Wavy black "hairs" on page HP Laserjet III

[Bill]

I have been getting these little faint black wavy lines on the page that
look like hairs. The toner is making these hair images, but I'm not sure
where the paper is picking this up. I cleaned the printer, but still have
these lines. Any idea what's causing them?

Thanks

Bill
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Tony]

I have been getting these little faint black wavy lines on the page that
look like hairs. The toner is making these hair images, but I'm not sure
where the paper is picking this up. I cleaned the printer, but still have
these lines. Any idea what's causing them?

Thanks

Bill
(e-mail address removed)

Bill
Where do they appear with respect to the top and side of the paper?
In other words, does exactly the same image appear repeatedly down the page at
the same distance from the edge of the page, if so, what is the vertical
distance between the images?
Tony

 

[Bill]

Tony,

They appear just down from the top and again a little up from the bottom.

Bill

 

[Tony]

Bill
If the defects always appear in the same horizontal position (same distance
from the edge of the page) and are always the same vertical distance apart then
the following applies.

Vertical distance apart = damaged roller
95mm = Drum (in toner cartridge)
80mm = Upper fuser roller
65mm = Lower fuser roller
51mm = Toner cartridge roller
44mm = Lower registration roller
38mm = Upper registration roller
13mm = Transfer roller

Items 1 and 4 are in the toner cartridge (requires toner cartridge
replacement), the rest are in the printer and all are hard to clean but can be
replaced with various amounts of difficulty and cost.

If the vertical distance apart is not consistent or is more than about 95mm
then there is probably a major failure either in the scanner or the main
printer logic.
Hope this helps
Tony

 

[Bill]

Tony,

They appear every 83mm

I'm guessing it is the Upper Fuser Roller causing these. Your reference
sheet was great.

Can this roller be cleaned? Is this the roller that has the plastic bar
with the felt that gets replaced with the new toner cartridge?

Are there grooves in the roller causing this? How is it picking up the
toner to deposit it in these patterns ?

I just noticed a new problem. It is printing a black area on the right of
the page all the way down. It covers about an 1/8 of the page in width.
There are two white lines going down the page in this dark area. Is this
related or is this a new problem?

Thanks again for the help.

Bill

 

[Tony]

Bill
Answers inserted in your message.

Tony,

They appear every 83mm

I'm guessing it is the Upper Fuser Roller causing these.

Yes that sounds right.

Your reference
sheet was great.

Can this roller be cleaned? Is this the roller that has the plastic bar
with the felt that gets replaced with the new toner cartridge?

Yes that's the one, the plastic bar with felt is called the fuser cleaning pad
and sits on top of this roller.

Are there grooves in the roller causing this? How is it picking up the
toner to deposit it in these patterns ?

The roller should be smooth, if it has grooves it needs replacing. Damage or
wear prevents the fuser from correctly "fixing" of the print resulting in marks
on the paper.

It is most likely that the roller has wear or damage, you can try to clean it
but to do it properly you need to remove the fuser (the unit the fuser cleaning
pad sits in), there are 4 silver screws (one has a star washer and must be put
back in the right place) and you should be able to ease the fuser out of the
printer by lifting it straight up, pull up both sides together to avoid damage,
then turn the gear at the end of the fuser and examine the roller, if you find
a corresponding mark that will be the problem, if it can be cleaned then that's
good (damp cloth), otherwise replacement will be necessary. Keep your fingers
away from the rollers and do not remove the fuser until the printer has been
turned off for at least 15 minutes to avoid burning yourself.

I just noticed a new problem. It is printing a black area on the right of
the page all the way down. It covers about an 1/8 of the page in width.
There are two white lines going down the page in this dark area. Is this
related or is this a new problem?

It's unlikely to be related, it might be the corona wire that needs to be
carefully cleaned (use the felt end of the cleaning tool that should be clipped
inside the printer). The wire sits in a trough immediately below the drum in
the cartridge, so remove the cartridge first and be careful to not damage the
wire when you clean it.
Or it might be the drum mirror that is dirty (open the printer, remove the
cartridge and in the cover you just lifted there is a shutter, slide it to the
right and fold it up to reveal the mirror, clean the mirror carefully with a
dry cloth or a good quality household window cleaner).
It could also be the toner cartridge.
It can also be the fuser cleaning pad, if you examine the pad and it has a
corresponding mark then that is probably it.
Finally it can be one of the fuser rollers, if so you should see a
corresponding mark on one of the rollers when you remove the fuser.

Thanks again for the help.

Good luck and please keep in touch.
Tony