I put an old credit card in the shredder and it now will not shred paper. It will got in reverse, but not forward. The sensor seems to be stalled. I have tried to get the screws out but the screw where the little switch is will not come loose to check it on the inside. Is that screw a different kind that it won't come out? Did I burn out something?

Paper shredders sometimes have a mechanical switch sch as what you were looking for but others have laser interrupters that sense when a paper is put in the slot. You are on the right track looking for a sensor problem. As for opening it, if you cannot find screws to remove, look for labels that may peel up and have a screw under it. Sometimes rubber grommets and bumpers can be removed and you will find screws under them. Sorry I cannot give you specifics because I don't know specific machine but I have found that they disguise the screws with peel labels often. Hope that helps.

Simple to solve!
Get some longnose pliers or strong tweezers.
Unplug the beast. You do not want to shred your finger nails, or your fingers.
Flip the mechanical part upside down. You will find small pieces of papers near the rollers. Pull them out with tweezers or pliers.
Keep hands out of harm\'s way, plug shredder and make it run in reverse for 1/10 of a second.
Unplug and remove more paper impacted in between rollers.
Repeat last two steps until no paper is seen by the rollers.
Plug and continue shredding your papers

Piece of advice. Do not shred your credit cards in shredder. Scissors are cheaper and do not mess your shredder!

can't solve the problem, but wonder if I could get an owners manual for this same model (SPL-TMC16A)

Some shredders aren't designed to shred anything more than paper. Credit cards, staples, paper clips and the like could have jammed it up. Try running the shredder in reverse and oiling the blades. More help with paper shredder oil here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Paper-Shredder-Oil

If you can't get the paper shredder up and running, it looks like you might have to pick up a new paper shredder. Paper shredders can be pretty cheap though, great guide to cheap paper shredders here: http://hubpages.com/hub/Best-Paper-Shredders

Try soaking the clogs with hot soapy water overnight.

Soap disolves paper.

Please ... unplug your shredder before doing this.

It sounds like you were on the right track picking paper out of the gears. The problem is that the paper can get really jammed up in there, especially when you use the reverse.

I found that I needed to use a combination of a small screwdriver with at least a 3 inch long blade to push the jammed paper through. The I use needle-nosed plyers to pull the paper through the other side.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if it does.

Blessings,
-- Wes (wcbyers)

I have the Infoguard SX100M Axeus, sold by Staples.
Only the reverse was working, UNPLUG and open back cover, the paper mechanical switch was working fine, red side switch, the gears and fuse were all ok, I think something on the circuit board was fried.
I switched the BLACK and WHITE wires with each other going to the shredder motor, thus when I switched it to reverse, it would go foward and shred. Its working now, only in reverse.

I personally work with Fellowes brand shredders, but it sounds like you have a paper feed sensor issue. This may be a mechanical or electronic sensor located in the center of the paper feed slot. If it is electronic it may just need cleaning(qtip dipped in rubbing alchohol. If it is a mechanical sensor check to make sure it has not been broken or it may be stuck because of paper that has become wedged behind it(you may need to jiggle the switch a few times to free it). If none of this works you may have a burned out switch or a bad pc board, contact manufacturer for more info.

sounds like you probally have a stripped or broken drive gear. Contact manufacturer for parts availability.