Knowledgebase: HP Technical Sharing
HP All-in-One Products - Resolving the Noisy or Erratic Carriage
Posted by Per Jerome Aquino on 10 January 2008 01:22 AM
HP All-in-One Products - Resolving the 'Noisy or Erratic Printing Carriage' Issue

ISSUE:

Sometimes when printing out, the carriage makes an abnormal noise or its movement is erratic.

SOLUTION:

To solve this issue, follow the steps listed below:

NOTE: The images and descriptions showed along the document might be slightly different depending on your HP All-in-One model.

1. Clean the unit front and back rollers. To do so, follow the steps listed below:

i. Disconnect the power cord or power supply from the rear of the unit.
ii. Open the print carriage access door.
iii. Remove the rear door and check it for damage.
iv. Make sure that the paper rollers inside the rear access door rotate freely. Please clean them using a lightly moistened cloth.
v. Wipe the paper rollers with a lint-free cloth lightly moistened with distilled or bottled water. Rotate the rollers with your fingers to clean all the way around.
vi. Allow the rollers to dry completely, and then close the rear access door.

NOTE: Make sure the rear access door is correctly closed and placed.

vii. Through the previously open cartridge access door, clean the front rollers with a lint-free cloth lightly moistened with distilled or bottled water. Please rotate the rollers with your fingers to clean all the way around.
2. Use a clean, dry cotton cloth to wipe the carriage rod. Move the carriage as needed to clean the full length of the rod.

WARNING: Do not lubricate the rod.
3.
4. If noise is located at the paper path, it may be caused by ink, dust or other residues stored over the pinch rollers.
Please, clean the pinch rollers by using a cloth lightly moistened with alcohol.
5. The edge of the pitch rollers must be cleaned too. To do so, use a small drop of alcohol. This will remove the ink and will solve the issue. (see detail in the image below).
6. Clean the carriage contacts and the capping station. To do so:

i. Connect the power cord to your HP All-in-One product, and turn the unit on.
ii. Lift the front of the HP All-in-One product just above the paper output tray as shown below. The print cartridge capping station will lower to allow access to the print cartridges.

1 - Print cartridge latch
2 - Capping station

iii. Gently pull up the print cartridge latch front to release it. The latch is spring loaded and will spring upwards. Slowly raise the latch instead of letting it spring open.
iv.
v. Remove each print cartridge by sliding it out of its socket, moving it toward the front of the HP All-in-One product. Do not try to pull it in an upwards direction.

NOTE: If the print cartridge cannot be slid out, verify that the latch is raised, and the HP All-in-One product is on. If it is not possible to remove the cartridge, too much time may have passed since it was opened and the capping station may have raised again. Close the print carriage access door, wait five seconds, and then open it again to lower the capping station.

vi. Extract the cartridges and clean the copper contacts with a watered lint-free cloth

1 - Copper-colored contacts
2 - Ink nozzles (do not clean)

vii. Disconnect the power cord from the HP All-in-One product.
viii. Clean the electric pins placed in the front of the print carriage using a lightly moistened cloth.
ix. Using a dry cloth, clean the ink stored inside the capping station sponges (see the image below).
x. Mop up the electric pins completely, and connect the power cord again.
xi. Turn on the unit, reinstall the cartridges, and close the print carriage access door.
xii. If the noise issue remains unsolved, please perform a Power Cycle on the unit following the steps below:

i. Turn the unit off.
ii. Unplug the power cord from the unit.
iii. Wait 30 seconds, and then re-connect the power cord to the unit.
iv. Turn the unit on.
xiii. If the issue persists, the unit may need to be reset. Please, consult the HP All-in-One Products - Performing a Partial Reset of the

All-in-One document to learn how to do it.

Additional steps (only for PSC 1100 & 1200 Series All-in-One products

HP PSC 1100 & 1200 Series All-in-One products may be affected by this issue, due to the friction between the printing carriage and the paper.

Please, print a couple of pages full of black text in Normal mode, and follow the steps listed below if the printed text looks like the image below:

1. Print a Self-Test Report and then, check the quality of either the text or the color bars.
Follow these steps to print a self-test report:
a. Press and hold the Cancel and the Color buttons at the same time.
b. Release both buttons.
c. The Self Test Report will be printed.

2. If the media does not fit the weight specifications (see table below) or if paper is curled, then this may prompt the bottom of the ink cartridge to come in contact with the media. If this happens, the print will smear and the cartridge may become damaged.

HP PSC 1100 & 1200 Series
Type Paper Weight
Plain paper 70 to 90 gr/m2 (20 to 24 lb.)
Cards Up 200 gr. (110 lb.)
Envelopes 75 to 90 gr. (20 to 24 lb. max.)
Transparency Film N/A
Labels N/A
4 x 6 Photo 236 gr/m2 (145 lb.)
Custom Media 34 gr/m2 (9 lb.)

3. Make sure that the Paper Type is correctly set to either Plain or Photo .

4. Run an alignment of the print cartridges. To do so, follow the steps below:
o. HP PSC 1100 Series:
1. Turn on the HP PSC 1100 Series product.
2. Disconnect the USB cord from the unit rear.
3. Press the following sequence of front panel buttons to initiate the ink cartridge alignment:

NOTE: The button-press sequence must be completed within ten seconds. It might take several tries to complete the sequence within ten seconds.

i. Press and hold the Cancel button.
ii. While holding the Cancel button, press the On button.
iii. When the Check Paper and Check Print Cartridge lights begin to blink simultaneously, release both buttons.
iv. Press the Cancel button again.
v. Press the Resume button.
vi. Press the Paper Type button.
vii. Press Color Start Copy . The alignment page printing will begin.

NOTE: If the alignment page printing does not start, please repeat the button-press sequence.

4. Once the alignment page is printed, place the page face down on the scanner glass and press the Scan button.
The print cartridge alignment process is complete when the On light stops blinking.
5. Re-connect the USB cord to unit rear.

o. HP PSC 1200 Series
1. Turn on the unit.
2. Disconnect the USB cord from the unit.
3. Press the following sequence of front panel buttons to initiate the ink cartridge alignment:

a. Press and hold the Cancel button, and then press the On/Resume button. Then, release both buttons.
b. When the Check Paper and Check Print Cartridge lights begin to blink simultaneously, release both buttons.
c. Press and release the Cancel button again.
d. Press and release the Copies button.
e. Press and release the Paper Type button.
f. Press and release the Start Color Copy button. The alignment page printing will begin.

NOTE: If the alignment page printing does not start, please repeat the button-press sequence.

4. Once the alignment page is printed, place the page face down on the scanner glass and press the Scan button.
The print cartridge alignment process is complete when the On/Resume light stops blinking.
5. Re-connect the USB cord to the unit.
6. Close the cover and press the Scan button. Wait until the alignment is finished. The On light stops blinking when the alignment is finished.
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