Laserjet 4000 "Tray 1 Load Plain Paper" Driving me crazy!

[Philadelphia Frank]

Please somebody help me!

I have a Laserjet 4000 that has been working flawlessly until I jammed
it. I put 10 sheets in tray 1 and all ten got sucked into the printer.
I had it repaired at an authorized HP repair facility (for $200).

Now, every so often, when I try to print I get a flashing orange
attention light and the message "Tray 1 Load Plain Paper". I have to
pull out the regular paper tray and put it back in before the thing
will print.

I'm not trying to use tray 1. I use the regular lower tray. I looked
around and wiggled anything that looked like it might be a switch but
could not find anything conclusive.

It is very frustrating. I never know when the problem is going to
appear or how many times I have to reinsert the lower tray until it
will print.

I don't want to take it back to the repair shop because it isn't easy
to get it there, I don't want to spend another $200 and I suspect they
will not believe me if I say they caused the problem.

Does anyone recognize the problem and can they suggest a solution I
can try at home?

Than you for your time and help;

Frank

 

[irv]

is the printer set to use tray 1 first.
maybe if you set it to use tray 2 first, it will not look to tray 1.
probably some sensor is not working or out of alignment.
not within my expertise.
any warranty from the repair shop.
maybe call them and they can tell you what to do since they don't want it
back either.
also, is the software set to print from tray 2.
just a thoughts.

lastly the 4000 and 4050 can be found used for pretty cheap these days.
picked up a 4050 for $35 + $6 i had to pay for some missing pickup rollers.

good luck.

 

[Fred McKenzie]

Now, every so often, when I try to print I get a flashing orange
attention light and the message "Tray 1 Load Plain Paper". I have to
pull out the regular paper tray and put it back in before the thing
will print.

I'm not trying to use tray 1. I use the regular lower tray. I looked
around and wiggled anything that looked like it might be a switch but
could not find anything conclusive.

It is very frustrating. I never know when the problem is going to
appear or how many times I have to reinsert the lower tray until it
will print.

Frank-

When you print something of a certain size and that size tray is not in
position, the printer assumes the correct size paper must be in Tray 1.

Take a look at the lower tray and see if its paper setting might have
been bumped out of position, so the printer is not reliably sensing the
paper size. Also look for damage spots on both the tray and where it
goes. Could there be a scrap of paper blocking a microswitch or optical
sensor?

Fred

 

[Philadelphia Frank]

Thank you for the help. I tried setting up the printer to only use
tray 2. That didn't make a difference.

I also noticed that the 4000 is selling for less than the repair
costs. It is such a good printer I don't want to throw it out.

I'll keep trying to find a solution.

Thanks again;

Frank

 

[Silicon Sam]

Thank you for the help. I tried setting up the printer to only use
tray 2. That didn't make a difference.

I also noticed that the 4000 is selling for less than the repair
costs. It is such a good printer I don't want to throw it out.

I'll keep trying to find a solution.

Thanks again;

Frank

Just make sure that your tray 2 is set up to use Letter paper, not
something else. I have a fully loaded 4000 I am selling soon, has the
2 trays, duplexer, maxed memory, etc.. If you need a duplexer, I have
some extras of those too.

I just got a 5000 since I needed to print 11x17. Got every
installable option on it. Darn thing sits just over 2 feet tall
though!

Raymond