Samsung ML-2240 exhibits high-pitch whine then errors on print jobs

[yourscreenname]

Samsung ML-2240, local USB. On print, makes higher than expected whine then stops with red lamp fail.

• printer boots okay, reboots return to ready state and green lamp
• cleaning was previously recommended, full tear down for cleaning performed, discovered very clean
• looked for oddities like broken bits or stripped gears but superficially okay
• same result on multiple computers, multiple OS, and test pages
• print jobs log as complete
• no  reason for this behaviour found online

Everything seems to be working fine from the computer side of things, printing, spooling, queue, communication. The printer worked fine out of the box and this behaviour grew intermittent, later permanent, after maybe a hundred pages. Samsung printing acquired by HP soon after and project was set aside and Samsung support abandoned. I bought this at low cost because my printing was rare and I wanted toner-based for long idle periods, but in the end I haven't even made it through the demo cartridge.

[Repairatrooper]

Depends on the whine, a failing laser scanner will make a fairly obnoxious noise then the motor seizes up. Any chance you can post a video of what you are heasring?

[yourscreenname]

Sounds like normal wake up when a print job starts but the pitch goes higher than expected, not obnoxious, grinding, or seizing. Noise ebbs to a stop when the red lamp errors after a few seconds. There's no sound or indication of moving components like a clutch or gear of the drive train, as might be heard when failing to pick up a sheet.

Having printed when new I can confirm the note and predict it will fail as soon as the note ramps up. Based on sound alone it feels like something is failing to engage, like the motor expected a load at that point but the load never came. If this is some solenoid failing to fire that would start normal mechanical noises, it would confirm I bought a lemon now out of warranty and not worth repairing. Mechanical speculation would fit with the original intermittent nature that grew worse, similar to relays in cars that tend to fail intermittently before death.

If you still feel a video with sound would help, repeat the request and I'll attempt that tomorrow.