Mission critical P4015 with an identity crisis!

[GeoGoGo]

Hi Everyone,

First off, let me thank you all for the assistance with the never ending parade of printer questions. Now that you are all sufficiently buttered up, I have a problem.

I have a client with a mission critical P4015. The initial problem was that it was throwing 41.8 errors almost all the time. The display shows 41.8 but the event log shows 41.08.00; I don't know if this is a symptom of the problem or not but forewarned is forearmed.

Also, the machine will print the first config page and keep spinning. The panel shoes PROCESSING and the data light is blinking but it will just run for minutes. Sometime it will spit out the other two pages sometimes not. A power cycle will take care of that but that is not a convenient solution.

After some time with HP support, they determined it was a bad signal to the I/O slot and recommend replacing the formatter. Well, I replaced the formatter and now all hell has broken loose! The machine now thinks its a P4515. I gave the unit time to write the settings to the replacement formatter and updated the firmware but it still believes it is a P4515.

Now there are new errors in the event log: 50.9, 13.2, 10.70, 99.00.18, 49.23.23. When you print out the log, the dates are messed up. You can see the date the original board was in place, the change to the new board with the P4515 settings, and the firmware change but they are not in chronological order. And the cycle count is higher for one entry and then a later entry shows a lower cycle count. And just to make it a complete exercise in futility, the original 41.8 issue and the printer just spinning saying PROCESSING still exists.

I am totally at a loss on this one. I am attaching configuration pages and event logs from pre-formatter replacement and post-replacement. I am hoping someone can help me out with this or at least point me in the right direction. Thank you all in advance for the help. Have a great (but soggy) day!

George D.

PS: The pdfs are too big large to upload here. I have put them up on MEGAUPLOAD. Both files are 2.42 MB.

Pre-formatter replacement: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9VSUM7FS
Post formatter replacement: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KOQ21SGI

[Big Al]

Just a some thoughts: it sounds like you got the wrong formatter. They may look the same and be quite similar but there must be differences. Second, if the formatter has a memory DIMM it could be bad. We have seen these cause some weird problems. Check to see if the 4015 and the 4515 use the same DIMM. It might also pay to run an Ethernet cable across the floor temporarily or move the printer nearer the server and use a short cable to see if the installed cable is damaged or picking up noise from a flourescent light or an air conditioner. Without a sister printer to swap parts with these can be tough problems. If this printer has a slot for a Jet Direct NIC you might try disabling the embedded NIC port and try it with a card. Most of the newer printers want a model 620 NIC, some do not like the 600, 610, 615 NIC's.

PS. I did some further research and it seems a 41.8 is usually a paper size issue. This could be the paper is late getting out of the tray because the tray is set too tight, usually on the front and back ends. Could also be the pickup roller is dusty or tired. Has there been a brand change in the paper being used? Try it from tray one? I would put the origional formatter back in if you still have it and approach it from a mechanical angle. How many pages has this one printed? Try clearing and resetting the paper size settings in the maintenance panel?

Please let us know what you find!

Al

[GeoGoGo]

Al,

Thanks for the reply. According to the packaging and the tech at the supplier, the P4015 and P4515 take the same formatter. He told me the printer will be faster now as it is basically a P4515. HUH???The machine does not have a memory DIMM installed.

It only has 83K pages on it but I will check on the rollers and the tray size issue. Now that you mention it, I remember seeing the medical forms had a bit of a jagged edge on one side. That is something to think about. I will check on that as well; I do not believe there was a brand change in the paper.

If replacing the original formatter, will the original settings be retained on it or will the new P4515 settings be written to it? Thank you again, Al. I am open to any other ideas so keep them flying fast and furious!

George D.

[Big Al]

The new 4515 formatter will need the settings for the paper you use, the printer serial number (not usually an issue) and the page count, as far as I know. After 45 years of fixing printers I have become a little paranoid about complicated parts. If the problem got worse after installing the new (recycled) formatter that tells me something might be wrong with that board, IMHO.

Redcow would probably suggest reloading the latest drivers too. A corrupted driver can drive you nuts!

You could also have two problems here, which makes it at least four times as difficult to troubleshoot.

Regards,

Al

[redcow]

Al is right. After you replace a part and the problem gets worse, the part you replaced is usually bad. If you still have the original formatter put it back in to confirm that the spare is bad.
In any case they sold you the wrong formatter. Get them to replace it with one that says it is a P4015. Your DC controller and the ECU are both set up as a P4015. It's no wonder that it is spitting out all those errors.

After you replace it then load the updated drivers

[GeoGoGo]

Is it Red or Mr. Cow? LOL! Thank you for the information. Now the box I have is labelled CB438-69001 HP P4015n/P4515n formatter board. According to Parts Surfer, it has been superceeded by CB438-69002 and they are both listed as for the P4015n and P4515n. The original formatter board is the new part number (69002) but I did not notice on the replacement one. Are you suggesting that the board I installed is defective or the incorrect board?

Also, does the DC controller write the settings to the formatter and vice versa or is it a strictly one way transfer? I ask because if I reinstall the original board, will the DC controller write the P4515 setings over the P4015 settings or does the DC controller hold only the P4015 settings?

Thanks for all the help so far guys! It is really appreciated!

[MichaelTech]

NVRAM on both boards. Only change one at a time. Then do an NVRAM Init. up to three times to get synced. Interesting about the board being for both models. The DC NVRAM should see this, and write to it correctly. The DC cont. could have been corrupted, and needs replaceing. The formatter you got was used in a 4515 probably, so redcow is right about getting another one.

[redcow]

Assuming that the formatter didn't give you any new and different error messages and you or your customer don't mind reading P4515 on the config sheet or on Web Admin, you can leave the formatter in the printer. It won't hurt anything.
But as was said earlier this board is giving you different errors. Try it in another printer if you can, but myself, I would have it replaced. There is a PJL file that HP uses to set the board to the correct printer type. But, they arn't going to give it to you. So request a replacement.

You are right, in that the same board is used in both the 4015 and the 4515. My original post was incorrect about having an incorrect board. MT is probably correct in saying that the formatter was tested after being repaired in a 4515. This is a known problem with the formatters and these printers.

[GeoGoGo]

Thanks everyone for the assistance with this. I am going to order a replacement formatter and see if I can get them to shell out for a DC controller as well. I will keep you guys informed as to the resolution.

Thank you all again for the time!

[cs_steve]

HP says a bad I/O port, but the problem occurs while printing a Configuration page. :-) No data is coming down the I/O port when printing Configuration page.

Did you try a different fuser?

We have seen fairly common on these models when a fuser is beginning to fail but not "completely dead" that the fuser intermittently stops heating up properly in the middle of a print job, and instead of triggering a '50' error as you would expect it does on most models, the printer MAY just cycle endlessly.

That would be my guess instead of a formatter issue... installing the "P4515" formatter shouldn't have really caused any problems per se; it would simply upgrade the machine to a P4515.

Sorry to say I'm guessing it's a fuser and perhaps HP wasted your time on this one.