Printer rant

[Brian Lanning]

On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 9:57 AM, Mr Ian Primus<ian_primus at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> The main problem I'm having is that every page jams right
>> before it
>> enters the fuser.  Does this sound like the fuser or
>> some of the
>> rollers?
>
> Have you replaced the fuser yet, or is it still the flaking one?

It's still the flaking one.  But It's bad.  It's missing chunks from
both sides.  I have a bid on a complete assembly at ebay.  If I don't
get that today, I'll just order one.

>Is the paper actually jamming, or is it just stopping, and the printer reports a jam?

When I open the printer, the page is slightly mangled, so I think it's
a jam.  I can also hear the paper crinkling right before it reports
the jam.  It's also pinched on a roller at the top of the page before
the fuser.  But only maybe 1/4" is under the roller.  It gives me a
little resistance when I pull the page out.  The error is 13.5 and it
tells me to check the back paper tray.


>There are various sensors in the paper path, and if the paper takes too long to get from one point to another (or if there's toner in the sensor optos), the printer simply assumes that it's jammed and stops trying. Another thing that really confuses the heck out if the printer is if the paper size is set wrong, or if one of the flags on the tray has broken off. The paper tray contains little levers that change flags on the side or back of the tray (depending on model). When you set the guides in the tray, it changes the flags on the side - this tells the printer what size paper is loaded. If one or more of the flags is broken, or the switches are faulty, the the printer thinks the tray contains another size of paper than it really does. This can also lead to "paper isn't where I think it should be, giving
>  up" problems. The test page should tell you what size paper the machine _thinks_ it has.

I can't print a test page yet.  ;-)   Well, sort of.  I can read the
jammed page that I pull out.

> I'll look up the 4100 service manual and see how it's set up, it's been a while since I've worked on one (most of my customers are on different models), so my memory is a little rusty.
>
> In the status log, the paper jams will come with an error code number that can help determine the cause of the problem as well.

Is that the 13.5 that appears on the display or is it something else?