ROYAL RL170MX Shredder won't shred

Was anyone in the office during that week, like contract cleaners, or any other staff or maintenance staff?

Sounds to me like someone has been using it, using it too long, adding to much paper in a hurry and shattered or shredded some internal gears. They get soft when they get hot and no one reads the manual where is says to use for no longer than 5 minutes, with a 20 minutes rest.

Strip it down and look. I am pretty sure you can get Royal Spares here.

Royal Parts - SHREDDERPARTS.COM

https://shredderparts.com > royal-parts
Sometimes, the basic methods of troubleshooting and shredder repair will ... paper shredder parts that you need, we may add Royal paper shredder parts at ...


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Sometimes spraying shredder oil on the cutting teeth wil work.

You should shred paper with a light weight machine oil poured on the paper to keep the cutting teeth working freely.

Good luck.

P.S. If this doesn't work then just take the head off and cleanj/lubricate any bearings you find.

If the motor sounds like its running but the cutting shafts are not turning then you have likely stripped the teeth off one or more of the plastic gears inside.
Take the unit apart to determine which gear/gears are damaged the contact ROYAL at 1-800-524-0799 for parts assistance.

Motor forwards rotation is begun by inserting paper in betwen the 2 "eyes" in the paper throat of the shredder. They can become dusty/dirty and not function, if they are clean and yet the motor still will not turn in the forward direction it is possible the pcb inside the unit is faulty...contact Royal at 1-800-524-0799 for parts assistance.

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 putting some oil on a sheet of paper and then shredding the paper with oil on it.
If that dosn't fix it....take cover off....(with the unit unplugged.) and check plastic gears in drive train.

You will have to open the top after you have unplugged it. Sounds like you might have taken out a gear or two... once you see what is broken give Royal a call at 1-800-524-0799 for parts and prices.

you have 1 or 2 broken drive gears.I don't know if they made replacement parts for that model, try calling 1-800-272-6229 (royal customer support).

If the blades rotate then the paper should go in...just be sure the blades are turning in the forward direction and not in reverse.Also make sure you lubricate the blades with shredder oil.

More than likely, there is a lot of paper debris jammed between the cutters and strippers. If you are handy, try the following.
Disconnect the power.
Disassemble the shredder from the lower bin to access the cutting head. Clear the head of all debris with a small screw driver or ice pick. Reassemble and oil the cutters with shredder oil, being careful not to get any oil on the optics. This should solve the sluggish problem. Oil on a regular basis, before every use.