HP 8100 - toner low, but the cartridge is new

[jmorris]

we have a HP8100 which displays a message that the toner is low. Someone changed the cartridge without checking to see how many pages had printed and a week later they had the same message. I went up to take a look and found a toner spill inside the printer and cleaned it up, but the message remains. We know the cartridge is good because we put it in another printer to verify.

Any ideas or suggestions would b greatly appreciated.

thanks!

[Big Al]

I have seen this problem several times, but have not worked on an 8100.
Usually happens on the Color Lasers after a toner spill. Toner is mostly plastic powder and a small film of it on a contact can block the current flow. Look at your cartridge. There will be several electrical contacts that connect it to the print engine. Then look at the corresponding places in the printer and clean them well. The toner contains a very small amount of magnetic iron oxide so magnets can stir up the toner and the toner will carry a small amount of current so the printer knows the toner is low when the current flow stops. Hope this helps.

Al