Lexmark Z51 cartridge carrier jam

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

"Dudley Brooks" <dbrooks@runforyourlife.org> wrote in message
news:MrTJe.2896$Wi6.517@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Four seconds after I turn on my Lexmark Z51 the cartridge carrier slams hard
> up against the opposite (left) side and makes a terrible grinding noise for
> five seconds. Then the Power On/Off light flashes twice every four seconds
> ("carrier jam", of course).

I am not familiar with the Z51, but generally the carriage position is guided
by a thin mostly clear encoder strip. If this becomes dislodged it could cause
the issue you describe. See the following for the general idea of what you are
looking for:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Docume...
Ignore the part about cleaning, make sure the strip has not become dislodged.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Bob Headrick wrote:
> "Dudley Brooks" <dbrooks@runforyourlife.org> wrote in message
> news:MrTJe.2896$Wi6.517@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
>>Four seconds after I turn on my Lexmark Z51 the cartridge carrier slams hard
>>up against the opposite (left) side and makes a terrible grinding noise for
>>five seconds. Then the Power On/Off light flashes twice every four seconds
>>("carrier jam", of course).
>
>
> I am not familiar with the Z51, but generally the carriage position is guided
> by a thin mostly clear encoder strip. If this becomes dislodged it could cause
> the issue you describe. See the following for the general idea of what you are
> looking for:
> http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Docume...
> Ignore the part about cleaning, make sure the strip has not become dislodged.
>
> Regards,
> Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
Thanks for the info. It doesn't appear to be dislodged, in that it goes
straight across from a contact on one side of the inside of the case to
the corresponding contact on the other side. Can it be dislodged from
the back of the cartridge carrier? I can't see behind it very well, but
a protruding contact on the back of the carrier does seem to be pushing
it back slightly (which I assume *is* the correct behavior) and sliding
along it.

I tried cleaning it anyway, since the page you sited lists slamming to
the left side of the printer as one of the symptoms requiring cleaning.

The problem persists.

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Dudley Brooks wrote:
> Bob Headrick wrote:
>
>> "Dudley Brooks" <dbrooks@runforyourlife.org> wrote in message
>> news:MrTJe.2896$Wi6.517@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>>
>>> Four seconds after I turn on my Lexmark Z51 the cartridge carrier
>>> slams hard up against the opposite (left) side and makes a terrible
>>> grinding noise for five seconds. Then the Power On/Off light flashes
>>> twice every four seconds ("carrier jam", of course).
>>
>>
>>
>> I am not familiar with the Z51, but generally the carriage position is
>> guided by a thin mostly clear encoder strip. If this becomes
>> dislodged it could cause the issue you describe. See the following
>> for the general idea of what you are looking for:
>> http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Docume...
>> Ignore the part about cleaning, make sure the strip has not become
>> dislodged.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
>
> Thanks for the info. It doesn't appear to be dislodged, in that it goes
> straight across from a contact on one side of the inside of the case to
> the corresponding contact on the other side. Can it be dislodged from
> the back of the cartridge carrier? I can't see behind it very well, but
> a protruding contact on the back of the carrier does seem to be pushing
> it back slightly (which I assume *is* the correct behavior) and sliding
> along it.

Another source told me to pull the encoder strip slightly forward and
down, to re-seat it. This worked!
>
> I tried cleaning it anyway, since the page you sited lists slamming to
> the left side of the printer as one of the symptoms requiring cleaning.
>
> The problem persists.

Now it's fixed. Possibly the cleaning helped too, who knows. Thanks
for referring me to that site.