paper jam error message - HP Officejet 8500 pro - please help, deployed no return option

[Kleenk8]

Hopefully this will help someone.  I removed all of the trays, duplexer, the whole 9 yards, but that pesky paper jam message would not go away.  I was ready to deep six my printer.   I saw no paper jam...but there was one. I looked

at one of the help tutorials, and there is a carriage access door I didn't know about.

In front of the printer, above the paper tray is a hand hold on the left front side.  Lift there, and you will see your

printer heads.  On your menu, hit change ink cartridges, and the heads will move to the left.

Guess what I found on the far right side where the heads were stowed? Yep...a crumpled piece of paper.  Reached in,

pulled it out, and the printer works like a charm!!!!  Please refer to the paper jam tutorial for better instructions, but

the message here is, I thought I looked everywhere....but I didn't.

Hope this helps.  I was about to give up till I found the carriage access lid.

[pbug56]

The 8500 series had a number of problems; hidden jams, very iffy mechanism among them.  HP abandoned this line a few years ago and moved to the 8600 series, which had its own problems (like going off line eventually on its own) but which mechanically was a huge improvement.  But if you can get your 8500 going well, great.

[badger42]

I wish i had know to lubricate this part earlier... I saw on another forum that you can melt a staple into the cracked white plastic gear.  Tried it just now and it actually worked!!!

Carefully take the black housing off- it's a clam-shell style and the clip is right there on top in the front, pry open with small screwdirver or knife.

Couple things- you need to squeeze the gear back together while pushing a hot staple into the plastic.  Make sure the sides of the staple are cut down to about 1/8" to 1/16" and the middle of the staple is curved slightly.  There isn't much clearance with the black housing.  Using a solding iron on the staple to push it in the rest of the way is required. Keep the plastic gear PINCHED together until the plastic has cooled ALL the way (i used a pair of large curved needle-nose pliers to do this).  Tip... heat up the staple first and hold it with another pair of needle pliers to get it started into the plastic. 

Also, i sprayed it with electrical contact cleaner to help it cool faster.

I used a HD staple from a staple gun in the garage and trimmed the edges down.  I also put a small amount of epoxy over the repair AND the other cut-out on the opposite side of the crack.

And those black clam-shells----Put a piece of electrical tape over the connector so they don't fall apart.  move into position, use a small screwdriver to push the spring-loaded white bushing (left side) back and let it push its self into the groove.  If the whole black clam-shell doesn't sit "pushed spring-loaded" to the right, the little white bushing isn't in the right spot.  This part is really frustrating.  Once it's clipped together and the black tab is clipped back up into it's spot, you are done!

I'm upset that i had to do this, but found this repair helpful enough that i felt like posting at midnight on a Saturday.  Good luck, and i hope HP realizes they messed up on this.

[mondaygreen]

Why is this called fixed?  All this page contains is rantings from people like me who have tried everything but still getting paper jam message when there IS NO PAPER JAM!

[Flakes]

I see the issue fab force is talking about under the shuttle on the left. If the white drive gear breaks the pin can get to the right of the gear. Has to be left of it to keep the white and black gears together. Haven't got mine back yet but fingers crossed. Be nice to figure out how to deal the break.