Minolta 2430dl X toner not installed

Hello,
I had this same problem and discovered the CORRECT solution!! The Crum reader is not the issue. That is for reading the level of the toner and telling the printer when iti is low or out. The "Cartridge not installed" issue is caused by poor contacts on the LEFT side of the printer. Look at the toner cartridge on the LEFT side as you are holding the colored cartridge latch. Thos two copper contacts make contact with the 'springs on the left side of the cartridge holder. I user an eraser, alcohol and air to clean the contacts on the toner catreidge but ESPECIALLY the spring contacts on the outside of the cartridge holder. You should clean all four. I went a step further and took the left circuit board off, clean all the "spring contacts and took the black holder with long copper contacts out and cleaned those. The printer is now like a brand new printer. No errors at all!!

If you are lucky you can just clean the contacts on the cartridges themselves and the "crum reader" and the printer will recognize the toner again.

The weakest part of this printer's design is the crum reader(part name "pushbutton switch" part number "4139630602").It isn't robust and you can easily bend the spring loaded contact through trying to clean it or with normal usage. Once bent or stuck it will no longer make contact.

The part is located in a white housing on the left hand side of the printer below the drum. To get at the part, remove two toner cartridges. Rotate the toner cartridge assembly around (push the recessed release button in the beige plastic right hand side under the main door) until the empty slots are by the crum reader (black piece with three spring loaded copper wires extending fromthe flat surface). You can now access the crum reader. It is held in by two clips one on the left and one on the right. Use a small screwdriver to pop it out, disconnect the ribbon cable and replace it. The hardest part is putting the ribbon cable back on the new part. The whole procedure takes about 5 minutes. Order extra crum readers so you have them on hand.

The normal Konica Minolta parts line can’t order this part. In Aug. 07, I called 800-622-5546 [2] [3] (orderadministration section) and ordered the part. It was $5.

I agree with the other posters that this part, the push button switch assembly (or crum reader, as others have called it), was not well-designed. However, the new part you will receive from KM (part number has been changed: 4139-R735-00, cost is $5), comes with a new wire already attached. If you remove the crum reader from this wire and then try to reattach the wire to the new reader inside the machine using the existing wire, it is tricky. If you have large hands it is impossible.

Instead, try this.

1) Turn off the printer & unplug it
2) Open the top of the printer
3) Remove transfer belt assembly
4) Remove all 4 toner cartridges (this will open up the most room)
5) Use a screw driver to pry the old switch out (as you will see on the new reader assembly, there are two tabs on right side, one on the left)
6) Gently remove the old crum reader; the old wire will likely pull free from the reader at this time
7) Remove the right side panel of the printer (only 2 screws hold it in place, and they only need to be loosened, not removed)
8) Remove the duplexer panel on the back of the machine (or the duplexer if one is installed)
9) Remove the back panel of the printer (4 screws need to be removed); this gives access to the circuit boards and plug terminals
10) Remove the crum reader wire from its terminal
11) Cut off one end of the crum reader wire and pull it through the wire harness to completely remove it (the crum reader wire is the only braided wire in the harness)
12) Place the new reader (with the attached new wire) in the printer, but do not snap it in place yet.
13) Feed the new wire through the opening in the right hand side of the printer (through which the old wire ran)
14) Following the wire harness, pull the new wire to the terminal on the circuit board and plug it in (below the cooling fan you will see a small black plastic cover with a clear plastic tab attached; it covers the wire harness and it will be easier to pull the wire to the circuit board if you remove this tab - only 1 screw holds it in place).
15) Snap the new reader assembly into place (you will need to use the screwdriver again to gently pop the two tabs on the right side of the reader back into their slots)
16) Replace all of the side panels
17) Replace the toner cartridges, cleaning the chip on each cartridge with an alcohol swab before reinstalling the cartridge
18) Replace the transfer belt assembly
19) Close the top
20) Reconnect the plug and power on the printer

After following these steps, you should no longer receive the error message that the cartridges are not installed.

I had the same problem, but I needed it fixed fast, so I took the switch out and took it apart and cleaned it and adjusted the springs to make better contact. I don't suggest you do this unless you are fairly mechanical minded, but it solved my problem. As far as getting it reconnected to the wiring harness you can take the front cover assy. off and grab the wire harness with needle nose pliers as you are reinstalling the switch. The best thing to do if you have time is to replace it.

I am a technician. After I received 6 of these Minolta

Andy the replacement switches are just as bad as th old ones

take it apart and the three contacts fall away they are supposed to be solder into place which you can do yourself if you have a very good iron and a steady hand

Me too. Just decided it had no cartidges installed mid way through a job. Following the advice here I did replace the pushbutton switch. In fact at first I was able to remove it, open it and then rebuild it as one of the prongs seemed bent. That seemed to fix the problem for a few days. But it came back and so I bought a new pushbutton switch. Firstly Konica Minolta said I could not buy one from them but when I disagreed with them they gave me the name of their parts supplier. I called them and without the part number you are stuck and so I gave them one of the ones quoted here and even though I am in the UK the part number was recognised (costs £4.68 + VAT).

But fitting the new one did not solve the problem - or rather it didn't, then it did for about a week and now the printer has refused to recognise the cartridges.

To be honest if the toner was all but out I would probably just give up and throw it away. Sorry to say but I've not had a colour laser printer that works well for for than a couple of years. But the colour toners are about 50% and the black at 65% and so it seems a waste not to try. In fact maybe someone can explain that the printer will tell me it has no cartridges installed and yet I can check the toner levels and it reports this accurately.

So, I've tried everything - any ideas. Done cleaning it, replacing the switch. Toners all been taken in and out etc.

/Andy

P.S. I didn't fancy trying to install the new switch and cable and so decided to unplug the switch from the cable. Be careful as the cable can then decide to retreat into the printer. As someone has responded the most difficult bit is putting it back on the end of the cable as you can't get two hands in the space - one to hold the cable and the other to push the switch onto the end of the cable unless you are about 5 yrs old. So, I wedged a cloth or tissue into the hole in the white plastic holder behind the switch. That way you can stablize the position of the cable connector - it can't retreat through the hole as you've just bunged it up - while you then attach the pushbutton switch to the connector at the end of the cable. Be careful removing the cloth as you can then dislodge the switch again as you pull the cloth out.

Same problem with the toner cartridges not reading. Looked at the switch as described by "AndrewWro" and discovered it was bent up and faulty. Tried to fix it and it just fell apart.

Update on the part number and phone number to call to get your "crum reader" as of December 30, 2008:

Parts phone number for Minolta: 1-800-284-5555
New "crum reader" part number is: 4139R73500
Cost: $5 each

They take credit card and ship via UPS.

Check the toner contacts in the printer, one will either be dirty, bent or broken.

On December 16, 2010 I called 800 972 6705 to order a "crum unit" 4139R73511 (note updated part number) to replace the crum unit. It took calling three other numbers first but I also scored a PDF from KonicaMinolta with formal instructions for replacing the part after a 30 minute hold calling 800 622 5446 -- nice and informed guy Andrew handled the call.

I had the same problem. It started after I cleared a paper jam. When I closed the printer cover, a message came up stating that the cyan and black cartridges were missing. I figured that I'd simply go through the menus to "replace" the cartridges and that would clear the message. When I tried to replace the cyan cartridge, I received Err. 2474. I tried turning the printer off and restarting it, but that just caused random "missing" cartridge messages. To make a long story short, I had to re-allign the teeth on the carousel that holds the cartridges to the rest of the printer. I did this by releasing the carousel lock on the right side and rotating the carousel one tooth at a time. I must have caused the teeth to "jump" when I cleared the paper jam. After realligning, everything is fine an no replacement parts were needed.

The sulotion for this problem is in improving consumer rights.

I have a Minolta 2430 DL Magicolor printer, that printed well until just after warranty time was over. I got the message: Magenta not installed. I took the magenta out and replaced it with new (original Minolta) toner. It printed fine for some time, but only when I printed just a few pages. Once a year I have to printout my complete administration for the tax collector. That is the time, the printer starts the ritual of complaining about no cartridges installed. Cleaning the printer gives better printing quality, most of the times. But it is impossible to print more than a few pages at a time.

Since I had a lot of expensive original Minolta toners and a crippled printer, I bought a 2550DX. But soon this one gave the same messages and refused to print. Since then I have used the 2430 DL and 2550 DX for printing some pages, but when I really need a printer they both give up.

I get random error messages now. The 2550 refuses to turn the color cartridges for replacing all together, so it holds on to all its expensive toners. The 2430 usually stops after the message "calibrating" and refuses to print. But sometimes I am lucky and it does not stop at "calibrating", says it is "ready" and I may print a few pages.

I have had Canon and HP printers before, and all of them fail soon after passing the warranty time. I still have a Canon that costed me 10.000 euro and worked like sunshine for some years, but stopped after a diode collapsed, with a value of 1 cent. It is impossible to buy the part, Canon charges 800 euro for research and reporting they cannot fix the problem.

It looks like all printer manufacturers design the printers to fail soon after warranty time. This is a waste of material and transportation, so they are deliberately polluting the earth and cheeting the consumers.