Sharp JX-9460/MicroLaser Pro toner/drum mysteries deepen

[Henry]

Folks:

My elderly neighbor has a Sharp JX9460 which is out of toner, near the end
of its second toner cartridge in its long and successful life...so I tried
to help.

If you've seen my previous posts, I was under the impression that it printed
until it was completely out of toner, but that was a misunderstanding. It
was still printing perfectly when last tried, but the toner low message had
been seen.

Ten years on two toner cartridges seemed fair, time to order another.
Following recommendations of 1 new drum per toner, I ordered a new toner
(JX96ND) and a new drum (JX96DR) and set out to make this printer last
another 5 years. I assumed refilled/remanufactured parts were all that
could be found for this very old printer, and would be OK.

Information gathering: My understanding is that the JX-9600 series is the
same engine as the TI MicroLaser Pro series, so I gathered info on both. I
found many (20 or so) postings and documents that described the fuses on the
cartridges, ways of replacing or defeating the fuse--reset mechanism, the
various ways of manipulating the internal counts in printer, the fear of
having to buy new cartridges if you made one mis-step or put an old
cartridge in the printer, yadda yadda yadda.

(Long and frustrating saga omitted)

No matter what I did, with the new cartridges installed, the printer
reported "REPL. TONER". Sometimes immediately, sometime after doing what
seemed like a lot of initializing and some hopeful noises.

Ultimately, I gave up on the new parts and boxed them for return to the
vendor, and I started to prepare my neighbor for the reality of buying a new
printer.

Hmmm... maybe I should put everything back the way it was....and ...one last
try... Lo! Behold! The printer works perfectly with the old supplies.

Probably, the new cartridge WAS defective in some way. (Someone said that
maybe the re-filler failed to put developer in along side the replenished
toner, but I can't find any further information on that.)

But the information I gathered just didn't seem to match what I observed.
For example, I never found a fuse on a cartridge. (I'm an engineer -- I
know what fuses look like.) I never found a press-two-buttons method of
defeating the fuse reset mechanism. The information about how to restore
the internal counters was not effective. Most surprising: None of the
fiddling around --and I did A LOT of fiddling with the internal settings--
seemed to have made a bit of difference. When I powered the printer with
the old cartridges, it simply picked everything up and continued.

So does anyone have the definitive story on replacing the toner and drum on
a JX-9460? Are refilled/remanufactured cartridges risky? Are there
reliable workarounds/resets/fuse defeats for _this_ printer?

Thanks,

Henry

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[Henry]

Hm. I have a TI microLaser 600. Some folks think of the wrong printer.
They say there is a "fuse". But actually my printer doesn't have the
stated fuse. Instead there is a photo darlington around the used fuse
cartridge. If the cartridge is dirty of toner, then the light cannot
pass back and the printer reports "replace toner". Simply clean the
cartridge with COLD water.
Maybe that helps -
Henry

 

[Henry]

Henry:

Thanks for your reply to my post:

Hm. I have a TI microLaser 600.

That would be a "MicroLaser _Pro_ 600" yes?

Some folks think of the wrong printer.

Yes, it would seem so. We are discussing printers containing the JX 9600
printer engine. Some people incorrectly include printers containing other
engines, I think.

For example, there is a JX 9500 printer engine. Maybe people think it is
the same. From what I have read, the JX 9600 is the same as the JX 9400
and JX 9700, but NOT the same as the JX 9500. It is confusing.

Some of the documents I found were from professional printer service
companies. I would expect them to do a better job.

They say there is a "fuse".

Right, a fuse on each cartridge. If I understand correctly, the fuse is
connected to two of the spring contacts. Maybe the fuse is covered with
tape. When the cartridge is first inserted, the printer finds an electrical
path. Then the printer purposely puts too much electrical current through
the fuse, and causes it to break. I guess this is a way of discovering a
new, unused cartridge.

This is the theory, I think. Neither you or I have seen it in actual
practice, it seems.

But actually my printer doesn't have the stated fuse. Instead there is a photo
darlington around the used fuse cartridge.

I guess you see a combination sensor in your printer. One part that sends
out light, and the other senses light that is reflected from a nearby
surface. I have not seen such a sensor near either the drum cartridge or
the toner cartridge.

Can you describe where you find such a sensor in relation to your
cartridges?

If the cartridge is dirty of toner, then the light cannot pass back and the
printer reports "replace toner". Simply clean the cartridge with COLD water.

That sounds like a good solution.

In my case, the old cartridges are grey-colored, and would reflect light
reasonably well. The new cartridges are all black-colored. So this method
would not be very useful for the new cartridges, I think.

Hmmm, also these darlington sensors would seem only to be useful with the
printer powered. I think they are inactive when the printer is turned off,
so I'm not sure how useful they are.
Thanks,

Henry

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[Henry]

Hi!
Hm. I'm a little confused about all your text. Last week my printer
was saying "Toner". I will describe what I have done:
1. squired the toner/OPC unit. Helped the last occurences. Nothing!
2. Opened toner cartridge and shiffled all the used toner off the
wasted toner bottle back into the toner cartridge. That's the way I
"refresh" approx. half the toner I bought before Nothing!
3. Cleaned the now empty used toner bottle under cold water several
times. The plastic is now transparent!! Works!!!

I never seen the optical sensor. The printer is very small inside. I
read about it in a newsgroup.

Yes, my printer is a TI microLaser 600 (exactly written). Have 2MB
RAM, Postscript, Parallel port and LocalTalk, no extension card
installed.

Ciao -
Henry

 

[Henry]

Henry:

Thanks for your response on this post:

Hi!
Hm. I'm a little confused about all your text. Last week my printer
was saying "Toner". I will describe what I have done:

1. squired the toner/OPC unit. Helped the last occurences. Nothing!

Sorry, what did you do with the toner/OPC units?

2. Opened toner cartridge and shiffled all the used toner off the
wasted toner bottle back into the toner cartridge. That's the way I
"refresh" approx. half the toner I bought before Nothing!
3. Cleaned the now empty used toner bottle under cold water several
times. The plastic is now transparent!! Works!!!

I have not located any such bottle, so there's something strange going on.

I downloaded two manuals for the TI 600 Pro. There's no mention for a used
toner bottle in _them_.

I never seen the optical sensor. The printer is very small inside. I
read about it in a newsgroup.

These sensors are quite small and it is quite possible you would not see it
unless you know exactly what to look for.

Yes, my printer is a TI microLaser 600 (exactly written). Have 2MB
RAM, Postscript, Parallel port and LocalTalk, no extension card
installed.

I finally gave up and returned the cartridges for credit (I hope!) from the
vendor.

I did finally see a fuse on one of the cartridges. It is a cylindrical
projection maybe 1/2 inch long, part of it is clear; resembles a very
low-wattage light bulb. If you wiggle it a bit, you can see how it plugs
into a two pin socket on the cartridge.

I'm glad you had success washing the used toner bottle.

Thanks,

Henry

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