Printhead PCB repair - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: sdancer75
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2020, 05:19:14 pm
content: This printhead suddenly can not be recognized by the Canon printer model Pixma IP4300. I suspect the PCB. I cleaned it thoroughly and I will test it tomorrow in the office BUT I am pretty sure that it will not work as it wasn't a matter of cleaning as the printer does not recognize it at all (orange led flashes 5 times and according to Canon it is a printhead malfunction).I suspect that a flash memory is hidden on the other side of the PCB -which may be used as a printing counter for a planned obsolescence - or in the best case, a passive component that may be burned, so it could be easily repaired.So my questions are.1) How to free the PCB from the print head without breaking it? It seems that it has a black silicone paste on the hole brace that holds it very strong.2) Does anyone tried to fix such kinds of PCBs? What are the typical problems on them?

author: Koray
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2020, 08:58:35 pm
content: There is nothing behind that PCB. It just connects to the head with that flex. The head itself is a piece of silicon chip and a thin foil with holes on it. If the printhead is burned dead, that's it you discard it. Just be careful, Canon printer main boards can get damaged with bad printheads. Don't try your luck too much or your printer may go kaput. I lost a beautiful Canon ip7250 to a bad aliexpress printhead. I should have not insisted on it, photos were printing just fine, but stupid me wanted pigment black also running and I lost them all. RIP.K.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2020, 09:20:56 pm
content: Quote from: sdancer75 on December 22, 2020, 05:19:14 pmJust buy a new head. You need QY6-0061-000. Try at all cost to get an original, unopened original Canon one. A remanufactured one may or may not work, as Koray explained.I have never heard of any method to revive a dead printhead.Quote from: sdancer75 on December 22, 2020, 05:19:14 pmPlanned obsolescence is 99+% myth. These printheads do not have a "self destruct" function, in fact, I don't believe the heads have any kind of memory at all. (The ink tanks do, but only for checking authenticity — Canon inkjets allow you to continue printing after the printer has warned you the cartridge is empty.)FWIW, I'm still using a Canon MP970 (same generation as your iP4300, uses the same cartridges).Quote from: sdancer75 on December 22, 2020, 05:19:14 pmNope. There are no passives, as Koray said. Thermal inkjet printheads are in fact large ICs, so all the support circuitry in the head is actually in the same piece of silicon as the nozzles. (It's pretty much just driver transistors and decoders and shift registers, so that thousands of nozzles can be controlled with just a few dozen signal lines.)

author: sdancer75
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2020, 07:11:50 am
content: So, what exactly is going bad or is burning the printheads?I think this is the main question.Could be the main board itself?You saidA remanufactured one may or may not work, as Koray explained. I have never heard of any method to revive a dead printhead.A remanufactured or refurbished isn't a way to revive a dead or almost dead product? Chineses, doing this all the time.ThanksPS :The specific printer have printed at most 120 CDs, so, I think it's unacceptable from canon to manufacture poor quality products.