Disconnected plastic ribbon

[mdiane51]

When I was clearing a paper jam inside my HP Office Jet 6500 E709n, I somehow now have a disconnected plastic ribbon that I need to reconnect.  I can not find a diagram of the inside of my printer or instructions on how and where to reconnect this plastic ribbon.  Any help would be appreciated.  I do not want to have to take printer to a repair shop unless I have to.

mdiane51 

[Bob_Headrick]

There are a few possibilities.  Is this the encoder strip, a thin mostly clear piece of plastic about 1/4" wide, 13" long and the thickness of a piece of paper?  Another possibility would be a ribbon cable, a white flat cable about 1/2" in diameter.  Neither of these are easy to replace but if you provide more details I may be able to help.

[mdiane51]

Thank you in advance for your assistance.  It is the white encoder strip.

[Bob_Headrick]

OK, I will be tied up this morning but should be able to get some pictures for you this afternoon. Is the encoder strip still connected at either end?  Is it still threaded through the carriage?  Do not turn on the printer without the encoder strip properly located.

[mdiane51]

The encoder strip is not connected at either end and it is not threaded through the carriage.  I will not turn the printer on.  Thanks for your help, I did not even realize that it should be threaded through the carriage even though I was able to locate the encoder strip on my other computer, but it is a different brand (Canon) and it looks like it is connected to a spring and I do not see a spring on my HP.

[Bob_Headrick]

OK, I will go dig up a 6500 and try to get some good pictures.  Can you check both ends of the encoder strip, there should be small rectangular holes.  Are these complete or have one (or both) been torn?  If the holes have been damaged then things are more difficult.

[Bob_Headrick]

OK, I got a few pictures that I need to resize and upload, but one more question - if you open the lid can you move the carriage from its position on the right?  If the printer was normally shut down the carriage would be locked, this makes things a bit more difficult....

[Bob_Headrick · Accepted solution]

The following assumes you can easily move the carriage to the center.  If it is locked please let me know and I will investigate how to unlock it.  

The steps are rather involved.  Take your time and do not force anything.  Open the lid and gently move the carriage to the center.  If the carriage is stuck to the right stop leave me a message.  Wash and dry your hands before starting the process.  The encoder strip has thousands of tiny lines that are used to position the carriage, you do not want to leave any residue on the strip or damage the markings.

Take a close look at the encoder strip.  At one end is a dot, at the other end is a triange and two smiley faces. When properly installed the dot will be on the left side and the triangle and smiley faced will be on the right side.  Look at the following picture, it shows the encoder strip mounted on the right side.  The right side has a spring, but it has a very short range of motion.   Take a look at the right side of the printer (a flashlight helps) and locate the rectangular hole where the encoder strip attaches.  [Note - I put an index card behind the encoder to improve the contrast of the picture....]

Next look at the carriage.  There are small rectangular holes on each side that the encoder will thread through.   The picture below shows the encoder entering the right side of the carriage.  Locate the holes on both sides and become familiar with them. 

The third picture is the left side.  The metal tang the encoder will connect to is difficult to see.  It is a small (perhaps 1/16") metal protrusion that points toward the left side of the printer.  Use a flashlight to become familar with the tang that you will eventually connect to.  As practice try hooking the encoder strip to the tang on the left side, then disconnect it.

The picture below is a close up of the tang the encoder strip will connect to, I stuck a small piece of card behind it.

OK now we will actually perform the fix.  Pick up the encoder strip and orient it properly, smiley faces on the right.  Thread the encoder through the carriage slots.  This may be tricky, it needs to thread through straight and come out the other side and not have any kinks.  Gently pull the encoder back and forth and make sure it moves freely.

Next we will attach the encoder to the right side spring.  Once the encoder has been attached to the right side keep gentle pressure on it to keep it from becoming disconnected.

Now we will complete the process by gently attaching the remaining end to the left side. This will be a bit difficult.  I would suggest moving the carriage to the right side to get it out of the way.  Now grasp the encoder strip and gently pull it so about 1/8" extends into the hole and hook it on the tang.  It took me a few minutes to do this, take your time.  

OK, now it is complete but let's check a few things before we power on.  Move the carriage to the center and look at the encoder strip as it passes through the carriage.  Make sure the encoder strip is roughly centered in the rectangular opening of the carriage as shown in the carriage photo above.  Also verify that the carriage can move freely from side to side.

Now we are ready for the moment of truth.  Close the lid and plug the printer back in and turn it on.  If things work fine please click on a few of the "Kudos stars" at the left.  If not please let me know what error messages you see.  You may need to run a cleaning cycle to clear the printhead since the printhead will have been uncapped for an extended period of time.

[mdiane51]

Thank you for all of the information.  The ink carriage does move.  The encoder strip has a split on the end with the smiley faces from the hole to the end edge.  I work strange hours and will not be able to attempt this until I get home tonight around 9pm.  If I need a replacement because of the tear is their a website that I can order the encoder strip.

Thank you again for all of your assistance.

mdiane51

[Bob_Headrick]

The tear in the encoder strip may be able to be repaired as follows:  use a piece of strong tape  such as a clear packing tape and make several wraps around the end.  Do not cover the smiley faces, keep the tape in the last 1/2" or so of the encoder strip.  Use an exacto knife to cut the hole out in the same position as the current hole.  I managed to get a good picture of the end of the encoder strip, it has the part number C9058-80087.  The HP parts store lists this as unorderable, and a google search turns up some sources at exorbitant (in my view) prices - near $100 for a $15 part....   I would suggest making the effort to repair the end with tape, if that does not work I would suggest you contact HP and see what the repair options are.