Hp officejet 7310 all in one Carriage jam

[aitnewbie]

This error does not go away. We have tried all and it will not go away. We have tried the cleaning of the tray were the cartridges sit and we have tried alot of other stuff. I am trying to fix this or decide if it is un fixable the links to the HP site are no good they only tell you how to clear a jam not fix this error. Please some one help me. I also am looking for some schematics on the inside of that printer. Like the rubber band area and all the gadgets that the carriage plays with????????????????????? :mad:

[Big Al]

First you will not get any help from HP on this and will definately not get any schematics. These are considered disposable machines. Is it still under warranty? If not then here are some things you can try: - check the locator strip. It is a plastic strip with lots of vertical black lines. If it is dirty then the printer will lose track of where the ink cartridges are.Clean it with a qtip and some glass cleaner or water based detergent like 409. - Check the round stainless steel rod that the carriage rides on. It needs a light coat of oil or grease, with emphasis on the light. If it gets dry it adds drag to the motor that moves the carriage and the electronics will assume it is a carriage jam. - Check the spitoon, the place on the right where the ink cartridges are cleaned. If this is full it will overflow and the accumulated ink will rub on the cartridges and cause a false paper jam. Other causes are mechanical parts not working properly or electronic problems. If so then this one becomes parts or recycle or skeet. There are some forums out there that are more active on these machines, most of this forum seems to be lasers and special printers per the users preferences.

Al

[aitnewbie]

I am trying to see if the rubberband type pulley in the back? Is that connected to the carriage? It has a piece of plastic on it?

[Big Al]

There is a notched belt that goes on the motor pulley on one side and an idler pulley on the other side. The idler keeps tension on the belt. This belt is attached to the carriage and moves the ink cartridges back and forth. The locator strip is a clear plastic strip with a lot of black vertical lines on it. This strip passes through the carriage so when the carriage moves the electronics can keep track of where the carriage is. There is a sensor on the carriage that reads the stripes on the locator strip. If the strip gets contaminated with ink then the carriage will either stop or slam to the end of its travel. If it stops it will report a jam. Over eager jam clearing can damage this strip and the printer may think it is jammed. If the tension spring on the strip gets deformed and the strip is loose you will get blurred printout.

If the tension on the strip is normal and it is clean and not damaged then check the silver rod the carriage rides on. It should feel oily. If dry it can cause false jams.

The electronics in these small printers are flakey and seem to often be the source of false jams.

Hope this helps. I tend to discourage people from buying these All-In-One units since when one function breaks you have to replace the whole unit. No way to fix a serious problem since it will cost more to repair that to buy a new unit. Parts are not available for most of these things.

Al