Printhead plastic running strip came off ; need to know how to thread back through printhead mechanism and attach on left

I got an amazing solution to this problem that worked for me.......my printer is working now :)
>.

just sharing with you............

"Someone tried for hours to reattach my encoder strip, and finally figured out the way to do it after reading many web postings, and my own trial and error. The key is to use a "dental mirror" that you can pick up at a pharmacy or hardware store for about $5. (Perhaps a small compact mirror may also work.) And you need to focus light back there. (I used a head lamp.) The problem is you just can not see the small slot through which the encoder strip must be threaded from the front of the printer. It sits in back of the ink cartridges. This thin slot "tunnel" goes though a rectangular piece of plastic. You can feel the rectangular piece of plastic in back of the ink cartridges, and looking with the dental mirror you can see how small the slots are on the right and left side, through which the encoder strip must be threaded. After "seeing" these small slots using the dental mirror, you then can feel them with the tip of a fingernail, and know exactly what you are aiming for as you then feed the encoder strip through. (It doesn't make any difference of you feed the strip from the left or the right, but the down arrow end of the encoder stip must end up on the right when you later attach it to the wire tab.) I fed the strip "blind" after I had formed a strong mental image of exacly what I was trying to do, and now being able to feel the small slot I was aiming for with the tip of a fingernail. (It is tough working in the small space in back of the ink cartridges, and if you have really big hands and fingers it may be impossible. I did not want to use forceps or tweezers because of a fear of damaging the encoder strip.) The encoder strip then must be attached with the down arrow end on the right attaching to a flimsy looking wire on the right side of the printer. The left end of the encoder strip must be attached to a metal tab on the left side of the printer. You will need to hold tension on the encoder strip, and manually push the sliding ink cartridge back and forth out of the way as you attatch both ends. (It's probably a good idea to gently clean the encoder stip of all your fingerprints and any smudged ink with a tissue after you get it back in place. Also be sure to clean the metal bar the ink cartridges slide back and forth on, so you don't get error message 0502.) Be prepared for this to be a very frustating experience! You will be maddened by how many times it will take to thread the encoder strip though the slot, how difficult it will be to catch the end of the encoder strip on the wire and metal tabs, and how you will have to figure out how to hold tension on the encoder strip so one end won't fall off as you attach the other end. But once you use the dental mirror to see where you have to thread the encoder strip, and once you see the wire and metal tabs to which the ends of the encoder strip must be attached, then YOU CAN DO IT! It just takes persistance."

Fortunately, although you appear to have a spanish language machine, the error codes are all the same- you have a problem with the CR (carriage return) motor- it's up inside at the far left and moves the printhead back and forth with a toothe belt- sometimes it's as easy as cleaning the clear plastic strip that the printhead passes over as it travels- the plastic strip is stationary and the printer has a groove around it - although you can't see anything on the strip, the printhead can and sometimes if gets dirty and fouls up the reading- if that isn't it it's time to buy the service manual or get a repairman-

5100 error means the printhead can't move freely from right to left or there is ink or grease on the clear plastic strip that runs across behind the printhead. Check for paper scraps and use a damp Q-tip to wipe the encoder strip and your errors should go away.

This plastic strip is probably the so called "encoder strip", it has many fine black lines that the carriage sensor counts to find out where the carriage is located on the paper.

This encoder strip is attached directly to the printer's frame on the right, and to a leaf spring on the left side. It also runs through a slot on the back side of the carriage.

It can be treaded back and reattached if you're nimble-fingered, but in many cases it's broken and needs to be replaced. As far as I remember HP doesn't sell these parts separately (correct me if I'm wrong!) so if it's broken the printer most probably has to be turned in for service.

But if the encoder strip is intact, there's no right or left side - or up/down - of it, so it can be attached any way you want - as long as you get it back properly. Usually it's best to first hook it up on the leaf spring, then attach it on to the small hook on the right side. Being able to slide the carriage back and forth eases the operation. You can get it back without disassembling the printer; it's fiddly but it's possible.

Good luck! :)

//Al

Friend,

Am I right when I say that this mostly happens when printing in black? If so, there seems to be a lot of dust under the carriage and printheads. This has to be removed physically, cannot be fixed by running the cleaning program in the printer driver. If you open the lid the carriage should come out to the middle. If so, please pull the printer's power cable from the wall and wait until all lights are out on the printer.

Proceed to remove the printheads from the carriage, and use a lint-free cloth wetted with clean and luke warm water (it should NOT drip!) to clean the underside of the carriage, all the way round. Also clean the printheads, avoiding to touch the silver/golden colored chip in the middle, where the ink is ejected. My qualified guess is that you'll wipe off a lot of dirt from these areas.

Also, there's a small grey/transparent plastic strip in the back of the printer, called an encoder strip. This also gets dirty and needs to be cleaned. You should use the same type cloth for this, just make sure that no water can drip into your printer.

When you look lcosely, you'll see that this encoder strip is firmly attached in one side of the printer (usually the right side), and attached to a blade spring on the left side. Now you should carefully pull the rag over both sides of the strip TOWARDS THE SPRING, pulling the other way will most likely make the strip jump off and hang loose in the printer - not supported... :) You'll probably be amazed how much dirt this printer has accumulated over teh years.

When all is clean, insert the printheads again and power up the printer. When closing the lid, the printer should go back to normal duty. And, as a bonus, your printer will most likely be a little more quiet, less slamming noises than it had before you started.

Hope this solves your problem.

//Al

First unplug your printer...

Lift your printer top, like you are going to change your ink cartridges.

Unplug your scanner & control panel by disconnecting the 3 ribbon cables

Then, you will need a screwdriver (philips head). remove the screws (about 4) from the inside housing cover.

After you have this cover off...

You should be able to see the sides of the cartridge. Take your encoder strip (gently) and thread it through the back of the cartriidges. Note: There are small slits on the side where you can thread.

If the encoder strip has come completely off (there should be tension if it is connected), you will have to located the right and left "pins" to attach it back to. I have a lexmark x-2500 so, mine are on the metal frame. The right end (arrow up) attaches to a metal strip which points straight towards you (a part of the metal frame) with a small notch at the right end and on the left end there's a type of "punchout" pin which is a part of the metal frame. I had to slightly bend the right end pin to the right, just enough to create some tension & keep the encoder strip from popping back off. The left end pin should already be bent out to the left.

Hopefully, this helps someone

I tried for hours to reattach my encoder strip, and finally figured out the way to do it after reading many web postings, and my own trial and error.
The key is to use a "dental mirror" that you can pick up at a pharmacy or hardware store for about $5. (Perhaps a small compact mirror may also work.) And you need to focus light back there. (I used a head lamp.)
The problem is you just can not see the small slot through which the encoder strip must be threaded from the front of the printer. It sits in back of the ink cartridges. This thin slot "tunnel" goes though a rectangular piece of plastic. You can feel the rectangular piece of plastic in back of the ink cartridges, and looking with the dental mirror you can see how small the slots are on the right and left side, through which the encoder strip must be threaded. After "seeing" these small slots using the dental mirror, you then can feel them with the tip of a fingernail, and know exactly what you are aiming for as you then feed the encoder strip through. (It doesn't make any difference of you feed the strip from the left or the right, but the down arrow end of the encoder stip must end up on the right when you later attach it to the wire tab.) I fed the strip "blind" after I had formed a strong mental image of exacly what I was trying to do, and now being able to feel the small slot I was aiming for with the tip of a fingernail. (It is tough working in the small space in back of the ink cartridges, and if you have really big hands and fingers it may be impossible. I did not want to use forceps or tweezers because of a fear of damaging the encoder strip.)
The encoder strip then must be attached with the down arrow end on the right attaching to a flimsy looking wire on the right side of the printer. The left end of the encoder strip must be attached to a metal tab on the left side of the printer. You will need to hold tension on the encoder strip, and manually push the sliding ink cartridge back and forth out of the way as you attatch both ends.
(It's probably a good idea to gently clean the encoder stip of all your fingerprints and any smudged ink with a tissue after you get it back in place. Also be sure to clean the metal bar the ink cartridges slide back and forth on, so you don't get error message 0502.)
Be prepared for this to be a very frustating experience!
You will be maddened by how many times it will take to thread the encoder strip though the slot, how difficult it will be to catch the end of the encoder strip on the wire and metal tabs, and how you will have to figure out how to hold tension on the encoder strip so one end won't fall off as you attach the other end.
But once you use the dental mirror to see where you have to thread the encoder strip, and once you see the wire and metal tabs to which the ends of the encoder strip must be attached, then YOU CAN DO IT! It just takes persistance.

Turn off the power and look inside the machine to the right hand side. Just in front to f the print head you will see a white plastic dowel (see photo). Use something technical - like a finger, pen or screwdriver - to push this dowel in. You can then move the print head by hand to the middle of the carriage.

Once moved, turn the printer on and watch it travel back to the home position. If after returning home the dowel pops back out and does not retract itself, you will need to strip the machine out and rebuild the ASF section. Sounds hard but its just a few plastic parts to take apart and reassemble whilst looking to see if anything is broken.

Get a service manual; for the machine HERE if you need to strip it out.

tried for hours to reattach my encoder strip, and finally figured out the way to do it after reading many web postings, and my own trial and error.
The key is to use a "dental mirror" that you can pick up at a pharmacy or hardware store for about $5. (Perhaps a small compact mirror may also work.) And you need to focus light back there. (I used a head lamp.)
The problem is you just can not see the small slot through which the encoder strip must be threaded from the front of the printer. It sits in back of the ink cartridges. This thin slot "tunnel" goes though a rectangular piece of plastic. You can feel the rectangular piece of plastic in back of the ink cartridges, and looking with the dental mirror you can see how small the slots are on the right and left side, through which the encoder strip must be threaded. After "seeing" these small slots using the dental mirror, you then can feel them with the tip of a fingernail, and know exactly what you are aiming for as you then feed the encoder strip through. (It doesn't make any difference of you feed the strip from the left or the right, but the down arrow end of the encoder stip must end up on the right when you later attach it to the wire tab.) I fed the strip "blind" after I had formed a strong mental image of exacly what I was trying to do, and now being able to feel the small slot I was aiming for with the tip of a fingernail. (It is tough working in the small space in back of the ink cartridges, and if you have really big hands and fingers it may be impossible. I did not want to use forceps or tweezers because of a fear of damaging the encoder strip.)
The encoder strip then must be attached with the down arrow end on the right attaching to a flimsy looking wire on the right side of the printer. The left end of the encoder strip must be attached to a metal tab on the left side of the printer. You will need to hold tension on the encoder strip, and manually push the sliding ink cartridge back and forth out of the way as you attatch both ends.
(It's probably a good idea to gently clean the encoder stip of all your fingerprints and any smudged ink with a tissue after you get it back in place. Also be sure to clean the metal bar the ink cartridges slide back and forth on, so you don't get error message 0502.)
Be prepared for this to be a very frustating experience!
You will be maddened by how many times it will take to thread the encoder strip though the slot, how difficult it will be to catch the end of the encoder strip on the wire and metal tabs, and how you will have to figure out how to hold tension on the encoder strip so one end won't fall off as you attach the other end.
But once you use the dental mirror to see where you have to thread the encoder strip, and once you see the wire and metal tabs to which the ends of the encoder strip must be attached, then YOU CAN DO IT! It just takes persistance.

I tried for hours to reattach my encoder strip, and finally figured out the way to do it after reading many web postings, and my own trial and error.
The key is to use a "dental mirror" that you can pick up at a pharmacy or hardware store for about $5. (Perhaps a small compact mirror may also work.) And you need to focus light back there. (I used a head lamp.)
The problem is you just can not see the small slot through which the encoder strip must be threaded from the front of the printer. It sits in back of the ink cartridges. This thin slot "tunnel" goes though a rectangular piece of plastic. You can feel the rectangular piece of plastic in back of the ink cartridges, and looking with the dental mirror you can see how small the slots are on the right and left side, through which the encoder strip must be threaded. After "seeing" these small slots using the dental mirror, you then can feel them with the tip of a fingernail, and know exactly what you are aiming for as you then feed the encoder strip through. (It doesn't make any difference of you feed the strip from the left or the right, but the down arrow end of the encoder stip must end up on the right when you later attach it to the wire tab.) I fed the strip "blind" after I had formed a strong mental image of exacly what I was trying to do, and now being able to feel the small slot I was aiming for with the tip of a fingernail. (It is tough working in the small space in back of the ink cartridges, and if you have really big hands and fingers it may be impossible. I did not want to use forceps or tweezers because of a fear of damaging the encoder strip.)
The encoder strip then must be attached with the down arrow end on the right attaching to a flimsy looking wire on the right side of the printer. The left end of the encoder strip must be attached to a metal tab on the left side of the printer. You will need to hold tension on the encoder strip, and manually push the sliding ink cartridge back and forth out of the way as you attatch both ends.
(It's probably a good idea to gently clean the encoder stip of all your fingerprints and any smudged ink with a tissue after you get it back in place. Also be sure to clean the metal bar the ink cartridges slide back and forth on, so you don't get error message 0502.)
Be prepared for this to be a very frustating experience!
You will be maddened by how many times it will take to thread the encoder strip though the slot, how difficult it will be to catch the end of the encoder strip on the wire and metal tabs, and how you will have to figure out how to hold tension on the encoder strip so one end won't fall off as you attach the other end.
But once you use the dental mirror to see where you have to thread the encoder strip, and once you see the wire and metal tabs to which the ends of the encoder strip must be attached, then YOU CAN DO IT! It just takes persistance.