HP Photosmart C4680 Problem

[thebeas19]

Problems:

1. Turns off and on continously for over 1 minute then stays on. After an hour will do the same thing.

2. During a printing or copying job, it will start up and right when it is about to do the job, it pauses, with message board reading "printing..." or "copying..." but will be idle for hours.

3. During start up or reset, it likes to draw the paper half way then stops.

Opened up printer top and saw that the circuit board had a faulty capacitor (TEAPO 330uF, 6.3V, swollen at the top), Replaced the capacitor with 330uF 16V capacitor and checked if it was working properly with reader device; everything was fine. Re-assembled printer but the capacitor replacement did not fix the problem. Still experiencing problems 1-3.

Any ideas?

[Terry_Knott]

benwaweb you rock!

It was just as you said... one little green cap slightly swollen.Thanks for the instructions though I think I would have made note of how much a nightmare it is to get out the screw behind the switch panel.  A typical move by the Mfgr.  to encourage throw away mentality. (not only did they hide one screw but they made you improvise to remove it) Too bad there aren't more McGyvers in the world.

I wonder how many printers went to the landfill (profit for the recyclers) because of a 50 cent part.  Typical of the planned obselence manufacturing strategy of the times. I'm sure the engineers knew in advance that the capacitor would fail in a year or so. However in defense of HP, perhaps they recieved a substandard lot of caps.

My first HP printer, AIO 2100 lasted me 11 years and now my sister in law is now using it.  The only reason I gave it up, two reasons actually... The HP Director software would no longer function with Windows XP and it's replacement is wireless.

[staleyjj]

Did the cap fix.  Just as described.  $0.99 for 5 caps from HK.  Thanks!!

[ryanrrt]

I hope you can help me, even though it seems like this is a very old posting.

i would like to attepmt this repair but i don't even SEE,  the clip in the first step to remove the control pannel.

so you have any pictures posted online?  I am assuming that when you say "controle pannel" you mean the touch screen pad on the outside of the printer. is that right/????

please respond to {Personal Information Removed}

[av8nautiger]

Thank you!  I had the exact same problem with my C4680 printer touch pad.  I bought a 330uF16V capacitor at a local electronics parts store for $1.62    I took the circuit board completely out to do this (I'm sure you did too).  I would recommend this repair for someone who is somewhat knowledgeable about handling soldering irons, solder, etc as I did not find it too easy.  I assume you could also find a complete circuit board for sale and install that but you might get the same crappy capacitor.  Once I broke the capacitor off I had a dificult time getting the leftover bit of wire and old solder out of the board to clear a hole for the new capacitors wires.  I think my soldering iron isn't great.  Once I finally cleared the holes, I inserted the new capacitor wires and carefully soldered it in place.  When I turned the printer on I got a error code of  C4EB8802.  I checked the circuit board and noticed a loose flex cable. Once I made sure all the cables were seated I turned the printer back on and it now works perfectly!!  HP probably has a big batch of these poor capacitors...imagine all the junked printers out there that could be easilly fixed!

[av8nautiger]

The screw is actually behind the Memory card slot panel.   If you drop the printer cartridge access door and just feel about 1/2 inch in and about even with the Memory slot you will feel a small plastic tab sticking up.  Just easily press that tab away from you and the Memory card slot will loosen and then just pull it off.  The screw is at the bottom right of the panel hole.

[may4wv]

I want to thank you for your advice...I ordered the part & my husband repaired it. It is working perfectly now. Thanks!!!!!

[HPneophite]

I read of many instances of success installng the new cap so I gave it a try myself. The cap was blown as evidenced by the bulging top. I replaced the blown cap with a 330 mf cap rated at 16v. However,the printed did not even light up much less work. I get 32.9VDC at the board's input plug and between each leg of the cap and the input plug. I get 0 VDC across the cap. Shouldn't I start to see a voltage across the cap as it charges? I believe the cap's polarity is correct, for the leg of the can beneath the stripe is attached to the white side of the (half-white / half-green) circle on the board beneath the cap.

[Paul_K]

I also had the same problem with my C4680.  Bad capacitor with rounded top.  I found one at Digi-Key for $0.25 and replaced it.  The printer is now working great.  Thanks for the fix.

[mcurt]

I am having the same problem with my C4640 printer. From what I can tell, it comes apart just like the C4680, and has the same exact circuit board as there is a picture of (C4680) earlier in this thread. The capacitor seems slightly swollen on the top, not quite as exaggerated, but I still think that it is bad, so I will replace it within this next week and report back the results. At the moment, I'm getting 31.96V from the AC/DC converter. The printer will turn on and off for a while before coming on fully. On random occasion I can get it to successfully complete a scan, but for the most part it will not. This problem started happening when I was out of town, and so the head-cleaning the printer does emptied me out of ink. I should have a new cartridge by next week as well, so I will be able to report back the full working condition of it.

Just thought I would mention this, because the C4640 has very few hits regarding this problem, and if it happens to work for me, perhaps it can work for other people as well.