Printhead Replacement Incomplete. Restart It. Previous suggestions didn't work.

[Gicleeman]

After getting some banding on a print, and then printing a diagnostic image, I saw some banding on the green patch. It only got worse after doing a head cleaning so I replaced the Blue/Green printhead (it was out of warranty). After that I got a message that the printhead replacement was incomplete and I needed to restart the procedure. That didn't work. I cleaned the contacts and printheads and continued to get the Restart Printhead Replacement message so I entered the Service Tests (Diagnostics) menu from the front panel and ran the Carriage Assembly test. Several results didn't jibe with what the service manual said. The manual said that the Carriage Voltage (+Vs) should be between 43.6 - 46.3. My results from the test showed the voltage to be 32.135. In another test, the manual states that The Carriage Assembly PCA Rev. "must" be between 0.23 - 1.005, my results are 2.313. The test failed with an error 58.11 DeltaE out of limits 92.000 > 8. The ESP color sensor checked out ok in the Carriage Assembly Test, as did all of the sensors when I ran the Sensors test. The Electronic Modules Test passed, and so did the Ink Delivery Test. That leads me to think that the Carriage Assembly PCA board is bad or the Carriage Assembly itself is bad. The service manual states "

• If the problem persists check the internal code error (Press UP and CANCEL while the error is displayed). If the internal error code is 0x0606002 replace the Service Station. If the internal error code is 0x06060003 change the Carriage PCA"

I can't check the internal code error because I never got an error while printing, which seems to be necessary to check the internal code error, and I can't press the appropriate buttons from the service menu because that cancels the test and shuts off the printer.

The problems seems to be one of the Color Sensor ESP, the Carriage PCA, or the Service Station. Can anyone here help me narrow it down or help me solve the problem?

Thank you!

Peter

[davidzuts]

It could be anything, but the first thing I would try is to put back the old printhead to see if it is seen and the plotter comes to ready.  If it does, that would indicated that you maybe just got a bad new printhead.  Also at last resort, I would remove all printheads and ink cartridges and then turn the plotter off and then back on and wait for the plotter to ask for the supplies and put them back in and see what happens.

[Gicleeman]

Thank you for your reply! I have actually done both of the things you suggested (I read your previous suggestion to someone else to do that) and neither worked. When I reinstalled the original printhead it was recognized but I got the same message to restart the installation process. Then, after removing all of the printheads and reinstalling, the printer now tells me that none of the heads finished reinstalling. That leads me to think the Carriage PCA board is bad. I've ordered a new one and it should arrive tomorrow. I'll put it in and see what happens. I'll post the results when I've got everything back together (and working, I hope).

Thanks again for taking the time to help me out.

Peter

[pbrooks259]

Hi, so what was the final result? Did the new carriage pca resolve the problem?

Paul

[blue-sky-below]

Hi Peter, for crying out loud,  it''s May 29, 2017.  this is exactly what's happening to me right now. And Same exact reading voltage figures.

Please tell me what happened- was it the carriage PCA?  or what was it finally that fixed it?

I'll be eternally grateful!

I'm in a  crisis right now over this.

Thanks a million-

Jeffrey

[Gicleeman]

Sorry to hear that you're experiencing the same problem that I had. I'm afraid that I don't have a solution. I need the printer for my business, and I couldn't afford a multi day break from printing while it was diagnosed and repaired. And I couldn't imagine it costing leass that $1000 to have it serviced since I live in a remote area, so I bought a new printer. I still have the broken one but haven't addressed the problem since then. If you determine what the problem is and have a solution please post it so I can revive my printer.

Good luck. Peter

[blue-sky-below]

Thanks Peter. 

      I must be closing in on the solution- not yet though.    It's always the last place you look.

I surely will let you know when found.   You'd be surprised at how simple and inexpensive replacing the electronic boards is.  Especially when you have no need to rush.

With step by step instructions from the service manual ( get a free PDF online) and being sure not to lose the several screws when taking apart,  it'll only take about 6 hours to replace any of the boards.    The carriage PCA costs about $60, the formatter $250.  The main PCA is a bit more prolonged to get to but entirely relatively simple.  It's inside the PSU ( a bunch of screws to keep track of-make notes)  In the range of 6-8 hours.   It depends. 

Even the major carriage/ belt/ encoder strip replacement takes only about 6-8 hours- It's tedious but do-able -just be slow, steady and methodic about it.  Space it out over 2-3 days.  Give yourself a breather in between.  But the chances of you needing a new carriage are about nil.  Good thing because we're talking $800 or more for the carriage.

Jeffrey

[davidzuts]

I need to step back in here since the information above can cause all sorts of issues. The formatter, main pca and interconnect board all work in unison and replacing any of those boards with "used boards" can cause the unit to become completely non functional. The main pca contains model and serial number information along with the interconnect board which also contains the same informatoin. If you replace the main pca with a previously used board it confuses the interconnect board which most times changes its information to that of the main pca and then it is impossible to get the correct information back without a special file from HP which they longer provide. The formatter, main pca and interconnect boards when replaced should be new never used board which when installed 1 at a time will be written to by the other boards so model and other information is not changed. Just use some caution here if you value your equipment. Also anytime I have encountered the initial issue here it has always been one of the printheads causing the issue. The printer will go thru preparing the ink system long version which takes quite some time and usually fails during 3 of 4 with little information. Once I replaced all the printheads (expensive) the printer would finish preparing the ink system and the unit would work.

[blue-sky-below]

  Thanks!

Great to know.  I very much value your input.

What is the interconnect board?

And did my $250 price for the formatter seem too low?   indicating to you that it must be a used board/hard drive?

The other day after removing all PHs and rebooting,  then replacing the PHs when asked to,  my problem at least got narrowed down.   Now it told me that only the E-G needed replacing.  

So I ordered and replaced it.  Everything seened to be progressing well until into Step 3  like you said-  when it stpped.  Now its asking for the M-Y.  

So I've ordered it, rationalizing that because it's the actual original M-Y from 2010, it could possibly be a very rare coincidence that it just now happened to quit.  

The other possibilty is that when I remove and store the PHs ( during down times-clipped on and off about 5 times during the last 6 weeks) with their orange clips and plugs,  Is it possible that the orange nozzle clip caught onto the edge of the copper-colored electronic ribbon, causing it to separate about 1/16" ?

Or like I said, in a ultra-odd concidence it finally separated on its own ( just from simply aging since 2010).  Would the glue that held it flush at some point just fail like this?  

But anyway though, however it happened, can this 1/16" separation cause it to fail ?  I think it's the reason, how about you?

Thanks a lot for noticing my post, then stepping in.

[davidzuts]

The interconnect board is on the right side of the printer in the rear. As to the printheads they should remain in the printer once installed.  The less inserting and removing the better. As long as the carriage assembly is over the service station it should keep the heads capped.