T7100 Error 45.3 needs to have the description updated...

[trygveah]

Our slightly old and neglected T7100 had the error 45.2 on it and told me to restart and if that didn't work, contact support... 

(It hasn't seen much use since people were sent home because of COVID, and I only noticed it because our even older Designjet HD scanner is in the same room, and that also needed some TLC. Still working on it) 

I googled the error and came back with 'Rewinder motor shut down'. 

Getting to the motor isn't all that difficult, so I popped the cover off...   

Now, a couple of hours later, I REALLY begin to regret it. Some things, like Pandoras box, and HP Designjets should never be opened... 

(My phone decided to spontaneously restart when I attempted to photograph the carnage)   

It was absolutely caked up with half solidifed black ink. 

The end of the Rewinder motor was... just a large lump of black goop with wires sticking out of it.   

I had to remove the motor to clean it, and then I found the encapsulation at the end, and got that pried open. 

There was ink even behind the flimsy plastic wheel and in the crack of the optical senssor.   

My suggestion is to chance the official meaning for the 45.3 code to 'Rewinder motor drowwning'  

Oh, and give the engineers responsible for putting an optical sensor rightbelow the cleaning station a well-deserved kick in the nuts!

I have a 51.9.10 to sort out, too.(The front roll-loading cover has a broken lifting arm. The epoxy is drying as I'm writing this)

And I expect the cleaning station will need a bit of seeing to, or replacing. 

I think I have deserved a cookie and a cup of tea. 

Regular or secret stash of cookies(with nut creme), and Earl Grey or Yorkshire Gold tea?   

[D Hook]

Welcome to printer repair!

You may want to contact LPS Computer (https://www.lpscomputer.com/) for help, advice and parts.  

Also contact Repairtrooper on this forum.  He is an excellent source of info and advice.

Best of luck and let us know how you progress.  And yes, cookies and tea are a good stress relief.

BTW, is this the large white printer like this one:  https://www.ebay.com/itm/165299244335?hash=item267c9a4d2f:g:f5AAAOSwOuhh7yCC

[trygveah]

Yes, that is the Plotter model I'm working on. 

It's a fairly robust model, and has given us very little grief over the years, compared to certain earlier ones...   

It's nearly as indestructible as the old Designjet 750!   

It may be time to replace it, but I think our current supplier(awarded as 4year contracts) is Canon, and I have no experience with their plotters.  

[trygveah]

The Plotter is still spitting out the 45.3 error, but at least now I can hear a motor, I think,  attempting to do something and shutting down again immediately.  I'm thinking the photo sensor is a goner.   

(I'll remove the motor later, and take it home to tinker there. I've got better tooling there... )

At least the old HD Scanner is back up and running now. 

I didn't find the suggested Osram tube nearby, so I popped by a nearby HW store and picked up an 'store brand' 500K tube. 

(For the Skandinavian readers, that would be BILTEMA 44-777 )   

It failed the IT8 testing, but then again, that may also be because of the wear and tear and mess of a test sheet.  

[D Hook]

I've had the chore of working on a few 4500 series and 6100 series that are almost identical to yours.  Yes, ink has a tendency to fly all over the place on the right hand side of the machine.  It seems the aerosol fan doesn't  do the job on these models.  If the photo sensor doesn't respond to cleaning, they're pretty inexpensive to replace.  You'll have to take the cover off the carriage to get to the ribbon cable for the sensor and that's where I found the biggest mess from ink.  Everything was just covered so you could hardly make out the circuit board.  

You're right about them being great printers though.  Well worth the time/money to refurb and keep running.  Please update when you have tiime.