HP psc 950 color printer repair

[Richard Wilder]

I'm trying to repair a HP psc 950 "all-in-one" color printer/scanner/fax.
This was purchased in December 2001 and is now a discontinued model.

My main question is how to remove the "right side cover" to (I hope>
get access to the motor and gear assembly. The side cover is part
C8424-40012.

My symptom is when we punch START, all we get is noise of grinding
plastic gears, a message saying the toner carriage is blocked, and
then it dies. The toner carriage is not blocked; we can move it
freely by hand.

The trouble started as we cleared a paper jam with the power on.
Subsequently we read that one must turn off the printer prior to
removing a paper jam or the printer may be damaged.

Also, I would like to get a service manual (or a copy) for this
printer which is known as the 900 series. It is model C8433.
A service manual would probably answer all of the above.

Thanks for listening to my sad story.

Regards, Dick Wilder, K3DI

 

[Bob Shuman]

Dick,

I fixed one of these that had a similar grinding gear symptom a while back.
Sorry that I do not recall how I removed the cover, but don't remember this
being a problem once I figured out where the screws were located. (Keep
looking and you'll likely find them.)

As to the cause of the problem for that printer, it was actually dried ink.
A lot of dried ink! I had to chip it away with a screwdriver and then
cleaned up the ink blotters (sponge like material to absorb surplus ink)
under the
cartridge park mechanism.

As I recall, I actually used an electrical spray solvent to flush the nylon
gears where they mated . I then lubricated them and its been working great
for about 2 years now.

My bet is that you have a similar problem here and that removing the paper
was not the cause of the binding in the cartridge head mechanism. Let us
know what you find and Good luck!

Bob

 

[jakdedert]

I'm a little confused. You say the error is the result of a 'toner
carriage.' Do you mean to say 'cartridge?' Then I'm a bit more confused,
because you say it's a color unit. Unless it's a very expensive color laser
(in which case, I'd say take it directly to a service facility), there is
nothing that I'm aware of in an inkjet that fits the term 'toner.'

If it's an inkjet, then Bob Shuman's advice is worth noting.

A couple of web resources which I've found useful are:
http://fixyourownprinter.com/ and HP's support forum for dealing with
their products.

http://us-support2.external.hp.com/estaff/bin/doc.pl/sid=0d7bbb981a7047305f/
screen=estaffAssistance/distrib_redir=1+1060708864|*?Page=file0002

(cut and paste into your browser if this wraps more than one line...or go to
Hp's site and drill down to 'support' and 'forums.')

You can post symptoms and questions on the site and get answers from Hp
techs and interested contributers. If your problem is common, an answer may
already be available by searching the forum. I fixed two hp 3200m laser
all-in-ones--that I aquired for $75 from our metro surplus recycling site.
I found the symptoms on the forum and paid $25 to Hp telephone support for a
tech to confirm my diagnosis. Since it was a common defect (corrupted
bios), the $25 included the cost of shipping two new bios SIMMS out 2nd Day
Air. The phone tech was very supportive and cheerful as well.

Needless to say, I was very happy to get two $700 units for a total of
perhaps $150 in purchase price, support, software and the %$#^ special
cables (Centronics 'C' connectors). One had less than 1200 pages on it
since new (typical toner cart life is 2500 pages)!

jak