LaserJet 5000 Pickup Roller Problem 250 Sheet Tray

[Jeff10]

Hi,

I am still struggling with a problem of paper not being picked up and processed through the LaserJet 5000 from the 250 sheet tray used to process 11" X 17" paper.

I bought a printer maintenance kit from Printer Techs several years ago. The kit worked great, and with the great instructions, I was able to install everything in the kit.

Shortly after I installed everything I began having problems with the 11" X 17" paper fed by the 250 sheet tray now located in the number 2 position. In a nutshell, the paper feeds out about 1/4" from the tray, and then there is an error message on the printer that says I need to open and close the lid.

I have tried several things to correct the problem. I have a rubber rejuvenator that I use on other office equipment. I have treated the pick-up roller and separation pad with this material. I have the same issue with the paper not feeding through. It starts, and then it stops.

(I actually thought that perhaps the separation pad shouldn't be too tacky, so I cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol thinking that the pick-up roller would grip the paper and the separation pad would let it slide along easier. In any event, it didn't work any better after cleaning the separation pad.)

I have also wondered if the the springs on the tray mechanism are too strong. The printer is over 10 years old; but, it still works great. I do realize that it is getting along in years.

I would really like to be able to feed 11" X 17" paper through the printer from the tray; but, it is really hard to do now. I can always feed the paper manually; but, I would prefer to correct the problem.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Jeff

[cs_steve]

A couple questions:
Is this happening on all prints from this tray, or do some pages make it out ok?
What error message do you get on the screen? (13.x??)
If you switch in regular paper instead of 11x17 does it run ok?

[Jeff10]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your quick reply.

I can answer one of the questions... sometimes the tray works to feed 11" X 17", and sometimes it doesn't. Typically I can clean, or in some cases treat, the feed roller and it will work on 2 or 3 sheets (buy very seldom more than that).

When I get back in the office in the morning I will capture the exact message that appears, and also try some 8-1/2" X 11" paper from that tray.

Jeff

[Jeff10]

Hi Steve,

The error message that occurs when trying to feed 11" X 17" paper from tray 2 is:

"13.1 Paper Jam
Open Input Trays..."

(The first sheet of 11" X 17" failed to print when I tried it this morning.)

I also loaded 8-1/2" X 11" paper into the same tray and started a print job. It worked well. I only printed 3 pages; but, there was no hesitation on the part of the printer. I can try running more; but, I'm not sure it will show too much more.

I really think the problem has to do with how much force needs to be used to pull the 11" X 17" sheet from the tray into the printer. I can feel how much force is needed and it doesn't surprise me too much that it can't get farther along.

FWIW, I have also experimented in the past with loading only a few blank sheets into the tray to maybe reduce the affect of the spring force. And, I have wondered about trying to modify the blue plastic clips that keep the blank paper in place at the top of the tray so that there is less surface area to restrict the paper pull by the roller. So far no success with either.

Thanks for your help.

Jeff

[Big Al]

Several years ago we had some HP 5000's and they had a similar problem. I ordered a bunch of the rollers and replaced all of them and it always worked better. We were using 8.5 X 11 paper though. The rollers were genuine HP and were made in Japan. The used roller and the new one looked the same but the feel of the rubber was a little different. The new roller felt just a little more supple.

On some occasions we had weird paper feed problems and it did turn out to be the tray. We could not find anything wrong with that tray but it just did not work well.

You might try looking at the tray very carefully. It may be cracked somewhere, a spring out of place, metal tray under the paper bent just a little?

Have you tried another kind of 11 X 17 paper? A fresh pack?

Good hunting!

Al

[Jeff10]

Hi Al,

Thanks for your input.

I really can't see anything wrong with the tray. Everything looks in order.

I have tried new packages of paper in the past, too. It didn't resolve the problem.

The rollers that I replaced previously were from Printer Techs, and I am pretty sure they were genuine HP.

Do you know if anyone with Printer Techs participates in this forum? I might consider replacing the tray, or the roller; but, I would prefer to not have to buy the whole maintenance kit.

Thanks for your input. It may just be the tray.... and there might not be anything I can do to fix it.

Take Care

Jeff

[cs_steve]

Hey Jeff, you can give us (PrinterTechs) a call @ 866-352-7108 if you want to just try another set of rollers ...

It definitely sounds like a roller issue. Since it works OK on regular paper, I'm guessing the 11x17 paper you use has a different texture than the 8.5x11 paper, and if it's a more 'dusty' type it's easier for the rollers to slip.

[Jeff10]

Hi Steve,

I wanted to write and let you know that the problem with the 250 sheet tray has been solved. (It's possible that this solution may be a temporary fluke; but, I am pretty certain the solution has been found.)

I wasn't convinced the other day when we spoke on the phone that if I ordered a new roller and separation pad that the problem would be solved. The current pad and roller are in pretty good shape.

I was determined to exhaust all possibilities this evening before giving up. I had the 250 sheet tray apart making sure everything was functioning. Everything looked good, and once again I made sure the roller and separation pad were lint free.

I still experienced problems. After trying several prints I took a closer look at the sheets that failed to feed. Under magnifying glass I could see a small notch on each failed sheet. Sometimes it was slightly off-center about 1-9/16 to the right, sometimes that same distance to the left. I was no more than about 1/64" deep into the paper, and about 1/16" wide. Based upon how far each failed sheet would feed out of the tray before stopping, and the defect mark in the paper, it looked like the problem involved the ribs in the tray to the outside of the separation pad (on each side).

Looking closer, the ribs in the tray stuck up higher at those points because the separation pad was higher closer to the centerline of the printer than to the outside ribs. (Sorry if this terminology is off.) It looked as though the paper was becoming jammed against these outside ribs. Sometimes it was on one side, sometimes it was on the other.

I used an Xacto knife to contour each of those two outside ribs so they had a rounded profile that was lower and also eliminated the catch points with the vertical surfaces.

It has worked on each sheet that I have tried so far.

I believe that if the pickup pad base were 1/16" thicker, this problem would not have occured. I don't know if there was a change in pick-up pad assembly, or if this has been my problem all along. I probably could have shimmed the pick-up pad assembly, too. In any event, it now works.

I hope this might help someone else with this little gremlin of a problem.

Thanks for speaking with me on the phone last week. If I need to buy replacement parts in the future, you guys will be my first choice.

Take Care

Jeff