5100 tray 3 not feeding

[frednc]

The tray worked until I lifted the printer off and put it back on with the power ON. The display on the printer went blank when I put it back on the paper tray (3). It wouldn't come back on so I took the top off the printer, disconnected the display panel cable, plugged it back in and then the printer would power up and the display panel illuminated. Now tray3 doesn't feed paper. The printer knows it is there. The paper jam is false because it never even picks up the paper.

We have a HP5100TN with the 250sheet tray 3 option. The printer doesn't seem to know the tray 3 exists. Never tries to feed paper just displays "13.1 Paper Jam" error.
The other day I lifted the printer off the feed tray to examine the feed rollers that were making marks on paper. I did not turn off the power first. When I put the printer back down the display went blank. I unplugged everything and waited awhile and then the printer came back online. Prints fine from Tray 2 and Tray 1. Doesn't ever seem to get the rollers going in tray 3 before the paper jam signal. Did I blow a fuse or something?

[ty cobb]

13.1 PAPER JAM
or
13.2 PAPER JAM


The event log message for a paper-delay jam at the paper feed area is 13.1.
The event log message for a paper-stopped jam at the paper feed area is 13.2.
1. Make sure that paper trays are loaded correctly so that paper can feed from the
tray.
2. Check the input area for obstructions, such as print media in the path, damage
to the registration assembly, or an out-of-place transfer roller.
3. Check PS402 and PS403 for correct operation. Replace any defective sensors
or flags.

[redcow]

Did tray 3 ever work?
When you try to feed from 3, do you get a jam(paper actually stuck somewhere), or is it a false jam(no paper anywhere)?
Print a config page. Is tray 3 listed?
Wait a minute, just saying print from tray 3, means the printer knows it's there. Back to the other points 1)did it ever work? 2)actual jam 3)jam but no paper. Can you swap tray 2 with 3?

You may have a bad tray 3 assembly

[laserlady]

I had a customer with the same problem - one of their employees was attempting to free a paper jam when he lifted the top of the printer from the optional Tray 3 unit while the printer was still on. After that, they were not able to print from Tray 3 at all. The printer did recognize the presence of Tray 3 and correctly identified the size, but it would immediately go to Error 13.1.50 the instant a print job was sent to the printer. Trays 1 and 2 functioned just fine. It took a while before I got the "truth" out of the employees (which just wasted a lot of time!) - so once I did that, I started suspecting they may have shorted out the Paper Feed Controller PCA on the Tray 3 unit. I got the part in yesterday and installed it today, and I was right. The board was toast. Working just fine now with the new board installed. Part No. for the board is RG5-7197-000. Hope this helps!

[cs_steve]

Yes, you shouldn't have to replace the entire cassette, just the PCA board...
the "electronics" have failed but the mechanics should be fine...
and maybe when it's fixed attach a Post-It with a note: "Power off before removing base"! :-)