This may be of
help to those who want to service this printer but the text does
not deal deeply with the actual servicing of parts - mainly the
dismantle/reassembly. It goes down to the level of the main
rollers. Electronics problems would not be worth the effort -
in my opinion!
There may be different incarnations of the printer where differences
apply - no guarantees!!
If you do not
have any previous experience of electro mechano optical instruments
- then consider
if you should start! On the other hand why not learn on
something you might have to throw out if left alone!
To test HP660c with
it's built-in routines: Condition -- Printer ON
1. Press Formfeed button for 4 seconds - four colour test page.
2. For the following tests - press formfeed button X times with
the ON/OFF button held in first then released last.
X=5 Short pen (jet!) test
X=7 Pen Clean
X=10 Multiple test pages
X=11 Reset/Off
X=12 Full pen test
DIS-ASSEMBLY -- Remember to mark positions of anything
likely to be ambiguous!
Paper tray pointing towards you for any directions given in the
list below.
With the help of this list - about a 1/2 - 1 hour job.
The word 'Remove' you may like to fit to each point on disassembly
and 'Replace' on re-assembly!
1. Ink Cartridges - remove top opening lid (two hinges). Stuff
some Kleenex on top
of the ink well sponge to catch any liquid on turning printer
over later.
2. Paper tray top channel - lift off
3. Rear electronics box cover (two clips underside and hinge up)
4. Small pcb ribbon connector (green) for buttons. NB. Ribbons
have locking strips.
5. Two screws - on paper tray top.
6. Turn upside down - NB free ink is messy if not caught!
7. Steel base sheet - 5 plastic pull clips - Lift plate from RH.
8. Lift complete printer innards from case.
9. Indexing strip - release first from RH side.
10. LH Ink carriage bar retention spring - (large leaf strip spring)
11. Release index belt tension (LH) and lift belt from RH cog.
12. Slide LH cog left and fully release belt.
13. Printhead Ribbon connectors from PCB.
14. Printhead box, bar and ribbons and belt - remove as a set!
15. White round cam (LH) mark position prior.
16. Steel paper channel top (two screws).
16. Ink well box and sponge and coil spring.
17. LH roller bearing retention spring (wire)
18. LH small spiral spring from lever (LH).
19. Lift out rollers bar from RH disengaging black plastic tongue
from
clear plastic cambox LH. Access to all rollers is now available.
Thats it - reverse
the list to re-assemble!!
If anyone wants to add bits to this page - the form of Q and A
would be best - email me see Contact me page below.
Q: Rollers dont' grip the pages reliably
any more or lifts more than one sheet - is there a fix?
A: Yes but if cleaning with
alcahol no longer works then it involves roughing up the three
main rollers and possibly the small pad below the centre roller
- if you are also getting more than one sheet drawn into the printer.
Disassembly as above is essential.
Roller roughing I did with some medium grit paper with the roller
set in a lathe - then finishing off with some fine grit paper.
Try to do exactly the same for each roller, bear in mind that
if you reduce the rollers too much in size the paper path will
change length! It is quite possible to do this by hand but it
will take longer and be a bit more uneven (probably)!
The rollers should have a nice gummy feel when you have finished,
mine started off with a very thin grey slippery coating of hard
oxidized rubber. If you have to do the small rubber pad
(this helps to separate the pages) as well - then do not rub down
the three plastic strips buried in the rubber - the leading edge
and leading part of the top surface are the bits that count.
Q: Printer
makes a horrible clanking and banging noise while printing - what
is the problem?
A: The problem arises from
the ink carriage sticking to the slider bar/s - probably from
dust and/or lubricant getting onto the bar and stopping the carriage
sliding easily and smoothly. This overloads the carriage drive
mechanism causing slippage and the unwelcome noises. See the answer
for 'Should the ink cartridge carriage bar be lubricated?'
for the fix to this problem!
Q: Should the ink cartridge carriage bar
be lubricated?
A: This carriage/bar assembly
should be assembled perfectly clean and dry; the carriage
has brass oilite bearings and any addition of lubricant will dry
out and cause jamming because of dust settlement. The bar/bearings
do wear eventually leading to a gentle clicking noise whenever
the carriage reverses direction but this is not terminal and does
not seem to have a major effect on print quality (especially in
the Normal or Best modes where printing is unidirectional). Dis-assembly
will allow complete cleaning of the bar and the bearings.
If someone has mistakenly oiled the bar then the oilite bearings
will have to be very carefully cleaned as oily dust will get to
the inside edges of the bearings as well as the visible outside
parts; - difficult to clean up and if not done perfectly the remaining
oily dust will reapply itself to the bar and the jamming problem
eventually re-occurs. It might be an idea to buff out any scratches/marks
on the bar with a buffing wheel - but I have not tried this.
The carriage also has a rearside oilite slider bearing which should
also run clean and dry - use alcahol on swabsticks to clean off
all old oil and paperdust residues.
Try to use minimum dust paper - it will prolong the life of the
slider bars and also the rubber rollers of the paper transport
system. If your printer lives in a dusty environment - keep it
covered when not in use!