P2015D Laserjet double page pickup

[Loxmyth]

Driver: HP Universal Printing PCL 6, version 61.300.1.25780

As of a few weeks ago, my old P2015d has started double-feeding sheets of paper; a second sheet will immediately follow the first through the paper path. In duplex mode this has the effect of printing onto the first sheet, dropping it in the paper tray (though the second sheet often pushes  it over the edge of the tray), then drawing the second sheet back to print the "other side".  In single sheet mode, it just passes the second sheet through after the first one; I wind up with a blank sheet after every printed sheet.

In the off chance that it was a matter of compatibility with a Win10 update, I attempted to install the driver currently offered on the web, hp-upd-pcl6-x64-7.3.0.25919, in USB mode. However, the printer is still coming up on the 61.300 driver and is still double-feeding.

Is this a known symptom with a known fix? Has something just gotten worn or dirty in the paper path such that it is picking up the additional sheet, is it having trouble with the paper (which I admit has been sitting for a while, but which worked fine before this), or is there something else going on? 

Workaround for now is to print doublesided in order to obtain one-sided output, or to print singlesided and pull the extra sheets out for reuse, but I'm not exactly delighted by either.

Yes, I know this printer is long past its expected lifespan. But it's a home printer, used lightly, and has been remarkably trouble free. I really don't want to reenter the toner wars by buying a new printer, especially when the toner cartridge on this one is relatively new. I'd like to carry this printer with me as I move to Linux (Win11 doesn't support me so I won't support it), but I need it working.

[Valsimot · Accepted solution]

Does it feed the 2nd sheet is you print a demo page by pressing green button on the printer?

If yes, you have a sticky solenoid, easy fix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7euQhDeYxcI 

[Loxmyth]

It does; I'll try that. MANY thanks!

[Loxmyth]

That was indeed the cause.

As an experiment I tried just cleaning the solenoid surfaces first, using a standard contact cleaner. That improved matters slightly but the solenoid was still prone to sticking once I powered things up. Taping it did solve the problem. (I taped the entire underside of the lever, forward of the slots, and the entire solenoid forward of the pivot points through the metal lip.)

I think the actual problem is not just stickiness (which cleaning would have solved) but that the core, over time, has become somewhat permanently magnetized, and perhaps the spring has weakened a bit, so when the lever is pulled down it tends to stay down. Adding the tape to both surfaces not only overcomes any magnetic stickiness, but holds the parts separated just enough that the permanent magnet's field isn't strong enough to overcome the return spring. Tightening the spring might have the same effect, but I'm not inclined to disassemble again and run the experiment right now.

MANY thanks once again for pointing this out. The P2015d has been an absolute workhorse; this is the only real malfunction I've had in the ... 15 years? More? ... since I bought it. It's happy with cheap paper, it isn't picky about which direction the paper curls (as some copiers and printers are), and the extended toner cartridges last quite a long time indeed; I'm only on my third. (This one's a second-source/remanufactured cartridge, but so far I'm not seeing any problems with it.) For some equipment it is well worth shelling out a bit more and getting a model designed for small-office rather than home, and this is a perfect demonstration thereof.

Gods only know what I'll do when and if this printer fails beyond reasonable repair. I really hate the "ink by subscription" model some companies have moved to. I understand that it's so they can sell the printer at nearly zero markup and be sure of making the needed profit by selling ink, but I'd rather pay a bit more initially and get something more survivable.