HP Laserjet 4: Large capacity tray constantly jamming

[Andy Cuffe]

I bought a used large capacity paper feeder for my hp Laserjet 4
printer. It worked ok for a while, but now it jams 9 times out of 10.
The paper falls about 1/2" short of hitting the first feed roller
inside the printer. I've cleaned all the rollers in the large
capacity feeder and it's made absolutely no difference. The pickup
roller looks good (better than the one for the regular paper try which
never jams). I've tried new paper, tried it half full and completely
full. It still almost always jams. Anyone have any ideas?
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

 

[Chuck Harris]

I bought a used large capacity paper feeder for my hp Laserjet 4
printer. It worked ok for a while, but now it jams 9 times out of 10.
The paper falls about 1/2" short of hitting the first feed roller
inside the printer. I've cleaned all the rollers in the large
capacity feeder and it's made absolutely no difference. The pickup
roller looks good (better than the one for the regular paper try which
never jams). I've tried new paper, tried it half full and completely
full. It still almost always jams. Anyone have any ideas?
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

Andy,

Get yourself a can of WD40, and a paper towel. Spray some
WD40 onto the towel to form a wet spot. Rub the wet spot
all over the pickup roller until it is completely shiny.

Turn on your printer and it will feed perfectly for the
next few years.

Paper jams on HP laserjet 3/4/5 printers are almost
always caused by a good looking takeup roller that cannot
grip the paper. The symptom of that problem is 100% of the
time the paper not quite reaching the first feed roller.

Using WD40 sounds counter intuitive, but it works! It took
a great leap of faith for me to try it the first time (on the
recommendation of a friend who deals in surplus printers), but
I did, and it works perfectly.

-Chuck Harris

 

[NSM]

| Andy,
|
| Get yourself a can of WD40, and a paper towel. Spray some
| WD40 onto the towel to form a wet spot. Rub the wet spot
| all over the pickup roller until it is completely shiny.
....
| Using WD40 sounds counter intuitive, but it works! It took
| a great leap of faith for me to try it the first time (on the
| recommendation of a friend who deals in surplus printers), but
| I did, and it works perfectly.
|
| -Chuck Harris

You used to be able to buy rubber tire reconditioner to fix slipping
problems on old record players. Perhaps this is doing the same?

N

 

[Andy Cuffe]

Andy,

Get yourself a can of WD40, and a paper towel. Spray some
WD40 onto the towel to form a wet spot. Rub the wet spot
all over the pickup roller until it is completely shiny.

Turn on your printer and it will feed perfectly for the
next few years.

Paper jams on HP laserjet 3/4/5 printers are almost
always caused by a good looking takeup roller that cannot
grip the paper. The symptom of that problem is 100% of the
time the paper not quite reaching the first feed roller.

Using WD40 sounds counter intuitive, but it works! It took
a great leap of faith for me to try it the first time (on the
recommendation of a friend who deals in surplus printers), but
I did, and it works perfectly.

-Chuck Harris

Assuming you're not being sarcastic, do you have any idea why that
helps? The only thing I can think of is that maybe the pickup roller
isn't releasing the papaer soon enough causing the first roller in the
paper feeder not to feed the paper far enough.
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

 

[Shawn D'Alimonte]

Assuming you're not being sarcastic, do you have any idea why that
helps? The only thing I can think of is that maybe the pickup roller
isn't releasing the papaer soon enough causing the first roller in the
paper feeder not to feed the paper far enough.

At least on the LaserJet 3 series the pickup roller and pad wear causes
them to not be able to push hard enough on the paper to get it to the
next roller.

As the roller ages it hardens and rubbing against the paper causes wear
that makes it smoother and smaller. Those rollers are considered
regular maintainance items (But on the LJ3 you still have to take half
the printer apart to change it...).

You can usually find cheap replacements on EBay, often with
instructions. Quick fixes that might help temporarily are light sanding
and/or cleaning (Probably what the WD40 does).

 

[Chuck Harris]

Assuming you're not being sarcastic, do you have any idea why that
helps? The only thing I can think of is that maybe the pickup roller
isn't releasing the papaer soon enough causing the first roller in the
paper feeder not to feed the paper far enough.
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

Hi Andy, I am not being sarcastic, and I am not trying to wreck your
printer. I am only telling you to do, what I do myself. I have been
doing this to HP printers for about the last 10 years, so I know both
the short term results, and the long term results. The WD40 soaks into
the rubber and gives it the slight tackyness that is necessary to reliably
pick up the paper. The important compound is not the stoddard solvent,
but the yellow stuff is that is in WD40.

Email me, and I will send you my ham call and phone number.

You have to remove the "-" signs and everything in between them to get
my correct email address.

-Chuck Harris

 

[k_teppo]

I bought a used large capacity paper feeder for my hp Laserjet 4
printer. It worked ok for a while, but now it jams 9 times out of 10.
The paper falls about 1/2" short of hitting the first feed roller
inside the printer. I've cleaned all the rollers in the large
capacity feeder and it's made absolutely no difference. The pickup
roller looks good (better than the one for the regular paper try which
never jams). I've tried new paper, tried it half full and completely
full. It still almost always jams. Anyone have any ideas?
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

Andy,

Have a look at the tray balancer mechanism. There is an arrow on the
tray and a "floating" arrow on the mechanism. The arrows should be
pointing at each other. Sometimes debris can get under the pivoting
part of the tray and it'll bind, causing a no-feed paper jam.

"Reconditioning" the roller is usually good only for troubleshooting
purposes and never lasts long-term. A new roller for that tray runs
about $10, a worthwhile investment if everything else is in good
working order. I just use tap water and a nice abrasive cheap paper
towel.

I hope this info helps!
-k

 

[Chuck Harris]

"Reconditioning" the roller is usually good only for troubleshooting
purposes and never lasts long-term.

That is perhaps true sometimes, but it has not been true in my
experience. I have had rollers that would not feed even one
sheet last more than 2 years between treatments with WD40. My
taste in printers is generally around that long.

-Chuck Harris

 

[Nelson]

Andy,

Get yourself a can of WD40, and a paper towel. Spray some
WD40 onto the towel to form a wet spot. Rub the wet spot
all over the pickup roller until it is completely shiny.

Turn on your printer and it will feed perfectly for the
next few years.

Hey, Chuck, thanks for the great tip! I have been buying Moe's Magic
Printer Roller Reconditioner and it can't be healthy stuff to inhale...
some kind of rubber solvent I guess. BTW, I highly recommend Moe's
fixyourownprinter.com to the OP and anyone else. He is an extremely
knowledgeable and helpful guy and his site has a wealth of information.

 

[Mike]

Apparently HP no longer supports the HP 4 laserjet printer. Does
anyone have any suggestions on where to get the driver? Thank you for
your assistance. I can be reached at [email protected]

 

[jakdedert]

Apparently HP no longer supports the HP 4 laserjet printer. Does
anyone have any suggestions on where to get the driver? Thank you for
your assistance. I can be reached at [email protected]

I would think that a driver is supplied with Windows on such a (once) common
printer; but if not, do a google search.

jak

 

[Lionel]

Kibo informs me that Chuck Harris <[email protected]> stated
that:

[poor paper feeding]

Paper jams on HP laserjet 3/4/5 printers are almost
always caused by a good looking takeup roller that cannot
grip the paper. The symptom of that problem is 100% of the
time the paper not quite reaching the first feed roller.

Using WD40 sounds counter intuitive, but it works! It took
a great leap of faith for me to try it the first time (on the
recommendation of a friend who deals in surplus printers), but
I did, and it works perfectly.

Back when I did this for a living, I used acetone (paint thinner or nail
polish remover) on the same roller to restore the grip. Apply with a
cloth, in the same way that Chuck described.
The reason it works is that the suface of the pickup roller eventually
hardens & loses its tackiness, resulting in it slipping on the paper
instead of gripping it. Cleaning the roller with solvent removes the
hardened surface, restoring the gripping surface.
The same method works well on the separation pad, when you get the
problem of the feeder picking up multiple sheets instead of single
sheets.

 

[Lionel]

Kibo informs me that [email protected] (k_teppo) stated that:

Have a look at the tray balancer mechanism. There is an arrow on the
tray and a "floating" arrow on the mechanism. The arrows should be
pointing at each other. Sometimes debris can get under the pivoting
part of the tray and it'll bind, causing a no-feed paper jam.

This can happen, but hardening of the pickup roller is by far (like
50:1) the most common cause of poor feeding. But yes, you should
definitely check for paper waste/debris in the tray & feed mech.

"Reconditioning" the roller is usually good only for troubleshooting
purposes and never lasts long-term.

I used to recondition pickup rollers for printers & fax machines on
client machines with acetone on a cloth, & it usually got at least
another year or two out of the rollers.
(BTW: keep the acetone away from the plastic parts, as it'll eat them.)

A new roller for that tray runs
about $10, a worthwhile investment if everything else is in good
working order.

True, but they're a pain to fit on most HP's.

I just use tap water and a nice abrasive cheap paper
towel.

That'll mostly work, but only for a week or two, IME.

 

[Lionel]

I would think that a driver is supplied with Windows on such a (once) common
printer;

It does. And any similar vintage HP model driver will work as well,
although you may need to experiment to find one with matching paper tray
options. The generic drivers also tend to be more reliable than the
'special' ones HP supply on their driver disks anyway.

 

[Mike]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Andy Cuffe]

Well, I jusr replaced the pickup roller and it's still having exactly
the same problem. The paper falls about 1/2" short of the first feed
roller inside the printer. I guess I'm going to have to look for a
problem with the large capacity feeder mechanism.
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

 

[Chuck Harris]

look for a missing paper guide? The laser jet 5 can fail in
that way if the paper guide at the output of the pickup roller
is missing... or so I have read. The paper buckles and misses
the feed roller.

-Chuck