My company recently purchased an IBM 4232 dot-matrix printer. Supposedly it was new, but we bought it cheap off Ebay so we can't tell for sure. We got the printer and set it up here, and the panel display said it was performing some startup diagnostics. Then we ended up getting "042 Machine Error". We've been talking to the gentleman who sold the printer, but I'm skeptical that its going to get us anywhere. Before we tell the guy to screw it, take the machine back, and refund our money, I'd like to know if there's anyone out there who can suggest possible solutions to this problem, or what we could be checking to find out the cause.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
An 042 machine check is pointing to the form feed mechanism (forms motor or system board). Here's what I'd do:
(1) Remove your forms module (probably an F2).
(2) With power off, open the top cover and move the large white forms gear on the right side back and forth. It should move easily. If it does not, you've got a mechanical problem (something jammed in the gears or a broken gear).
(3) Re-install the forms module, making sure that you pull it all the way forward. Move the white forms gear back and forth again. You should have a bit more resistance than before, and the tractor bars on the forms module should move with the gear movement. If you can't move the white gear, you have a broken forms module.
(4) If everything checks out to this point, load paper and power on the printer. If you get the 042 check again, either the forms motor or the system board is bad.
Rick Ekblaw
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