Repair of HP inkjet printer "Cartridge missing or defective"

[DaveC]

HP OfficeJet 7000 (E809a) wide-format (A3, ledger, tabloid, 297x420 mm,
11.7x16.5 in), 4-colors.

Utility on the computer wouldn't print but instead it reported problems with
the cartridge. The cartridge was recent (certainly not empty) original HP.

I presumed it was contacts between the head carriage/cartridge holder and the
cartridge. I cleaned both the pins in the carriage and contacts on the
cartridge with Q-tip--no joy. I then took pencil eraser to those pins &
contacts--no joy. If I had an ink eraser handy I would try that next. But the
next for me is a fiberglass burnishing pencil used for cleaning up corrosion
on PC boards:

http://uk.farnell.com/duratool/d02266/pen-pcb-cleaning-fibreglass-
4mm/dp/2102028

GENTLY brushed each pin and contact (this is a coarse brush and removes lots
of gold if you're not careful), cleaned with Q-tip and alcohol, and
reinserted the cartridge.

Problem solved.

[N_Cook]

Or misalignment and third time lucky, inadvertently realigning

[Jeff Liebermann]

Nice fix. Did you clean the printer contacts, ink cart, or both?

I usually clean the printer with ammonia or alcohol and the cartridge
with a pink pencil eraser. The problem is usually NOT splattered ink
on the contacts, but rather the grease used to lube the moving head
somehow migrating to the contacts. Looks are deceiving as the
contacts way look clean, but often are not. Brushing with a brush or
cleaning with a Q-tip doesn't seem to be sufficient. I have to take a
cloth rag, some solvent/cleaner, and rub to get the contacts clean.

--
Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

[Shaun]

"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message
news:n4lueatb676subgdb...@4ax.com...

Using an eraser is a very bad idea because the binding material will be left
behind on the contacts. Try a stiff brush ( the ones for electronics work;
they are slightly larger than a tooth brush) with isopropyl alcohol, use the
70% stuff first, scrub it, then wash it off with pure alcohol. The let is
all dry.

Shaun

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Fri, 27 Feb 2015 20:48:11 -0600, "Shaun" <stereo...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Using an eraser is a very bad idea because the binding material will be left
>behind on the contacts.

What binding material? I just ran a Paper Mate Pink Pearl 100 eraser
over a glass microscope slide. No residue at all. Some rubber
particles were seen under the microscope which disappeared when
brushed away. I would post photos, but there's nothing to see.
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/white-plastic-rot/slides/microscope-setup.html>
I also tried some 91% isopropyl alcohol to see if I could dissolve off
something from the eraser. Nope. I'm more worried about scraping off
some of the gold plating than leaving a residue.

Incidentally, I don't see much of a connection problem with splatter
from common dye based inks. However, the less common pigment based
inks seem to leave more residue and therefore make better contact
insulators.

>Try a stiff brush ( the ones for electronics work;
>they are slightly larger than a tooth brush) with isopropyl alcohol, use the
>70% stuff first, scrub it, then wash it off with pure alcohol. The let is
>all dry.

Well, that's certainly thorough, but methinks might be overkill.
Although I do use alcohol, I prefer dilute no-suds ammonia cleaner for
removing ink.

Incidentally, you didn't answer my question:

Did you clean the printer contacts, ink cart, or both?

[DaveC]

I presume all your other comments here were addressed to shawn. But I'll
answer the one question I can:

> Incidentally, you didn't answer my question:
> Did you clean the printer contacts, ink cart, or both?

Both with alcohol, and only the cartridge contacts in the head using the
abrasive pen. That fixed the problem so I didn't touch the cart contacts with
the pen.