[Jamming] HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

[Desert Rat]

A couple of years ago he replaced the carriage belt. After about a year it leaked yellow ink. After he cleaned that up
he started printing and it snapped of the idler pulley for the carriage belt. After he replaced that it started coming up
with this message. He said the belt seemed to fit tighter after that & he did lube the guide rod.
6 months later he calls me. The carriage did not feel smooth when I pushed it. The guide rod felt grimy and dry to me.
I checked the tentioner and it was at max pressure. I took some of the pressure off and cleaned and lubed the guide rod
and it felt smooth after that. Powered up the printer and carriage moved a quick left and right and stopped.
I followed the diagnostics in the book and check the connectors. They did not seem screwed up. The service station goes
back and forth OK just before the carriage moved. I had the cleaning cartridges removed and the carriage was in the middle of the platen.
I also had the printheads removed. The book sez replace the belt and/or the axis motor. The belt was in good condition and the drive pulley clean.

Could it really be that motor?

DR

[D Hook]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

Have you had a chance to take a good look at the spindle on the motor? Sometimes they get filled with belt debris and it throws that error. I think I would remove both left and right covers and do a thorough cleaning and inspection of the belt and motor and spindle, as well as the belt travel path to make sure the belt is installed so the metal tab isn't hitting the end of travel. It doesn't take much carriage travel interference to throw that code.

Just curious, what kind of lube did you use on the rail?

[Desert Rat]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

Dhook,
Thank you for your reply. I did take both covers off and the drive pulley is clean nothing stuck in the teeth. I use a light coat of 3 in 1 oil
like I have for years on the guide rods.
But I did not check to see if the buckle was interfering with the travel. However I do recall with the carriage in the middle of the platen the metal
plate on the belt was just behind it.
I don't recall if the where the motor spindle exits the motor was clean. But it was not so dirty as to get my attention. I will have a look at that
next time I see that machine.
Could it be a problem with the encoder sensor not seeing movement? I did notice that it looked kinda dirty, or is this message only generated by
the amount of current through the motor?

DR

[Phil B.]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

Have you had a chance to take a good look at the spindle on the motor? Sometimes they get filled with belt debris and it throws that error. I think I would remove both left and right covers and do a thorough cleaning and inspection of the belt and motor and spindle, as well as the belt travel path to make sure the belt is installed so the metal tab isn't hitting the end of travel. It doesn't take much carriage travel interference to throw that code.
Just curious, what kind of lube did you use on the rail?

+1 on cleaning the gear on the motor...

I have found since the HPDJ 7XX days.. that "TriFlow" is a great all purpose lube.. A lite oil with silicon additive.. works on plastic bushings.. metal bushings ( never use WD40 on brass bushings )

hell I even use it on my fishing reels.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYZApQb4WP06vsaYc197N7LKDjN7eXn7YUt4Pr20NtfgOaIizo5K9c76EVgAdT_2p64d3jyjSEPQ&usqp=CAc

[D Hook]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

Dhook,
Thank you for your reply. I did take both covers off and the drive pulley is clean nothing stuck in the teeth. I use a light coat of 3 in 1 oil
like I have for years on the guide rods.
But I did not check to see if the buckle was interfering with the travel. However I do recall with the carriage in the middle of the platen the metal
plate on the belt was just behind it.
I don't recall if the where the motor spindle exits the motor was clean. But it was not so dirty as to get my attention. I will have a look at that
next time I see that machine.
Could it be a problem with the encoder sensor not seeing movement? I did notice that it looked kinda dirty, or is this message only generated by
the amount of current through the motor?

DR

Yes, you'll want to be sure the encoder is running through the carriage, not behind it.

Did it ever work correctly since the belt was changed? If not, the encoder may not be properly placed in the carriage.

Be gentle if you need to clean it. Just a damp cloth and try not to rub it so as not to damage the marks.

[Kiran Otter]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

I don't recommend using petroleum lubricants like 3-in-1 oil on something with plastic parts. The oil will dissolve the plastic bushings in the carriage.

The more I thought about this, I'm thinking you don't have the encoder strip going through the encoder sensor in the back of the carriage. This is very easy to get wrong when putting the carriage in. There's 2 black blocks with a gap between them; the encoder strip needs to pass between those blocks. If it's being deflected and going around the rear one, it's wrong. With the carriage all the way to the left, you can usually just pull the encoder strip into the correct position.

If this isn't the problem, then:

With the carriage moved out from the right end, when you power it up, if the carriage just jerks a little and you get the error, the problem is with it reading the encoder strip. If the trailing cable was disconnected when the belt was replaced, it's likely damaged. I would disconnect it again and look at the end of the cable. If it's dried out and coming apart, you have to replace the trailing cable. Also since there are 3 parts to it, it's extremely easy to get it inserted wrong.

2019-02-14 12.02.48.jpg

If it was put back together with a bad cable, you're lucky it didn't fry something else.

Now, if the cable was NOT disconnected (and yes it is possible to replace the belt without disconnecting the trailing cable,) then I suspect you either have a bad encoder strip and/or encoder sensor. Unfortunately the encoder sensor is soldered to the carriage PCA, so only way to replace that is to find another carriage. The encoder strip can be inspected but I can't remember ever having to replace one in the 5000 series.. they just don't seem to get any abuse with the way they're in the back and out of the way. Doesn't hurt to remove it and gently clean it with a damp cloth (no alcohol!) And visually inspect it for missing marks.

See What a damaged encoder strip looks like from a Designjet

It looks like LPS Computer still has everything you could need, luckily. My guess would be the trailing cable, only because the encoder strip and sensor rarely fail, in my experience anyway.

Kiran

[Kiran Otter]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

See this video about the position of the encoder strip.

YouTube

Kiran

This thread has 4,600 views?!

[Desert Rat]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

Kiran Otter,
Thank you for that post. It seems to address all my concerns at this time. I will see this machine again tomorrow and let you
know this week.

thanks again

DR

[Desert Rat]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

I will have to put this post in my tech help file also.

Thank you everyone.

DR

[D Hook]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

See this video about the position of the encoder strip.

YouTube

Kiran

This thread has 4,600 views?!

I believe it. There are a lot of these machines still running out there. This one and the 500/800 series printers are the longest lasting printers I've seen.

I have a 5000PS 60" that I bought used and have kept running for the last 15 years or so. Only tough part is finding the proper hard drive.

The 800PS I have was bought at a state auction and has seen a lot of use also. It's been trouble free (knock on wood) for years. I think I paid $25 for it 5-6 years ago. I buy them whenever I can find them cheap. Easy to fix, cheap to run.

[Desert Rat]

Re: HPDJ 5500 Check paper path 1 message.

Kiran,
I had a look at that video. I like it. They showed the splice on the belt being placed under the carriage.
My customer has his in the middle behind the carriage. I did check to make sure that when the carriage was
at the extreme on both ends the splice was at least 2 inches away from either pulley. Also the idler pulley is out
of round and I can feel the tension change as I move the carriage back and forth. I was able to relieve some of the
belt tension so the movement was smooth.
I also found that the encoder strip was on the outside of the encoder sensor. I corrected that and cleaned
the strip with a clean damp cloth with a light pressure. It still did not look any better even though I saw the amount
of dirt that came off.
The carriage started up on power up and moved slowly then fast then slowly to the left, made a noise and moved to
the right. It moved slow then fast for about 12" then slow. When it got the right side I heard it stop then heard the
toothed belt over the toothed pulley noise, and got the check paper path #2 message. I believe the encode strip is shot.
I've seen this before but it did not take a big jump like this one.

But the symptoms changed.