I've got a Brother HL8V laser printer, it's been a good workhorse for years,
but today when I started it up it took a minute while the green light
flashed (normal) but then beeped and displayed '50 FUSER MALF' in the LCD
display. I'd like to tackle this repair myself but haven't got a clue where
to start. I don't know what a fuser is or what it looks like or what it
does. I tried www.brother.co.uk but the support there is pathetic, and I
couldn't find much when I googled around. Does this message point to
something specific or is it just a general area thing?
Thanks for any help.

"anon" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I've got a Brother HL8V laser printer, it's been a good workhorse
for years,
> but today when I started it up it took a minute while the green
light
> flashed (normal) but then beeped and displayed '50 FUSER MALF' in
the LCD
> display. I'd like to tackle this repair myself but haven't got a
clue where
> to start. I don't know what a fuser is or what it looks like or
what it
> does. I tried www.brother.co.uk but the support there is pathetic,
and I
> couldn't find much when I googled around. Does this message point
to
> something specific or is it just a general area thing?
> Thanks for any help.
>

There are three main causes for the 50 error on that printer,

1. The most common of these in the UK is the fuser lamp blown, this
is a Quartz Halogen lamp that heats the fuser roller. The fuser
assembly is that rectangular black plastic thingy with the green
coated cover on top that you place the felt wand in when you renew
the toner cart, it sits just behind the toner cartridge and is
secured to the base by four screws one near each corner. It's very
easy to remove and if your any good with simple mechanical work you
ought to be able to do it your self.

2. The second most common cause of the 50 error is failure of the AC
power supply, often it's the fuser safety board in the top of the PSU
that's the trouble. As it's difficult to get the safety board a
complete AC psu is usually required.

In the first case IT IS ESSENTIAL to test the fuser properly, using a
VOM, to make sure it's the lamp that gone and not the Thermal Fuse,
if it's the lamp that is gone then it's a simple replacement of the
lamp, however it the Thermal Fuse is gone then you havto replace both
the AC power supply and the whole fuser as the overheat normall
destroys the coating on the top roller leaving marks on everything
you print.

To find out how to remove the Fuser and test it go to
www.fixyourownprinter.com, they have an appropriate page describing
what connections on the fuser to test, however you need to remove
some of the plastic covers on the assembly to test it properly. If
you don't test the fuser properly you may simply blow the new one
when you fit it requiring a second replacement and the AC PSU.

If you don't have any mechanical ability, DONT try repairing this
machine as you will destroy it, give it to someone who know what
their at.
--
---
Cheers,
Jonathan Lowe.
/
don't bother me with insignificiant nonsence such as spelling,
I don't care if it spelt properly
/
Sometimes I fly and sometimes I just dream about it.
:-)
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