HP Photosmart 6510 Printhead Maintenance/Replacement?

[SWW]

 I had a HP Photosmart Plus B209a-m Model CD035a that just had its printhead fail (CN643A).  Although I work for HP (Enterprise Services), it was cost prohibitive to replace so I bought a Photsmart 6510 AIO.  On the B209a-m, I liked how I could remove the printhead assembly and clean the ink gunk of the ramps, etc.  It appears that on my new 6510, the printhead assembly can be unclipped from the carriage - but once loose, there is not clearance to remove the printhead for cleaning. 

Can this be accomplished?  Do I need to remove some screws or am I missing something?  As this is a brand new printer, I was only evaluating if this is a negative in my selection if it can't be removed for cleaning maintenance.

[Ciara_B]

Hi SWW

The printhead on the 6510 cannot be removed. If you want to clean the printhead you could use a non-shed material such as a swab or some folks have used coffee filters.

You can also run a printhead clean through the Tools menu. More detail in the link HERE

Thanks, Ciara

[orinproject]

I am having the same problem that it apears hundreds of others are having with my printer not being able to print with black ink.

How exactly do you manually clean the printhead on a 6510 with a swab if you can't remove the printhead? The automatic printhead cleaning function on the printer does nothing but use up my color ink.

My HP printer is about to become intimately aquainted with the nearest window and Canon is about to get a loyal customer!

[Canuhelp]

I'm having the same problems with my e-print All-in-one Officejet 6500. All colors print except black. I've cleaned the printhead with a swab, I've tried cleaning printhead through the Tools menu & tried Aligning Printhead. Nothing works. Quality of HP printers has gone down.

[Schackbo]

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I just experienced the same problem and there is a fix (although it can get a little messy).

You can clean the black printhead on the Photosmart 6510. You have to remove 8 screws that hold on the top cover.

Lift the cover as if you are going to replace the printer cartridges. The printer should be powered on so the printhead will not be locked down.

Now unplug the power cable (you need to have the printer head movable)

Remove all of the printer cartridges and put them aside.

Remove the two screws behind the LCD panel (just pick up the panel so it is completely vertical).

There is one screw behind the hinge on the right side of the printer. You need to grab the hinge and while holding the top cover, gently but firmly pull the hinge toward the front of the printer. It will pop off and then you will have access to the screw.  Be careful the top cover doesn't fall backward. You may need to hold it whil removing the remaining two screws.

Remove the remaining two screws by the top cover hinges.

After you remove those screws gently lay down the top cover.

Now remove the top access panel to the printer by gently pulling up - you need to be careful here because of the two ribbon cables that connect to the LCD panel and the red and black wires that attach to the switch. Carefully move the access cover to the side as far as you can without pulling off the ribbon cables (if they do come off, you can just push them back in).

Heat some distilled water (or regular water if you don't live in a hard water area). Heat the water so it is as hot as you can and still touch it without scalding yourself.

Slide the print head to the right leaving enough room for your fingers to fit around it to the right and under the it. The printhead is on the bottom.

Put on a pair of rubber glove (the kind for washing dishes), unless your tough and can stand the pain of hot water.

Now there's a few ways to proceed. You can bend cotton swabs slightly more than 90 degree so the swap points upward. Dip the swab into the water and rub the swab back and forth over the printhead. You will go through a number of swabs.

You can also perform this operation with cotton balls (be careful you don't leave any strands of cotton on the printhead!).

You can also use a thick paper towel such as Bounty.

If you decide to use the latter two methods, dip either in the hot water and then press it up against the printhead by curling one of your fingers. Gently (I mean gently) rub from side to side.

Keep doing this until you have very little black ink on the swab, cotton balls or paper towel. I suggest you finish up with a paper towel.

Remove any excess water tha has dropped into the base of the printer with paper towels.

Make sure the ribbon cables are tight and put them back in so they don't get pinched by the cover or get in the way of any moving parts.

Put the access cover back on (make sure you bring up the top cover so it's vertical or you won't be able to seat the access cover properly in the back (the hinges will push the top up so it won't lay flat).

Put all the screws back.

Align the hinge with the tab on the top cover and gently snap it toward the back of the printer.

Reinstall the printer cartridges.

Reinstall the power cable.

You will probably see an error in the LCD panel advising you of the improper shutdown. Say you're sorry and promise you won't do it again.

Run the printer though a cleaning cycle, then go throught the second, more robust cleaning.

Finally, I suggest you align the printheads.

This was the last ditch effort before the printer was going to experience an exhilrating ride through the air culminated by a sudden stop on the pavement.

But it worked, so the ride has been postponed for now.

Good luck.

Schackbo

[ghostwriterjg]

In case you see this, Shackbo, I wanted to try this, but I can't get the screws out! What did you use to remove the screws? Looks like you'd need a special tool.

[njhpuser]

ghostwriterjg, it's a torx screwdriver, available at any hardware store. Not sure of the size - I have a set.

I have not, unfortunately, been able to get the black ink to print again, though, despite cleaning the printhead. Getting really ticked off, as I purchased this printer just over a year ago. 

[FrustratedCindy]

New to the black ink not working issue here... Same as you, HP 6510 is just over a year old.  Worked perfectly before changing black ink cartridge.  I have now bought 2 new cartridges thinking the cartridge was the problem.  Wonder if customer service will acknowledge this issue when I call them back?  If you decided to purchase a new printer, what did you get?  I got this HP last year because it got good reviews on Consumer Reports... Thanks

[VisionAiry]

Ink cartridges have an expiration date on them so if you call into technical support and the ink is new you are eligible for free support regarding black ink not printing only.  Granted, they may not replace the printer but they should acknowledge this problem and work with you to try to fix it.  

I understand you're not asking me about which printer to buy so I will allow that for anyone who previously posted.  Just remember, if you do proceed to tear apart the printer or do other non-conventional troubleshooting steps to try to fix this, then you would not be eligible.  However, if you need any help I will be happy to assist you.  I do recommend calling 1-800-474-6836 for HP Total Care if you live in the US.  Click here if you are in another region.

[inkfunk]

Having wiped out a new set of color cartridges and reluctant to disassembling the unit and q-tipping it to death, does HP support have a viable solution for what appears to be a design problem?  My printer displayed this problem exactly 53 weeks from my purchase at Staples. Congrats to the design team! Opportunites await in the automotive industry!