My 1525 printer freezes

rwv01 · Post by **rwv01** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:13 pm

Has anyone ever experienced this?

For some reason my 1525 printer will print about one page and then just stop mid print. If I turn it off for a while then on again, It will print some more 'till it stops again. It's like it has to cool down or something.
The longer it sits, the more it can print. But never more then about a page.

I've tried it with different apps but it makes no difference.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:49 pm

Yes I have had a similar problem with an MPS-801 printer and a related problem with a 1525.

With the MPS-801 it would just stop mid-print after a while. No reason given, and I had to reset it and the VIC (if I remember correctly) to get it to work (do a search for old posts by me with the word "printer" or "MPS801" in them).

In my case, I opened the VIC and reseated the two 6522 VIA chips. I also swapped their positions (as I was initially suspecting one was bad). When I tried again it worked fine....so I am assuming it was just a bad contact on on or more of the 6522's pins.

With my old 1525 printer, I also had problems. The printer wouldn't print....well....it would actually try to, but the head wouldn't move all the way along the rail (like it was struggling). After leaving the printer on for a while, it would work fine. In this case, I am assuming it's an old dried up capacitor inside the printer that needs to be replaced (the motor that drives the print head is not getting enough juice). This should be an easy fix, but since ribbons for that printer are extremely hard to get, I never bothered.

channelmaniac · Post by **channelmaniac** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:25 pm

If the printer has a "self test" mode or the ability self print a test page then try that.

If it works, then suspect a bad cable or port on the computer. It's also possible to have cracked solder joints on the serial port of the printer.

If it doesn't work then (with the power OFF) try to manually move the assemblies by turning the motor shafts by hand. You want to feel for any roughness or binding. Old lubricants harden after years and years of service. They also get sticky after all these years. You may just need to disassemble, clean, and reassemble the printer.

Old caps are an issue but should be more of an issue for the logic part of the printer and not the motors or print drivers as they are just switching voltages on/off.

RJ

rwv01 · Post by **rwv01** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:53 am

ral-clan wrote:Yes I have had a similar problem with an MPS-801 printer and a related problem with a 1525.

I found your thread about that. My problem sounds similar but in my case the printer just goes until it stops mid-line. Like the print head just shuts down (as opposed to jamming) and there's no carriage return. The power indicator remains lit. If I turn it off and on again immediately, it will return to the left and print a line or two, then stop again. If I turn it off and let it sit for a long time, it will print longer before it stops.

I may try re-seating any socketed chips as you did to see what happens.

channelmaniac wrote:If the printer has a "self test" mode or the ability self print a test page then try that.

I did a self test with the computer unhooked. The results were the same as above. It's like it needs to cool down. Could something inside actually be over heating?

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:38 am

One thing - and some would disagree with me - to try is spray a small amount of WD-40 on the print head rails and on the print-head itself.

This might help lubricate things that haven't been used in a long time.

Some people say that WD-40 will gum up after a while, but I've never seen this to be true. Organic oils will gum up, but WD-40 is a synthetic lubricant.

WD-40 will also re-invigorate dried up printer ribbons that still have ink pigment in them.

vic user · Post by **vic user** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:43 am

Some people say that WD-40 will gum up after a while, but I've never seen this to be true

i have been finding this true with my bike chain!

this is the first time i have only used wd-40 on my bike chain during winter time, and i have found i am not getting as much gunk buildup as i have had in previous years, using other lubricants such as 10w30

rwv01 · Post by **rwv01** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:40 am

Actually I did put a little WD-40 on the ribbon.
It printed darker but the head still stopped.

vic user-
What kind of bike do you have?

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:46 am

Open up the 1525 and reseat the chips. I think the only socketed chip is the character ROM chip, though.

rwv01 · Post by **rwv01** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 10:58 am

ral-clan wrote:Open up the 1525 and reseat the chips. I think the only socketed chip is the character ROM chip, though.

It's worth a shot. I'll post the resaults.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:11 am

rwv01 wrote:
ral-clan wrote:Open up the 1525 and reseat the chips. I think the only socketed chip is the character ROM chip, though.
It's worth a shot. I'll post the resaults.

While you're in there check for capacitors that look swollen or are leaking or have a build-up on them.

If you can operate your printer without the cover on, you could feel the chips to see if any get really hot. Just be careful around the power supply so that you don't get electrocuted!

vic user · Post by **vic user** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:37 am

vic user-
What kind of bike do you have?

for summer, i have an old kona lava dome... full chromoly, no shocks, and deore components. the thing rides like the wind!

for winter, i am currently using my daughter's kona fire mountain, that had less than 100km on it, before i needed to use it. the poor thing!

i spend 45 minutes a night cleaning the bike, to get it back in shape.

my normal winter bike needs a new rear hub, and i have not bothered to go to my friend's house to get the tool needed to get that off.

rwv01 · Post by **rwv01** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 5:38 am

I removed the top of the case and re-seated the only socket-ed chip.
No obvious signs of damage. (to me anyway) The capacitors showed no evidence of leakage. I saw no burned spots or blisters on the PCB.
Very little dust inside. All electrical connections looked OK. The mechanical components looked fine. It does have two components with large heat sinks on them on the PCB.

I was able to self-test it with the top off and it stopped after a page or so just as before. The chips felt slightly warm afterward. The heat sinks more so.

I suspect something is over-heating and making it stop.

vic user-
Sounds like you get in some serious kms!

vic user · Post by **vic user** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 9:50 am

vic user-
Sounds like you get in some serious kms!

around 25km a day.

i have always wanted to go bike camping!

channelmaniac · Post by **channelmaniac** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 11:25 pm

Warm heat sinks are fine. If you blister your finger, something is wrong.