HP Photosmart 6510 Printhead Maintenance/Replacement?

[Danduhman]

If you are getting an Ink System Failure, it could be the main board and all the cleaning in the world will not fix it.  I was getting an 0xc19a0043 error message indicating the print head/ink system was bad so  I swapped the main board into another printer that was having a seperate "flashing light" issue and got the same print error message.  It was easier than swapping the print head and it was a quicker way to confirm the printer itself was bad.

[Kassel_jones]

hi! A number of helpful tips hopefully.

Invest in a jewellers flat bladed screwdriver set to unscrew the screws (you can get these lots of places) and a small flat nosed par of pliers.

There are already instructions on this forum to take printer casing off. You can remove the printhead assembly easily and quickly and this would be the best method for cleaning the printhead.

Once the cover is off the printer you will notice that the print head is secured down with two springs. Using a flat nosed pair of small pliers remove the two springs noting which way round they were. Gently unclip the 4 ribben cables. Voila! Assmebly clearly is the reverse.

Gently clean the head but do not submerse in water as there are discreet semiconductors in the assembly.....

If this doesn't work cheap reconditioned printers of the same type are for sale on Amazon plus you can get new printheads on this link below priced at £49.71:

http://www.inkntoneruk.co.uk/printers/hp-photosmart-6510-e-all-in-one-printer?utm_source=googlebase&...

[Kassel_jones]

It can be removed see my later posting... dead simple. Nothing cannot be removed as it was assembled in the first place! Doh!

[ENC · Accepted solution]

The only thing I have to add is:

    I was able to remove the printhead and used some Epson head cleaner, I had, to flush out the black and color heads. I suppose distilled water would work also. After the cleaning the black is working fine again.

Remove the cover as described by others previously.

After you have removed the cover, TO REMOVE THE PRINTHEAD ASSEMBLY:

    1. Carefully remove the narrow (5/16 wide") film looking strip that runs through the printhead assembly by; releasing

         the tension on the left side by moving it toward the printhead, on the right end slide the strip off of the angled

         hook.   Note  the markings and which is the top and right and left side for proper orientation upon assembly. 

    2. Remove the (2) silver springs at the rear of the printhead holder

    3. Slide and tilt the holder forward

    4. Carefully remove the ribbon cables from the holder (they just pull out)

    5. Have your way with the printhead !!!!!!

    6. Next I poured cleaner down the screens from the top then slung them to force the cleaner through the heads on the

         bottom. I did this several times.

    7. Sling out the excess fluid, pat dry with paper towel

    8. Re-install ribbon cables, snap back in printer,  next the springs and then re-install  the thin film like strip through

        the gudies on the holder (be sure to install the same way it was removed as far as top and bottom and which end

        was right and left),  then the cover as described previously.

A note: I had a Kodak printer and went through the same thing with it every time it sat for a few days without use. Cost me a fortune in ink running the cleaning. Looks like HP is following Kodak. My HP printers with ink cartridges that have the printhead on them are no problem. If they don't print right, just throw them away and with the new cartridge  you also have a new printhead. Looks like if I continue to have this problem with this 65510 it will be going the way of the Kodak, in the trash! Had the same problem with Epsons so I guess all that is left are Brother and Canon!

Hope this helps some of you.

FLASH: 3/25/14   Black stopped printing again! After ripping into the guts again I found the real problem that is probably causing everyone trouble. There are hoses on the printhead carrier which go to the vacuum pump and from it to the side of the printer into a felt pad. The hose from my black printhead was completeyl plugged with dried ink. I was able to flush it out with distiled water and a syringe. This job is not for the faint of heart, but if you routinely tear into things like this  and the printer is out of warranty what do you have to lose! I could guide you how to do it if you are interested, but a little lengthy for here. Email me if you want infor ([Edited for Personal Information]). I figure these hoses are not allowing the pump to draw the ink from the head during cleaning, so it just dries in the head. Good luck.

[macking104]

Easy to follow instructions for cleaning the printheads... now to re-disassemble to fix the ribbon cables or whatever is causing the carriage jam error... the printhead assembly seems to drop a little going into the resting/ink trap area-- causes a clunk sound 😞

[JCC456]

I have had the same problem on 2 different HP printers.  The first one I simply gave up and tossed it and bought a new 6510.  Before the second printer's demise, I spent about 5 hours tinkering with.  Here is what I found -

I completely removed and cleaned the printhead by removing the top cover, removing the ink cartridges, removing the 2 spings that hold down the print head, disconnecting the 4 ribbon cables, removing the head positioning strip, and removing the entire print head assembly.  I was able to thoroughly clean the print head with hot water and reassemble everything.

I still had the same problem - No black ink print.

After observing the clean cycle with the top cover off I noticed that there was no black ink flow in the micro tubing that feeds the peristaltic pump.  The micro tubing for the 3 color head appeared to have good flow.  Ahh haa! I said.  I found the micro tubing was clogged with bits of dried black ink.  I tried for some time to attempt to clean the tubing with small air pump that is used to inflate balls but there were simply too any clogs.  The tubing finally gave up and had an aneurysm of sorts.  

I was going to try and swap the black and color micro tubing around so that only the black print head was cleaned during the clean cycle but I dropped a small part  and could not find it and I my patience finally had enough for this piece of s#!t.  This is when I gave up and sent the printer on its way to  join it's compadre at the land fill.  

I am now absolutely convinced that the HP engineers are under strict instruction from management to design these consumer printers to fail after about 2 years.  I'm sure they go through a very calculated risk analysis of losing a customer vs. the customer simply buying a new HP printer when the printer fails.  They fooled me once.  

[dajmac]

All this is very fine.  We all can spend hours stripping down delicate machinery with make-do tools and cleaning it but the fact remains that despite printers being around for donkey's years manufacturers still use inadequate and expensive ways of cleaning the printheads.  You shouldn't have to either use expensive ink or strip the machine down  - unless it is designed to be stripped down.  Bubble jet printers should have a cleaning method which uses a separate cleaning fluid and it should be done properly.

I currently have a problem with uneven colour stripes.  No amount of cleaning "by the book" helps.  I have probably wasted a full set of cartridges doing this.  Admittedly I have had this machine for maybe 4 years, but I don't think that's a good enough excuse for early retirement!  I have an HP Laserjet 4L that is still producing first class prints after at least 15 years service!!! 

[Peterz116]

Thanks a lot ENC,

This worked for me after trying all the rest.  I took out the printhead rail, and threw the part with the pump + hoses + gearbox in a bucket of warm water, rinsed until the water was clean while turning the pump a few times.  My 'wonderful' 6510 is up and running again (until the hoses get blocked again I suppose).

Good luck!

Peter

ps. for those interested, i can show you pictures of that infamous part.

[ENC]

Great Peterz, I am glad this fixed the problem. I think this is what the problem is with 99% of people having black ink problems. I have started using an ink refill kit from DIYinks on ebay. I haven't had any pluggage since I started using their ink. The kit is for the 564 cartridges and is color and black, only pennies a refill. I highly recommend it. Hope your printer continues to give you hours of great service! ENC