Screeching HP Photosmart 1115

[Richard Steinfeld]

My Photosmart 1115 has taken to whining when the carriage is moving to
the right. I previously had a couple of "senior moment" accidents in
which with the color cartridge removed, I closed the printer cover
without remembering to flip the cartridge retainer down, causing the
carriage assembly to jam against the housing and make horrible gear
sripping-type sounds.

I recently got similar noises momentarily during printing, twice, but
not since then. In general, the printer is working fine now, with no
unusual noises other than the aforementioned whine/screech when the
carriage moves to the right.

I bought this printer at a thrift shop. The counter shows that it's
virtually new -- it had less than a hundred pages on it when I bought
it. I've used it continuouly for a few months without problems other
than cartridge failures (head clogs).

What should I do? I figure that I've got a lube problem or dirt. I've
got, on hand, three different Dow Corning silicon greases. I've also got
a tube of genuine IBM Selectric typewriter grease -- some sort of
outstanding "new-age" industrial lubricant; I've got no idea what's in
it -- it's got a "siliconish" feel.

I'm open to suggestions. Really open. Come on, people: spiel. I'm
depending on you!

Richard

 

[Tony]

My Photosmart 1115 has taken to whining when the carriage is moving to
the right. I previously had a couple of "senior moment" accidents in
which with the color cartridge removed, I closed the printer cover
without remembering to flip the cartridge retainer down, causing the
carriage assembly to jam against the housing and make horrible gear
sripping-type sounds.

I recently got similar noises momentarily during printing, twice, but
not since then. In general, the printer is working fine now, with no
unusual noises other than the aforementioned whine/screech when the
carriage moves to the right.

I bought this printer at a thrift shop. The counter shows that it's
virtually new -- it had less than a hundred pages on it when I bought
it. I've used it continuouly for a few months without problems other
than cartridge failures (head clogs).

What should I do? I figure that I've got a lube problem or dirt. I've
got, on hand, three different Dow Corning silicon greases. I've also got
a tube of genuine IBM Selectric typewriter grease -- some sort of
outstanding "new-age" industrial lubricant; I've got no idea what's in
it -- it's got a "siliconish" feel.

I'm open to suggestions. Really open. Come on, people: spiel. I'm
depending on you!

Richard

Richard, you aren't the first to forget the cartridge clip!!! Generally this
does no harm, the printer recovers after a little lie down
You might try lubricating the carriage rod, you can't miss it, it is the heavy
stainless steel rod that the carriage travels on.
You can use a light machine oil (not grease) but you need to be very careful
not to overlubricate it, you don't need oil dripping into the printer. I
generally use a paper kitchen towel with a few drops of oil on it and wipe a
"very" light coat on a couple of places on the rod and then print a page so
that the carriage distributes the oil.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Al Bundy]

Richard, you aren't the first to forget the cartridge clip!!! Generally this
does no harm, the printer recovers after a little lie down
You might try lubricating the carriage rod, you can't miss it, it is the heavy
stainless steel rod that the carriage travels on.
You can use a light machine oil (not grease) but you need to be very careful
not to overlubricate it, you don't need oil dripping into the printer. I
generally use a paper kitchen towel with a few drops of oil on it and wipe a
"very" light coat on a couple of places on the rod and then print a page so
that the carriage distributes the oil.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

I run a zig-zag tiny stream across the bar and then wipe it around
with my finger and close the door. Thins oil is the best. Turbine oil
would be the ideal choice, but 3&1 type sewing machine oil is fine. I
never had one fail to self correct after such a malfunction either.
However, I did have one begin to make a similar noise and then the
carriage would tend to go out of time only when printing multiple
pages with the Adobe application. It still works fine in other apps,
but continues to make the screeching noise. Go figure.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Thank you both, Al and Tony. How wonderful Usenet is! If only more
people knew about Usenet we'd have more people among us. And, uh, more
trolls. Tony, you are the only reason why I have not blocked gmail! I'm
serious.

Bob - what's the official stuff?

Now, to see if I understand both of you: you're telling me that, in
fact, the proper lubricant is a good grade of petroleum oil. From the
old days of working on audio machinery, especially turntables, here's
what I've got:

- A half-gallon of "Gas and Steam Turbine Oil," described as a "light
15-weight oil."
- Various quantities of all weights of Mobil 1 on the US market. This
runs from 0W something to 15W-50.
- 3 in 1 somewhere around the house. It's long been agreed among
professional repair people that this is an excellent lubricant.
- And some sort of nice imitation 3-in-1 handed out to customers of Chevron.

I'm amazed. I was certain that the lube would have been one of those
ultra-cool specialty lubes like a light silicon grease. One reason why
I've tended to avoid natural petroleum lubes on audio mechanicals is
because they tend to hold abrasive dust. But maybe there's something I
don't know.

I also don't know what the assembly consists of. I had assumed that it
was some form of plastic that slides on the rail. What is it?

I understand the technique to use. Now, among these, what do you all
recommend?

Thanks again.

Richard

 

[Tony]

Thank you both, Al and Tony. How wonderful Usenet is! If only more
people knew about Usenet we'd have more people among us. And, uh, more
trolls. Tony, you are the only reason why I have not blocked gmail! I'm
serious.

Bob - what's the official stuff?

Now, to see if I understand both of you: you're telling me that, in
fact, the proper lubricant is a good grade of petroleum oil. From the
old days of working on audio machinery, especially turntables, here's
what I've got:

- A half-gallon of "Gas and Steam Turbine Oil," described as a "light
15-weight oil."
- Various quantities of all weights of Mobil 1 on the US market. This
runs from 0W something to 15W-50.
- 3 in 1 somewhere around the house. It's long been agreed among
professional repair people that this is an excellent lubricant.
- And some sort of nice imitation 3-in-1 handed out to customers of Chevron.

I'm amazed. I was certain that the lube would have been one of those
ultra-cool specialty lubes like a light silicon grease. One reason why
I've tended to avoid natural petroleum lubes on audio mechanicals is
because they tend to hold abrasive dust. But maybe there's something I
don't know.

I also don't know what the assembly consists of. I had assumed that it
was some form of plastic that slides on the rail. What is it?

I understand the technique to use. Now, among these, what do you all
recommend?

Thanks again.

Richard

Richard
3-in-1 is fine, sparingly applied. The carriage construction varies a bit model
to model but usually has a pair of bearings that look like Phosphor Bronze but
may be something different (?) Some use a different construction that appear to
be plastic based. In terms of the materials used I am certainly no authority.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Thanks, Fellas.

I think that my screeching was caused by some black pigment on the rod.
Cleaned the rod and grabbed the first thing off my regular lube
collection, which was Mobil 1 0W something. As described, it sounds to
me like the sliding bearings are oilite or something similar, so the
ultra-light oil would just "goose" the rest of it. I couldn't find my
turbine oil except the huge container of it.

There's still some gear grinding when the carriage moves all the way to
the left. ????? Otherwise, printing's OK.

I found that what I assume is the "spittoon" is mucky, with one tall
stellactite of intense disgust. Is this entire thing what's called the
"capping station?" In other words, just a seal around both entire
cartridges? I'm missing something.

Delighted to have my printer back working again, I think. I'm enthralled
about how this thing calibrates itself with purple light. Unreal.

Richard

 

[Tony]

Thanks, Fellas.

I think that my screeching was caused by some black pigment on the rod.
Cleaned the rod and grabbed the first thing off my regular lube
collection, which was Mobil 1 0W something. As described, it sounds to
me like the sliding bearings are oilite or something similar, so the
ultra-light oil would just "goose" the rest of it. I couldn't find my
turbine oil except the huge container of it.

There's still some gear grinding when the carriage moves all the way to
the left. ????? Otherwise, printing's OK.

I found that what I assume is the "spittoon" is mucky, with one tall
stellactite of intense disgust. Is this entire thing what's called the
"capping station?" In other words, just a seal around both entire
cartridges? I'm missing something.

Delighted to have my printer back working again, I think. I'm enthralled
about how this thing calibrates itself with purple light. Unreal.

Richard

Richard
If the "one tall stellactite of intense disgust" has a smooth flat top to it
you need to remove it before the carriage starts to spray ink around the
printer.
Easy to remove, I think there may be instructions on the HP web site. Failing
that you can get the carriage to move to the centre of the printer, pull the
power cord and carefully scoop the "disgust" up with a couple of tongue
depressors or similar, dispose of it in a plastic bag or similar.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging