get to service mode There is only a line of ink that appears on the back of pages, but I guess this will fade with some more printing.
Thank you very much for your help!

 

[PeterBJ]

Thank you for the feed-back and congratulations with the repair, well done !

The repair suggestions in the service manuals are based on the most likely causes of the errors, and the cause of your problem is not in the service manuals for similar printers. The purge unit is driven from the line feed shaft via a clever gear box mechanism. I think that a blocked purge unit could block the rotation of the line feed shaft, so no rotation is detected by the timing disk. This could then trigger the error 6000, line feed error.

Many Canon printers have a function to clean feed rollers and the bottom plate from the printer driver's maintenance tab, to avoid smudging the paper. You could check the user manual to see if this function is available and how it is performed.

My guess is that the printer will now be able to enter service mode, as a mechanical error has been corrected. The procedure to enter service mode is in the service manual that is nowhere to be found, but the procedure to use is most likely the one for newer printers with the traditional push buttons replaced by sensor fields. See the service tool thread from post #112 to post #116 inclusive.

But be careful with service mode. There has been reports that for newer Canon printers only a limited number of service mode entries or operations are permissible. After that number is exceeded, access to service mode is locked, and only a service centre might be able unlock service mode. So probably service mode operations should not be attempted until absolutely necessary, for instance for an ink absorber reset.

 

[websnail]

But be careful with service mode. There has been reports that for newer Canon printers only a limited number of service mode entries or operations are permissible. After that number is exceeded, access to service mode is locked, and only a service centre might be able unlock service mode. So probably service mode operations should not be attempted until absolutely necessary, for instance for an ink absorber reset.

Oh? Without wishing to drag this off-topic, is there something I've missed recently?

 

[PeterBJ]

Oh? Without wishing to drag this off-topic, is there something I've missed recently?

I've noticed a couple of threads suggesting that there is a quota of service mode operations on newer Canon printers, as the entry of service mode suddenly worked no longer. I'll look for these threads and post links later.

I also remember a remark from @Łukasz about "locked service mode" or something similar, probably in the service tool thread.

Does anyone have more info about locked service mode?

 

[The Hat]

Does anyone have more info about locked service mode?

@Peter are you taking the pi** , I reckon I still hold that Academy Award..