HP Laserjet 200 Color MFP M276nw making squealing sound

[DavidLWills]

This is a multi function scanner copier printer and it squeals when printing. It will also squeal when calibrating so in the middle of the day or night if it decides it wants to calibrate it starts squealing for no reason.

There's nothing obvious that can be lubricated and I have Googled lubricating the model. Is there are a guide with pictures that shows where this unit can be lubricated?

[John_Getzke · Accepted solution]

Lubrication is often not a solution for LaserJets.  Squeeking is usually the sign that something is worn down and needs to be replaced.  That squeek is the result of plastic rubbing on plastic or plastic rubbing on rubber (such as a roller).  This rubbing action is normally the result of something spinning in a circle that may be off center and grinding into something its not supposed to.

Start with the usual troubleshooting areas of the cartridges and the fuser.  If you have spare cartridges in stock or a 2nd M276 consider swapping them out one at a time to see if you can isolate which one is defective.  Likewise if you happen to have a spare fuser from a 2nd machine available to you.  Rollers are another common source of squeeks and can be replaced with roller kits.

Otherwise theres the good old fashioned put your ear to the printer and listen test.  By isolating the squeek you can estimate the parts of the printer that are involved in that area and start targeting your part swapping efforts.

You can also leverage manual tests such as the halfway test to see if you can figure out what is going on.  Start a print job, wait for the squeek then open the cartridge door to pause printing.  Observe where the paper is at during the time of the squeek.  If it has not made it to the fuser then you know its likely something in the cartridge area.  Otehrwise if it squeeks right away it may be something like the Image Transfer Belt or another component that is more involved with the pritning process.