HP Laserjet 2430 keeps jamming!

[cheaptonersucks]

Hi, We have a HP Laserjet 2430 that keeps jamming in tray 1 and 2. I have removed both trays and checked for any paper inside the printer but there doesn’t seem to be any. I have checked the paper guides in the trays and they are set correctly. I checked the event logs via the web interface and all that is showing is “Paper Feed 1, Paper late jam”. I looked at the pickup rollers and they do not seem too worn.

 

I tried printing from the printers control panel and the jam still occurs on both trays. The printer is not actually jamming as the paper is not even getting picked up. I know that it sounds like worn pickup rollers, but I have seen more worn rollers picking up paper.

 

I have opened every door and have removed the toner but I cannot see any bits of paper inside.

 

Has anyone else had this before.

 

Thanks!

[3s-gtech]

Is this paper tray springing up correctly and evenly when pushed in?

Is the paper guide at the front of the tray intact and not creased (the little smooth plastic tab)?

Does it work when the paper tray is really full?

Is there a shred of paper jammed far up in the feed? Usually only accessed by dropping the bypass at the back down.

[Koldov]

I checked the event logs via the web interface and all that is showing is “Paper Feed 1, Paper late jam”.

 

I'm guessing 'paper late jam' is similar error to a 'misfeed' or 'paper not fed'...?

 

I know that it sounds like worn pickup rollers, but I have seen more worn rollers picking up paper.

 

They may not be worn as such, but maybe smooth/hard or covered in dust...?

 

I think back in the day they used to have something as a printer rubber roller restorer, but these days they just replace ours.

[CHiLL]

I used some isopropyl alcahol on a worn roller today (advice from a printer technician) and it helped on a printer that wasn't pulling the paper.

[cheaptonersucks]

Thanks everyone, I will check everything that you all mentioned. I will try some isopropyl alcohol on the rubber pick up rollers. Another thing that I noticed was that the printer sounds really noisy/rough when it’s trying to pick up the paper. Apparently there was a jam before I was called and the teacher cleared the jam and it hasn’t worked properly since!! I cannot find the slightest piece of torn paper in the printer anywhere, but will look again when I can get in the room.

[Chris_Cook]

If its making a noise, then it could be damage to gears.

 

It could also be a damaged sensor flag, or the paper guides broken. We've had one where the rear paper guide would slide back when the tray slid in. The paper was then not under the roller.

 

If its the D shaped roller, then I've had some luck taking the rubber off, and putting it on with the rougher bit and smoother bit swapped/rotated round. Doesn't last long, but gets you through until the new rollers come in. Not easy to do, but is possible.

 

Another option is to put in more paper so there is some force against the rollers.

[cheaptonersucks]

The paper trays (1&2) spring up nicely.

The paper tray guide at the front of the tray is in tact and not creased.

I filled the trays full of paper but paper is still not getting picked up.

I rubbed some isopropyl alcohol on the pickup rollers but that made no difference.

I have opened every door and removed all trays, toner front and rear, but I cannot see any rogue paper! I used a torch and have hoovered the areas that I can access, but it still doesn’t pickup paper and just shows a jam when there is no jam.

[GaryPad]

You say the paper guides are correct, so if you look at the front panel or access the browser then does it show the paper size correctly and which way round it is (it might say something like LEF meaning Long Edge Feed as opposed to Short Edge Feed; basically portrait feeding rather than landscape feeding)? If they've been set the wrong way round then this will cause this error.

Otherwise as it's happening on both trays it could be a pick sensor. They're basically sensors that shine a light across the feed path of the paper so when the beam is broken the printer knows that the paper is in transit and when the light shines again it knows that it's gone passed and therefore hasn't jammed. If you've got paper dust on the face of the sensor then it could be detecting a rogue jam. Look for these sensors throughout the feedpath and use alcohol to clean the face of them.

I don't know if the fuser unit is replaceable on that model but a common area of jams is torn paper being stuck between the fuser rollers. A quick test is to swap the fuser unit with a working printer.

[MatthewL]

Those printers seem to be the modern LaserJet 4 never encountered any issues, usually cleaning rollers with alcohol based helps.

 

Silly question have you tried different paper? I've seen paper that is damp although not to the touch, recycled paper is also rubbish on then, does manual feed work ok? The tray's/draws haven't been swapped over have they as some will only work in 1 or the other and I cannot remember on that model.

[cheaptonersucks]

Thanks to everyone. The printer jams from tray 1 and 2 and the manual feed tray. All trays are numbered so no confusion as to which tray is which. Tried new (good quality)paper which is dry and not cold. In summary the printer jams in every available tray, including the manual feed tray that you have to pull a flap down to feed paper into. Sadly we don’t have any more of this model printer in school to swap parts...

 

I can hear the e-waste recycling place in the sky calling this printers name!!

[round2it]

last resort get a laminated piece of a4 and try pushing that through the printer manually, I have done this on a few of our printers to get that stupid bit of paper or a rouge staple out of the mech

[cheaptonersucks]

Thanks, will give that a try. I am not trained or experienced in taking printers apart, so I don’t feel comfortable doing that really. Although that feels like the next step!!

[jmak]

If it's already broken, how much worse can it get [emoji57]

 

Please note: that was sarcasm, do not take it as professional advice!

[Koldov]

If it jams on every single tray (but not even picking the paper up) then there may be something else internally (sensor/roller).

 

It might be more involved than you are 'trained or experienced' for, but unless you have a support company and the only other option is to skip it, you don't have very much to lose....?

 

Also, how else will you get experience?

[MatthewL]

YouTube plenty of videos on there. To be honest them HP printers are quite easy to work on.

 

Silly question have you removed tray 2 and tried it without that on? The laminated piece of paper is a good idea, not thought of that before.

 

When it jams can you see how far the paper gets, so if it jams if you open the compartment at the back is it all the way in, or if you remove the toner is it in that section? If you slowly remove the piece of paper is there marks on the paper like its hit something or does it come out in 1 piece?

[cheaptonersucks]

It rarely even picks the paper up, then just displays a paper jam message. Might try taking it apart as it can’t get much worse as you correctly mentioned.