My hp c4380 has stopped feeding paper, it looks like the sensor to tell the roller to feed the paper is not functioning. any solutions ??

SOURCE: Epson LQ-590 Matrix Printer Paper feed Problem

Assuming that you are feeding the paper into the correct end of the printer :), it seems that the printer is defective, but

First unplug the printer from the wall, wait a few minutes,
and see if it resets. If that does not work, read on.

1. Printer rollers (and sometimes head movements as well)
   are controlled by "Stepping Motors"
   
   Unlike an ordinary DC motor with two wires, that spins
   clockwise or counter clockwise depending on the voltage
   polarity,
   
   a stepping motor contains several pairs of wires, that
   are pulsed in a controlled sequence, causing the motor
   to spin in precise angular steps. Depending on the
   number of wire pairs (poles) and internal gears, the
   stepping motor can have a resolution as course as
   90 degrees, and as fine as 0.05 degrees per step,
   depending on the cost and applications.
   
   Linear stepping motors can even move an object in
   a straight line.
   
   The benefit of these stepping motors is that, unlike a
   linear servo motor, they do not need complex positional
   feed-back for precise control, they simply step as many
   times as you tell them to. Four steps left, two steps back
   .... etc.
   
   
2. These stepping motors are in turn driven by semiconductor switches (transistors) which are
   ultimately controlled by a central processor within the printer.
   
   Depending on the printer model, and how sophisticated
   the printer's internal processor is, the paper and head
   movements can be either automatically controlled by
   SOFTWARE (firmware) within the printer itself, or by the device drivers installed in Windows.
   
   The more self-sufficient the printer is, of course, the less
   hassle and CPU overhead on your PC.
   
   
3. When any of the components within this chain of command fail, the stepping motor will move incorrectly:
   
   a) Skip steps
   b) Get stuck
   c) Oscillate back and forth
   d) Spin backwards.
   
   
4. The causes could be:
   
   a) One bad wire in the ribbon connecting the motor
   to its controller board.
   
   b) Bad motor driver transistor: Open or shorted.
   
   c) Bad data line from the printer's internal control
   processor to the driver transistor array.
   
   d) Bad processor chip, memory or firmware within
   the printer, e.g. a burned out register or firmware
   memory location.
   
   e) Defective internal power supply, causing everything
   else to malfunction.
   
   f) Bad paper position sensor
   
   d) Crashed control program, which is probably the
   only thing that is fixable:
   
   i) unplug the printer from the wall socket, wait a
   few minutes, and see if it resets.
   
   
5. It is also remotely (theoretically) possible, that
   the Window drivers are corrupt but this is very unlikely.
   
   
6. If you are fairly brave and want to take the printer apart, and have some electronics knowledge and a few basic instruments, probe the roller drive motor wires, and see what gives. Is one wire stuck consistently low or high ?
   
   Is one of the motor windings open or shorted ?
   
   Is one of the driver transistors fried ?
   
   This very much depends on your level of skill, and the test equipment you have to work with. If you don't have a decent oscilloscope you will not get far. Without a digital multimeter you will not get anywhere at all.

SOURCE: Broken paper feed roller

you cn the roller from the link below:
http://www.precisionroller.com/manufacturers/hp-photosmart-c5280.html

SOURCE: I have 2 Dell model 1700n laser printers and they

Take off the two rubber rollers, turn them inside out and replace them, Voila!

SOURCE: HP PSC 1350 printer won't feed paper

Check the gear on the left side of your printer where the disk encoder strip is attach,the gear is not holding the metal shaft your need to replace that gear. The problem is in the inner hole where the shafting is attached.

Tom Carson

• 3083 Answers
• Posted on Apr 06, 2010

SOURCE: After paper jam was cleared my printer wont feed

There is a small plastic gear that turns the roller, and when a paper jam occurs, oftentimes the gear strips it's teeth, and then the roller won't turn and feed the paper. I had this happen with an HP printer, and took it apart to see what the problem was. Upon finding the stripped gear, I tried to contact HP to get a replacement part and was told that they don't sell parts to anyone except HP authorized dealers, so I found a used printer and cannibalized the part, replacing it myself. Unfortunately, the broken gear problem happens a lot. About the only thing you can do is maybe load less paper, or load just the sheets you need for your print job, but even this doesn't guarantee that a jam won't occur. If you use labels a lot, they can leave glue residue on the rollers, causing a jam. You just have to keep them clean and hope for the best. In my opinion, the clean roller maintenance doesn't always work, and just a small amount of adhesive on the roller(s) can mess you up. They use a lot of plastic parts in printers these days, so they're very susceptible to breaking. Unfortunate, but that's the way it is. I guess that's their way of ensuring the printers won't last an awful long time, making people buy replacement printers sooner than they should have to. Don't think any one printer is necessarily better than the other, these days, so just try not to overload the paper and hope for the best. Sorry I don't have better news, and good luck.