Jim Meagher wrote:

We have decided that since the printer failed soooo close to the end of the
warranty, we will to make a fuss at HP and see if they repair it under
warranty.  If not, then we will replace it with a different model (and
maybe
a different brand).
<snip>

Hello:
I too am not impressed with HP at the moment. I have a customer with a just
under three-year-old OfficeJet LX, which is an all-in-one
Printer/fax/scanner, based on the DeskJet, I understand. It has not had
heavy use either,
but something in the electronics of the print head has failed, in my
estimation (explanation to follow.)

The symptom the machine is having, is that it gives the "out of ink"
message on the display, when it has a full ink cartrige. Customer noted
this
problem some weeks ago, when this started happening halfway through an ink
cartridge,
then less than halfway through, until finally it showed this message with a
full cartridge. Instead of
calling for repair, the customer kept replacing cartridges and he now has
half a dozen expensive HP ink cartridges sitting there, ranging from
half-full to almost
full. (This machine prints only in black.)

When I spoke to HP "tech support" (and this cost money due to the machine
being out of warranty) they not only told me almost nothing; basically
told me to return it to HP to have their service department look at it for
a minimum $300 charge, which is over the "replace the unit if repairing it
will cost over half the value of the machine" guideline that appears to be
in general use. I told HP what I
had done so far, which was clean literally everything I could reach, and
run the machine's diagnostics. They said that I had taken the right
approach so far, but did not suggest anything else. The service/factory
mode software diagnostics showed no apparent problems. These diagnostics
included a test of the sensors.

What I would like to do is try to replace the print head (the entire unit
that slides along the rail) and the cable that goes with it, and see if
that does the trick. I don't pretend to be a
printer repair technician, but I have observed the machine with the top
off, by temporarily disabling the "cover off" indicator switch,
and everything else appears to be okay. If I disable the "ink out" sensor
with the machine's software (or "underware" as they call it..the only laugh
I have had during this procedure) it will try to print, but it prints blank
pages. I have also adjusted other things to do with the ink sensor, such as
changing the level at which it detects "no ink", to no avail.

The biggest problem is trying to find someone who will take the time to
look up the part number for me...I have tried everything but standing on my
head, but cannot find the relevant part number on the machine itself;  is
not easily visible...or visible if you go to
great lengths, for that matter. I have looked on the HP web site just about
everywhere, including where you can look up and browse parts, HP
SPI at
http://www.hp.com/cpso-support/guide/psd/hpspi.html
(you must register for this service, but it's free.)

They don't list all parts there, just some...at least, for me. Perhaps a
reseller would have better access. I also cannot fully remove the cover of
the unit. If I did manage to obtain a replacement print head, I
would definitely have to remove the entire cover in order to do it, not
just the top cover. I can't find anyone who knows how to do this, (or, if
they do, they aren't sharing it with me) and it seems apparent that HP does
not want people like me getting full access to the machine. Asking other PC
technicians, they believe that there is either some "trick" to getting the
cover off this thing, or it can only be removed with some special tool.
When I asked HP tech support, they simply told me they "didn't know how"!
(I have spoken to several of these "technical" support people this week and
have had my fill of them. When one could not answer this question, I asked
for further assistance, but have not got anywhere yet. When I get the
energy again after this holiday weekend, I am going to complain
about *paying* for technical support that doesn't seem to know very much.)

If I were buying right now, for what these things cost (over $600 Canadian
at the moment) I would tend to go for a laser unit instead, because the
parts appear to be easier to obtain, and I might also consider another
maker, although I am not certain the other makers are
not up to the same things. I have found some excellent web sites for laser
printers and parts, particularly http://www.printerworks.com . I asked the
owner of this web site if he could help with either of the above issues,
and he could not either, although he was kind enough to take the
time to tell me so. This is a commercial website, but it has detailed, free
info such as exploded parts views for many laser printers, and part
numbers; however it is interested exclusively with laser printers.

I had not taken this problem to the list until now, because I was not
entirely sure it fell within the scope of PCBUILD. I have re-read the
guidelines and I have my doubts as to whether this is on topic or not....if
you feel it is not on topic, let me know by email. I realize this list is
not about "how to repair HP printers" but I have already used up every
other resource I could locate, including other techs, HP itself;
HP/printer and electronics and peripherals newsgroups, plus anything else I
could find on the web. I have already put more time into this than I
probably should have, but this matter is frustrating me, and I hate to give
up.

If anyone can help me, I would be grateful. I believe that replacing the
unit is "overkill",
but if I can't get any more info, this will be their only choice aside from
paying HP a lot of money.

Susan Sutherland
S. Sutherland Consulting

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