I've searched these forums up and down and found many "similar" problems, but nothing quite like mine:
Printer will print one page just fine, but right before it kicks the paper out, the orange light from Hell (resume) begins to blink along with the power light. The paper seems stuck within 1/8" from the end. Anyway, after this happens, chaos ensues. The printer will not print anything else, it just pulls another piece through without printing and freezes at the end again. Sometimes it'll print the legendary dingbats across the top and freeze at the finish line again. If I power down, wait 60 sec or so, I can usually get it to print another page but with the same problem at the end. It gets old, especially when printing multiple pages.
I've done the HP support thing. They insist it's an expired cartridge problem (they seem one track minded on me buying brand new HP brand ink!). It's not that I don't believe them, but it prints fine then freezes, why a cart problem? Plus I'm not about to blow $50 in ink on a $50 printer just to quench my curiosity.
I love this printer, it's never let me down until now. And I'm too cheap to buy a new one. ANY HELP?
-Lee
Re: HP940c kick out problem by Bert (10/20/07 8:49 PM) reply
You are wise to be reluctant about buying a new printer. If it is a mechanical problem it will almost certainly be cheaper in the long run to repair it rather than buy one of the new "toy" printers.
A few questions are in order.
Does the paper completely exit the drive rollers, i.e. the black rollers visible when you access the cartridges?
Are the lights blinking together or alternately. Each pattern has a different meaning. http://h10025.www1.hp.com
Is the paper pusher (or kicker feet) intact? If not a paper jam will occur when the second sheet prints. A broken paper pusher can be replaced fairly easily. http://h10025.www1.hp.com
Re: HP940c kick out problem by LeeC (10/21/07 5:53 AM) reply
Yes, the paper exits the drive rollers. It's the last 1/8" of paper that gets stuck right at the end. A slight pull gets it out just fine, but the error already occurred. I looked over the links you posted. Everything on the ejection mechanism seems to be fine, the mechanism itself just doesn't seem to want to work. Both Power and Resume blink simultaneously, but only after the printer freezes at the very end of the print cycle. The carriage moves freely and it prints good, so something is telling me some sort of trigger isn't getting pulled to fully eject the paper, but nobody wants to divulge the "secret" inner workings of this printer (especially HP!). I got the go ahead to get a new printer, I just want to fix this for my own satisfaction. Time to get the bigger hammer I guess!
Re: HP940c kick out problem by Bert (10/21/07 4:57 PM) reply
I suggest that you clean and lubricate the printer before giving up. This requires some some disassembly. I have all of the info you will need. Let me know if you are interested.
Re: HP940c kick out problem by dcycle (10/21/07 6:26 PM) reply
The following is usually the problem. Paper pusher bar (Bar with three levers) - Pushes the printed paper from the pivot and feed roller assembly on to the output paper tray - Part: C6429-40031 The P/N C6429-40031 and costs 20.98 @ www.partshere.com
Good luck!
***FIXED*** HP940c kick out problem by LeeC (10/29/07 6:38 PM) reply
Fixed the problem!!!!! Well, finally after much tinkering I found the problem. There is a small ledge behind the carriage bar (the big silver rod) and something had broken off (not important I hope) and lodged itself on the far left side. The piece of plastic was just long enough to stop the carriage from sliding all the way to the left. That simple! Removed the scrap and it prints great again!!
Unfortunately it cost me a new set of cartridges thanks to HP's shotgun troubleshooting, lots of time scratching my head and cleaning contacts, plus another $10 I blew on a Canon i850 which I soon discovered had a bad printhead (Thanks a lot Goodwill).
Anyone know if this Canon i850 plus a $50 head would be better than the HP 940c?
Thanks to all those who offered their ideas. Sometimes it's the simple things that cause the biggest problems I guess.
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