I have what was a trusty old HP 4000 N b&w laser printer. A couple years ago a toner cartridge let loose inside and dumped toner around. I tried cleaning it out, even with a vacuum, but ever since it won't run—keeps giving me a '13.20 Paper Jam' error, telling me to open and close back and top doors. There is no jam that I can find.

I'm wondering if there is some simple way to get this machine running again. I don't know of any local guys who would take on cleaning it up for short money—are there such people any more? But it is (was) a great printer, and didn't choke on PDFs the way my wife's more recent little HP does.

I'm thinking that maybe the toner got on a sensor that triggers the 'Paper Jam' message, and if only I could find that and clean it, the printer would work. Or am I dreaming, and should just junk this big ol' guy?

Obviously I've done without it for two years or so, but still it sits, asking plaintively for attention. . .

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There's gotta be a few youtube videos on repairing that thing.

Might be fun, probably doesn't make sense if you put a price on your time.

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I agree with Matt. Youtube is your friend when repairing old machinery. I've done this many times (usually fixing things like cars, microwaves, laptops, etc. That said, it's a 25 year old printer so you are unlikely to be able to find any parts.

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mrlynn,

It's definitely worth delving into a repair. The age of a printer is less of a concern than its condition and whether or not it works with the current OS. Laser printers tend to stay compatible for a very long time. My parents are using a Laserjet M1522NF purchased sometime in the late 90s or very early 2000s. Still works great for printing, copying and, when necessary, faxing. No scanning anymore, though.

Maybe even worth spending $50 to $100 bucks to have a local shop give it a looksie. The 4000N had solid specs for a printer of its time. Decent speed. Dual paper trays. Networking. Postscript. non-chipped toner cartridges which means you can use OEM or 3rd party cartridges without any issues at all. That can lead to a significant savings when it comes to the cost of consumables.

Note, the source of the paper jam error could be a teensy piece paper stuck somewhere in the innards of the machine. Think a spot that might not be quite readily visible when opening the doors. It might even be somewhere on the bottom of the printer and only accessible once you remove the paper trays and turn it upside down.

Robert

I'd at least take it outside, remove all of the removable parts you can, tip it a couple different directions and blast it with canned/compressed air to see if you can shake any obstructions loose.

There is [laserpros.com] .

It claims to show how to go in and figure out which sensor is triggering the error via Manual Sensor Test.

Quote
mattkime
There's gotta be a few youtube videos on repairing that thing.

Might be fun, probably doesn't make sense if you put a price on your time.

Good suggestion—don't know why I didn't think of it; somehow I associate Youtube videos more with heftier machines like lawnmowers.

Here' s one that directly addresses the problem:
[www.youtube.com]

If that doesn't work, then the link from ADent should help. Reassuring comments from Robert M, too. Thanks!