Brother MFC 420CN All-In-One InkJet Printer - Page 6 - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

It sounds like you may need to clean the print heads. You can have the printer do this automatically by using the Ink button (third one below the power button), then hit the down arrow and that's the cleaning menu. You can clean black, colors or all.

If that doesn't fix it, you may need to do it manually. There's a video tutorial located here:

Try this and see if it works... It works for my Brother MFC-6490CW and I am sure the same process probably will apply to your machine. If it doesn't contact customer service and let them know you need to know how to Power Purge your machine. Good Luck!

Hold down the menu key. While still holding the menu key, unplug the machine and plug it back in. Do not let go of the key until the machine reboots and the screen says "maintenence". Hit the following keys: 7, 6, 4,black start. The machine will then go into "power purge" or deep clean mode for about 5-7 minutes. When complete hit: 99 to get out of maintanence and reboot. Be sure to have extra ink cartidges on hand as it does use up a lot of ink but this process works the best every time when the printer wont print

have you tried performing the cleaning sequence? Sometimes it takes 5-6 tries before it clears up. If that does not work I suggest calling Brother at 1-877-BROTHER and tell them your machine is not printing black. Brother is covering the cost to repair this problem (replacing the printhead) at no charge for certain models, so I would call to find out if your's is covered.

If the tray is stuck it may be caused by some obstruction at the rear, possibly the pickup roller.
Remove the small rear cover that gives you access to paper jams and check that there is not something jammed in there or if the paper pickup roller is stopping the tray from exiting.

Use this link:-

http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public/eu/gb/en/doc/manual_index.html?reg=eu&c=gb&lang=en&prod=mfc425cn_eu_as&dlid=&flang=English&type2=-1

It will take you to Brother where you can download the manual.

Inkjet printers need to be used frequently to prevent inkdrying out in the print head nozzles.
If the print head cleaning maintenance routine does not clear the blockages,then print head needs replacing, but it may be expensive.
It may be more cost effective to buy a later model and better printer thanreplace the print head.

This is a common problem that Brother is well aware of; in fact, if you call Brother at 1-877-276-8437, they will tell you where to take the machine to get the printhead replaced at NO Cost to you.

Did you clean the Corona wire?
Sometimes the Laser/scanner unit has toner debris, that is obstructing the light.
and lastly the Fuser may have a worn film.

If I could be of further assistance, let me know. If this helps or solves the issue, please rate it and give a testimonial for my response

Thanks, Joe I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/joe_8b8c2cd6ce148309

Download your software and drivers HERE.


Good luck, KObac

Read the following link. The driver is available through Windows Update.

http://www.brother-usa.com/lp/windows7compatibility.aspx#MFC_Models

1. Power off the Brother machine.

2. Inspect the belt unit.

a. Press the front cover release button and then open the front cover.

b. Hold the green handle of the drum unit. Lift the drum unit up and then pull it out until it stops.

c. Remove the drum unit. Make sure that the gray lock lever is in the up position.

d. Hold the green parts of the belt unit with both hands and lift the belt unit up, then pull it out.

e. Rotate the gear on the belt unit and inspect the belt for foreign material paper, toner etc. Remove any foreign material and clean off any toner with a soft dry cloth.

f. Look inside the machine to look for any scrap piece of paper, especially towards the back. If you find scrap piece of paper remove the paper.

g. Put the belt unit back in the machine. Match the down arrow mark on the belt unit to the down arrow mark on the machine. Push down on the green area of the belt unit to lock it in place.

h. Put the drum unit back in the machine as by making sure that the gray lock lever (1) is in the up position and put the drum unit in the machine. After the drum unit is in the machine push down the gray lock lever (1).

i. Slide the drum unit back in the machine.

j. Close the front cover.

k. Power on the machine and allow the machine to go to normal ready mode.

3. Color calibration:

a. Press the MENU key.

b. Press the DOWN ARROW key and scroll to "Printer".

c. Press the OK key.

d. Press the DOWN ARROW key and scroll to "Calibration".

e. Press the OK key twice then 1 key.

f. The LCD will display "Please Wait".

The Brother machine will start to calibrate and when calibration is complete, the machine will return to normal ready mode.

All printers require that all inks are to be full or not empty before it can print your document or print your pictures. So what i can suggest for you to purchase a new set of ink cartridges or have a refill if its available. You can also choose the black and white option or grayscale but i think your pictures have different color aside from black and white so it getting a refill would be the best option. Hope i was able to help you with your problem. Have a great day

Switch the machine on. Press the "Ink Management" key to the left of the screen. Go down to "Cleaning" and press ok. Chose the colour you would like to clean and press ok. The cleaning process uses a tiny amount of ink. Hope this solves your problem Good luck.

In order for your printer to work, you need a Software Installation CD (If you don't have it, you can found it on internet as a "driver" or "software"). For your model, click HERE , download this driver and then install it.

I hope I helped you!

This most likely means that the over flow tank is full. You can order a replacement tank but you have to disassemble the printer pretty far to get to it. You would also need to reset the counter so ..... if you want you can just reset the counter. Doing this without replacing the Ink Absorber will mean that once it is truly full it will leak into the printer itself. Do so at your own risk, but then again these are cheap printers....

Brother Maintenance Mode Commands:
- Quickly press Menu/Set * 2 8 6 4 to enter maintenance mode.
- Display should read maintenance.
- Press one or more of the maintenance mode commands below. After each command display should read re-init for a few moments then redisplay maintenance.
- Press 99 to exit the maintenance mode.
Maintenance mode commands:
01 Full RAM clear (see 91 below for retaining user programming)
02 scanner initialize (feed a white sheet, then a black sheet)
05 white level
09 print test
10 modify soft switches
11 print configuration list
16 panel test
19 CML test
20 signal test
21 tonal test
23 filter RX
54 scan edge
55 scanner area
66 test print memo
75 display drum life (if enabled on laser models)
76 reset drum life counter (laser models)
91 parameter initialize (user programming remains intact)
95 protection
99 Exit maintenance mode"

I would use the 01 and reset everything. Otherwise you can go through the 91 parameter list till you find the counter.

Jim

Hi

According to your problem, May there is no paper jam but memory is not cleared. First make sure that there is no paper jam. Delete all pending print job from the print queue. Turn the printer and your system both for 2-3 mins and turn the both again. It will clear the memory.

Please note that this error code appears when the container in the printer that is responsible for storing used / discarded ink is full or registers as full.

The following instructions will guide you through the process of resetting the printers self clean counter so the error will go away but in the event that the ink absorbing box is actually full and this is not an erroneous message the error message will trigger again immediately.

Machine Error 46 - Purged Ink Box Full MFC620CN/420CN/410CN/210C and FAX2440C

The machine counts all purge (cleaning) operations in order to prevent the internal ink absorber box from overflowing with purged ink. An "initial purge", for example, advances the purge counter by 187 + 420 = 607. When the purge counter approaches 6400, an internal "Machine Error 46" is generated. Further purge operations are prohibited, and therefore the printer becomes unuseable.

When an internal Machine Error 46 is generated, the user will see an "Unable to Clean" external message and will be unable to use the printer. The "Unable to Clean" external message can relate to many different internal error codes however.

The user can establish the internal Machine Error Code as follows: pull the mains cable out of the machine (power off), hold down the Menu/Set key, re-insert the mains cable into the machine (power on). The internal Machine Error Code will be displayed.

If there is a Machine Error 46, it is necessary to dismantle the printer, replace the ink absorber box (or possibly break the ink absorber box open and clean its absorbent sponges under a tap), re-assemble the printer and reset the purge counter to zero.


Resetting purge counter MFC620CN/420CN/410CN/210C and FAX2440C

1) Enter machine maintenance mode (on MFC210C all four photo/copy/fax/scan lights flash in maintenance mode). Care is needed in maintenance mode, otherwise critical settings may be inadvertently corrupted.

FAX models with numerical keypads: Press the Menu/Set, *, 2, 8, 6 and 4 keys within two seconds. (if you fail to complete the correct key sequence within two seconds, press the Stop key to try again).

Other (non-FAX) models: Press the Menu/Set and Black Start keys. Next press the "up arrow" key four times to enter the maintenance mode).

2) Press the 8 then 0 keys in the initial stage of the maintenance mode to call up the machine's log information list (function code 80).

3) Press the Black Start key several times to scroll through the log information list to reach the purge counter. The purge counter is the 25th item in the list.

4) Press the 2, 7, 8, and 3 keys in this order to reset the purge count to zero.

5) Press the Stop/Exit key to return to the initial stage of the maintenance mode.

6) Press the 9 key twice to return to the standby state.


Also please note that if the ink box is full and the error code is reset the printer may begin to spill out excess used / discarded ink.

I suggest purchasing a new ink absorber box and installing it.

Hi,

Most likely this is a print head issue. The print head is what the cartridges sit in inside of the printer. To attempt to resolve it, do the following:

(1) Open the printer
(2) Remove the ink cartridges from the print head.
(3) Use cotton swabs dipped in hot water to thoroughly clean the print head and each ink cartridge.
(4) Repeat this until there is no ink residue coming off on the cotton swab.
(5) Once finished, allow to dry and replace the cartridges
(6) Try to print something now

If that does not work then you have one of two possibilities:
(1) One of the ink cartridges is defective and causing the error
(2) If it's definitely not that, then the print head will need to be replaced.

Let me know,if needed further assistance.

Hope i helped you.

Thanks for using ' Fixya ' and have a nice day!!

Try these things below to narrow down the problem.

1. Plug a standard phone into where the fax line is plugged into to check for dial tone. if you have dial tone try replacing the phone line between the wall and fax. If not you have a phone line issue.
2. Make sure the printer is actually responding to print commands from a computer, this could indicate a hardware issue if it does not.
3. Check the ink levels. If the printer thinks it is out of ink then it will not print faxes.

I hope this points you in the right direction Regards GM

This if for a MFC210, but give it a shot:

Access the INTERNAL MAINTENANCE mode by pressing the Menu/Set button, then press * 2 8 6 4 within 2 seconds(check your manual for an equivalent). This should put you in the maintenance mode menu. Enter 80, then scroll down with the arrow down (round) key. You'll find an entry listed as PURGE COUNT. If number is over 6000, enter 2 7 8 3.

This will reset the purge count value. Then the printer will restart, hopefully without the annoying cannot clean message.

You'd be surprised how this fixes inoperable MFC210c's--TRY THIS FIRST!

Along with the above, it was also suggested to unplug the printer, wait a bit and plug it back in. not sure how long is enough. One user plugged it in after two days and it worked.