Grinding Noise – HP Laserjet 2400, 2420, 2430 Printer Fuser Issues

 

Grinding Noise – HP Laserjet 2400, 2420, 2430 Printer Fuser Issues

The HP laserjet  2400, 2420, and 2430 printers are prone to excessive, grinding  noise in the rear of the machine. All the time I go into customers offices to service other equipment and see a HP laserjet  2400 series sitting off to the side. I just do my business and wait to hear what the machine sounds like when it prints. 9 times out of 10 when it prints I hear the horrible grinding noise and nobody seems to care or be bothered by it.  The 2400 series tends to really develop it’s grinding  noise problems at 40,000 to 45,000 copies and it can get extremely bad around 70,000 to 80,000.

In the HP 2400 series printers, while the grinding noise problem appears gradually, it seems to greatly worsen in aHP laserjet 2400 Grinding noise photo short amount of time. I see a lot of service calls generated for this specific problem. I find that many users  become afraid to continue to use the 2400 series, after a point, because with the grinding noise it sounds like parts are being destroyed. Troubleshooting the grinding noise  in the HP laserjet  2400, 2420, and 2430 can be pretty easy given the fact the noise is so loud and it’s pretty obvious where it’s coming from. In this article I’d like to talk about why the grinding noise happens and what can be done to fix and hopefully prevent it from becoming a reoccurring issue.

Troubleshooting The HP laserjet 2400, 2420, and 2430 Grinding Noise

First, run a few prints, including the configuration page, to check the machine’s usage, overall condition, and its noise level. Then remove the fuser and check out what‘s happening in the rear of the machine.

Fuser  Removal on The HP Laserjet 2400, 2420, and 2430
Back Cover
1. Open the rear output bin all the way by pressing the door down disengaging the door stops. All the way down the door should be at a 90 degree angle. Remove the two screws.

2. At the bottom of the back cover behind the dust cover door are two alignment tabs. Disengage those by pulling from the bottom and lifting the cover away from the machine.

I/O Cover
1. Pull right and lift away from machine.

Fuser
1. Remove the fuser-cable cover by releasing one tab on the cover and then rotating the back of the cover toward the center of the printer
2. Remove the duplex inlet guide by releasing the two tabs and pull it out towards you.
3. Disconnect the two cables on the right side and unclip the wire holder on side of frame securing the top cable.
4. Disconnect the power cable on the left and remove the four screws near the corners on the fuser.
5. Gently remove the fuser from the back of the machine.
Note: Pressure roller is on the bottom made out of a rubber like material. The fuser film is on the top and wraps around the heating element.
HP 2400 Noise Reduction Gear Kit
Hp Laserjet 2420/2430 Fuser Assembly Rm1-1535

Diagnosing What is causing  the Grinding Noise on The HP laserjet 2400 series

Alright, with the fuser  out, turn it around so the front is facing you. Now, turn it to the right so you’re looking at the gears. The pressure roller gear is the large tan gear. Below the pressure roller gear you will probably see a dark brown pile of bushing dust. In most cases you will also observe the bushing rotated back. On the HP 2400 series the bushing is held in place by a little arm protruding from the bushing and on the end is a little ball that clips into a small hole on the fuser’s metal frame. Due to the intense pressure applied to the pressure roller the bushing likes to unclip  from the frame and rotate backwards. Due to the softness of the material of the bushing and the constant rotation of the pressure roller it wears out the inside of the bushing. The end result is the pressure roller and gear moving down and away from the rest of the gears in the rear of the HP laserjet 2400 series, causing a grinding noise and abnormal wear of the surrounding gears.

Check the gears out that can lead to the grinding noise.
With the fuser  out, look inside the printer’s cavity and on the left side you will notice four white gears. Three of the gears are on a metal post secured to the machine’s frame with one on an arm swinging between them. The three stationary gears will need to be replaced. In extreme cases the large drive gear, part of the fuser drive assembly in the bottom of the rear cavity, may need to be replaced. I’ve never had to replace on and I’ve worked on several that have 250,00 to 350,000 copies so I’m not going to go into detail about replacing it in this article. I’ve read about people replacing it for the grinding noise  so I thought I would share it with you if you need to further troubleshoot.

Most people, by now, have already looked at the top three gears and assured themselves after visual inspection that they appear to be OK. But, trust me, they do need to be replaced. Here are the part numbers for the gears:
21-tooth gear RU5-0377
20-tooth gear RU5-0378
19-tooth gear RU5-0379
I’ve taken the time to replace these gears individually. Each one replaced lessens the noise slightly but you will need to replace all of them too fully remove the grinding noise from the rear of the printer.

Since the fuser  is out of the machine, now might be a good time to just check it over for other wear and tear. First, remove the pressure roller gear and check for cracks on the inside where it fits around the roller shaft. Make sure the pressure roller’s surface is smooth and hasn’t developed waves or wrinkles, and check the fuser  film for discoloration around the edges or toner buildup on its surface. Check the configuration page for any ghosting and verify the page count. If any of these symptoms are present or the page count is around or above 90,000 and the fuser hasn’t been previously replaced, it probably should be replaced at this time.

Fixing the Grinding Noise on the HP Laserjet 2400, 2420, and 2430 printer

I typically  replace the fuser  and gears   in the HP 2400 series at the same time. If you just have a fuser  issue, like a torn sleeve or other fuser  issue, when replacing the fuser  its best to replace the gears too, even if no noise  is present. The gears tend to wear with the fuser  so if you just replace the fuser  you might find you have a noise where one wasn’t apparent before. Most machines that I’ve serviced had around 50,000 copies when the noise became too much for the customer to handle. With the updated fuser  and new gears installed most machines make it another 100,000 to 125,000 prints before more service is required in that area. So, by replacing the fuser and the gears initially you will drastically reduce downtime on the printer, resulting in happy customers or employees. They will know who to call the next time something needs repair.

Conclusion About the Grinding Noise on the HP Laserjet 2400, 2420, and 2430 Printer

And that’s it. Hopefully, you now have a quieter running printer. Keep in mind that, like most models this size, repair vs. replace can become an important decision.  Once this update is done, future service calls should be relatively few with little being needed except for routine maintenance and the occasional worn pickup roller, which is a relatively inexpensive repair. With the quality issues of a lot of the more recent printer models, an older printer might be slightly slower but it will most likely be around long after you replace the one you bought for $300…thinking you got a great deal to replace your HP 2400 series printer. The HP laserjet  2400, 2420, and 2430 printers, unlike others, has very few other known issues with the exception of the grinding noise.

Hp Laserjet 2420/2430 Fuser Assembly Rm1-1535

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HP Laserjet P3015dn Printer, (CE528A)

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For More information involving Printer Repair and some articles I have written check out: http://blog.marketpoint.com/

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