HPZ "Clicks of Death" Formatter Board/HD?

[dandeliondigital]

Hi All,
I just did the belt replacement project on my 6+ year old HPZ 3100PS GP PHOTO 44" LF printer .

When I fired it up, no go!

Only a click,,,(slightly softer) click,,,,,,,,,,(longer pause)  click,,,(slightly softer) click, etc,  sound coming from the area of the hard drive. I had read about Formatter Board/HD failures. Ouch! That is so painful! A new drive belt and no way to drive!

Anyway, I put a fresh CR2032 Lithium 3V Battery on that Board, and tried again. Still No go.

I am fairly sure I need to buy a replacement. WOuld love to hear about your experiences, good deals, things (or dealers) to avoid.

Any and all comments, tips, tricks, references, and referrals are welcome.

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM

[Colorwave]

I've already offered my $.02 off of the forum, but thought I'd at least offer something that might be more useful to Tom here (a bump).  Anybody else ever run into this specific sort of problem?

[dandeliondigital]

Hi Ron,
What a week.

Thanks for all your help.

So long for now, TOM

[Ernst Dinkla]

There has been a similar message on the HP Designjet mailing list without the belt replacement mentioned. I think it is about the same printer. I did not reply there but tried to figure out what could be the issue. For example that the belt was broken and the head carriage did not move. Now I see it is not a thing happening at random but after a belt replacement.
Maybe I will think about it but this is not an encouraging method to get me active.

--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.

[dandeliondigital]

Hi Ernst and all,
Ernst, I am sorry my message on the yahoo HPZ group was incomplete! I went back there today and posted more information, which I will also post here.

After replacing the Formatter Board/HD, when I plug in and turn on the printer (after having just replaced the drive belt),  I hear the same exact clicking sound (duration and rhythm that I did with my original 6+ year old parts), and with the main switch on, I get nothing at the front panel, no lights, no display, nothing. This puts a large crimp in troubleshooting from the display. The place I bought the Formatter Board/HD replacement part said that when they checked with HP it was suggested that the Main PCA with Power Supply Unit (PSU) Assembly might have an issue, but how do I know if that is the cause? This part costs nearly $600!

I don't know wether to gamble on replacing the Main PCA with Power Supply Unit (PSU) Assembly, or calling HP and requesting service. IT seems fairly straightforward, but after being left in this awful limbo after being fairly confident in how I handled replacing the belt, (I even wore a grounding strap when I was handling the electronics), I am at a loss.

Thanks in advance, and so long for now, TOM
I'm very discouraged at this point.

Any and all helpful comments would be appreciated.

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM

[Ernst Dinkla]

If the printer worked without issues up to the moment you replaced the belt I would expect a fault made during the reassembling of parts. Cable connections that had to be made again but now not working correctly. In the first place the ribbon cable to the printer panel folded in the wrong way when assembled again, it had some 90 degr folds you may have done one more or one less. A fast explanation why the panel does not lighten up and the printer logic put in a fast stop. Or the decoding strip sensor on the head carriage not getting data across etc. Hard to figure out what it can be but usually when we repair a machine that was not really broke and does not work afterwards we made the fault ourselves in the repair.

I would think that at least the clicks suggest that the Power Supply is not totally down. It probably is also a part that can be examined by a skilled repairman of electronics without going to HP service. Some measurements on the voltage levels of the output contacts etc he can do. He will know what a laptop HD needs in voltage level.

Best theories I can deliver.

--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2013, 500+ inkjet media white spectral plots.

[dandeliondigital]

Hi Ernst,
I appreciate your comments. After thinking long and hard about the situation, some of these are the conclusions I had been S-L-O-W-L-Y coming around to understanding. Interesting that you think the power supply is probably OK.

BTW, I remember being very careful with the ribbon cable to the front panel. When I first released the front panel from it's snaps and gently pulled it out, the cable was more deformed than I would have wanted it to be, but the most I did was to gently remove the connector, and then when I put it back I only "straightened" it out a bit to certify it would not get crimped oddly when it snapped back into place, but nothing "dramatic" like 90 degree folds. But cables tend to be a weak link so often. Two printers would be convenient---I could swap out the displays ;-) but I'm not that flush.

Interesting: "printer logic put in a fast stop" is an new way of describing the "clicks" situation.

I think a "skilled service tech" is looking more and more like the answer. Someone with knowledge, experience and a volt meter.

So long for now, TOM

[Justan]

Hi,

Following up on the comments Ernst made, have you tried to re-seat all electrical connectors? Start by double checking this. Here is a link to a number of typical connectors found in computers. http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html The printer will have similar connectors. Remove and re-seat every connector. Make sure that every connector you find is 100% clean and fully seated. If in doubt about how clean it may be, use alcohol and q-tips to clean the connectors.

On the right side of the printer as you are standing in front of it, make sure that ink hasn’t infiltrated stuff and gummed it up.

If you have an ohm meter you can use it to test both ends of a ribbon cable and to test for continuity across connectors. You can get an ohm/volt meter at Radio Shack. They are inexpensive.

With regard to the drive, if you can get your ear right next to or on the drive while it’s running, you can tell if it is spinning properly, or perhaps not at all. You can remove the drive and connect it to a typical PC and see if it powers up okay.

You can order what HP calls a “Care Package,” which is HP speak for a factory extended warranty. These are not inexpensive, but if you buy it, and wait for 30 days, and then you can call HP, they will come out and solve whatever problem the printer has, and except for consumables, it will be free of further cost to you. Contact HP for details.

Alternatively, as you noted, you can call any HP authorized service facility and ask them to come out and fix it. You’ll pay a bit for this but it will probably solve the problem.

FWIW, about a week ago my 6 year old Z3100 developed a problem and I decided to just buy a new printer. While that is way more spendy up front than buying an extended warranty or paying for a service call, there is an upside as well.

Best of luck.

[dandeliondigital]

Hi Justan & Ernst & all,
Thanks again for all the input. I can report that I tested all the wires in the ribbon cable that goes from the front panel display to the Main PCA Board, and they are just fine. But with the power on, this display appears to be dead. Does anyone know of a way short of putting it into a different printer to test it?

My Formatter Board and HD is a brand new HP certified 2013 part, and as noted earlier in the thread, it acts in just the exact same way that my original 6+ year old part did, making clicking sounds when the power button is turned to the on position, and at that time no front panel at all, and no boot up.

I did remember one other thing which is a slight mishap I had when I was reinstalling trailing cables that are very thin and flexible. It is fastened to the printer with a bit of double stick tape in one spot, and I did manage to crimp one by accident (one of the two got about a 45 degree bend in it at 90 degrees to the sides), and I am concerned about that being a possible root of the non-boot issue, but then again it might be the power supply or Main PCA Board? But if anyone has any information on how the machine might act if that cable was compromised, I'd love to know. Any quick tests that would clue me to either the Power Supply or PCM Board being "bad." If only I could find out what is preventing this thing from booting.

Also Ernst if you are reading this, I saw in another thread, some of your comments about  B&W printing being not as good as the 3100 on the the Z3200. Can you clarify if that is B&W printing using the HP driver and not the Postscript Driver.

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM