HP M451 Jam in tray 1

[pebkac]

I've got an M451 in for repair with issues very similar to those described in this post (no replies).

It came in for print quality issues, and initially printed one page before running out of paper. When I added more paper to tray 2 strange things started happening:

When I try to print it goes through the motions, I can hear things turning, but then it stops and says "Jam in tray 1." The feed roller doesn't turn. The tray does not lift. I can clear the error by removing tray 2 and opening/closing the back door. Opening the back door with the cassette still installed does nothing.

If I start over, remove all the paper from tray 2 and put paper in tray 1, and then try to print it says "Insert or close tray 2." Tray 2 is installed, and adding paper to tray 2 does nothing. Opening and closing the back door causes it to immediately show the "Jam in tray 1" error again, even if I already canceled the job.

Other posts have suggested checking the accessory paper feeder inlet guides, but they're intact and in place.

This printer has lost its damn mind and it's trying to take me down with it.

[Phil B.]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

I've got an M451 in for repair with issues very similar to those described in this post (no replies).
It came in for print quality issues, and initially printed one page before running out of paper. When I added more paper to tray 2 strange things started happening:
When I try to print it goes through the motions, I can hear things turning, but then it stops and says "Jam in tray 1." The feed roller doesn't turn. The tray does not lift. I can clear the error by removing tray 2 and opening/closing the back door. Opening the back door with the cassette still installed does nothing.
If I start over, remove all the paper from tray 2 and put paper in tray 1, and then try to print it says "Insert or close tray 2." Tray 2 is installed, and adding paper to tray 2 does nothing. Opening and closing the back door causes it to immediately show the "Jam in tray 1" error again, even if I already canceled the job.
Other posts have suggested checking the accessory paper feeder inlet guides, but they're intact and in place.
This printer has lost its damn mind and it's trying to take me down with it.

ok is there a jam code listed in the error log?

these have been known to have flaky feed assms...

have you pulled the tray completely out and checked the connectors in back?

residual jams indicate a stuck/sticky sensor flags.. if it detects this situtation.. tray will not lift or feed

another think to check is the EM Feed clutch/solenoid ... can't remember if it is one of the plate or plunger type.. but they all get sticky

how many pages on the machine? and PM parts?

new feed rollers?

[pebkac]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

Thanks for your reply. I have a lot of experience with (other) HP printers, and know all the usual troubleshooting tasks. This one is defying expectations. I'm really just hoping that someone will chime in with some experience with this particular issue.

All of the sensors are plugged in and actuators are intact, as far as I can tell. I'm not intimately familiar with this particular model. Note that the error condition is not persistent. It goes away when the printer is rebooted, and only returns when I try to print. If a sensor were out of whack I would expect the printer to throw an error at boot. I know some sensors (on some models) aren't polled until print time, but not which.

The tray 2 pickup mechanism is mechanically functional, which I verified using the rotate function in the service menu (the one you use when changing the roller). It kicks over without issue.

The web interface shows one 13.0000 error at the current page count, but all of my troubleshooting hasn't caused it to log any more, which is also a bit odd. The device has a four-digit total page count, and I don't think this model is old enough to be suffering from the typical sticky solenoid issue. That causes over-rotation of the pickup roller anyway, which is not what I'm experiencing, but I'll try to get eyes on it regardless.

[BaconSteve]

[Phil B.]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

shotgunning much?

[BaconSteve]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

Hey, I try not to but... sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures. ;-)

[tech28]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

Common problem, so far, no solutions that I have found. From firmware, formatter pwb, solenoid replacement, cold reset, ect, ect, ect. We have run into a whole bunch of these machine's with the problem., HP 2000 series, HP 400 series, zilch, gotten to the point that we just replace the whole machine(if customer wants) they are cheap enough now, 25-50 apiece from wholesalers. Not worth the time, especially when there isn't a solution to the problem. Have heard many possible remedies, but, nothing. Good luck, if you do find one, please post.

[pebkac]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

Have heard many possible remedies, but, nothing.

That's the conclusion that I had come to. Thanks for the confirmation.

[dsmith46]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

I had an HP M452, which is a newer model, act the exact same way. Luckily I had another 452 that ran good, but with a bad fuser. I tried a NEW Tray 2 pickup assembly; no change. Swapped boards, no change. I ended up taking the fuser out of the original problem machine and put it in the parts machine and sent it back to the customer. They were within a thousand pages of each other, and both under 30k total count. Very odd problem. The crappy part about these cheap machines is that there is no diagnostic menu to troubleshoot.

Good luck!

[Lance15]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

Have seen a few of these "designs" suffer from DC Controller issues.

[printertech9381093]

Re: HP M451 Jam in tray 1

<sub>I had an issue just like this one. The problem was caused by the tray 1 paper sensor always being "on" so the printer thought that paper was ready. To test this, reset all settings, then set the paper size for tray 1 to something other than letter (e.g. legal). Try printing any report again and it should attempt to pickup from tray 2 since it's configured for "letter" and the default is "letter" for the printer when all settings are reset.

The fix is to either replace that sensor or leave the paper type to something other than what's normally printed which is usually letter or A4 depending on where you're located.

Hope that helps.</sub>