Drum Error Message – Brother MFC 7420, 7820, DCP 7010, 7020
The Brother MFC 7420, 7820, DCP 7010, and 7020 machines  are great  multifunction machines used at home for personal use or in small offices with low print and copy volumes. These machines with their small foot print can easily be placed just about anywhere. Like most other Brother multifunciton machines they require little maintenance and unlike most manufactures these machines are built to last. I’ve had very few problems with these machines. One of the few service and repair calls on the  Brother MFC 7420, 7820, DCP 7010, and 7020 machines  that I get are reporting of a drum error message on the machines control panel. Most people just believe the drum has an issue and needs to be replaced. However, they replace the drum and the error does not go away.
What Causes the drum error message on Brother MFC 7420, 7820, DCP 7010, and 7020 machines
As the drum rotates the machine counts its revolutions and adjusts the charge across the drum according to the usage. Another problem is the charge grid and corona wire. The grid and wire are part of the cleaning and preparation procedure conducted in the drum unit. Over time the charge put on the units attract dust and debris and needs cleaned, thus the blue cleaning clip and top the drum unit that no one ever uses. If these parts don’t get the right charge or if the machine recognizes the charge across the parts is incorrect it will display a Drum Error Message.
Brother DR350 Drum Unit – Retail Packaging
Brother Black Toner Cartridge (TN-350)
Solution to the drum error message on Brother MFC 7420, 7820, DCP 7010, and 7020 Machines
First, you can try to clean the charge and corona wire. Remove the drum and swipe the blue tab on top of the unit back and forth 10 to 15 times. That cleans the corona wire. Or you can remove the toner cartridge, take the drum outside and with canned air blow out the section that contains the corona wire and charge grid on top of the drum unit. Most the time that doesn’t resolve the drum error message but it’s worth a shot.
Majority of the time you have to replace the drum. After you replace the drum leave the front door open and press the OPTION button. The display will ask if you want to change the drum. 1 for yes and 2 for no. Tell it 1 for yes and shut the door. After that the machine should go to a ready state. Hopefully, that has helped you fix your drum error message on your Brother MFC 7420, 7820, DCP 7010, 7020 mulifunction machine.
I listed below the toner and drum unit. Obviously if you go to Amazon.com or anywhere you can find compatiable drums and toners. From my experience Brother OEM drums always last longer than compatiables and because of the design of the toner cartridges it’s hard to find campatiables that don’t leak, wear the drum prematurely, and create a mess in the machine.
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Thanks for the help. It works!
take a dry piece of lint free cloth and wipe the roller in the drum paying attention to the edges. make sure they are clean and shiny….simple….also if you cover the holes on both sides of your drum it will let you use the toner to the last drop. hope this helps
It has been happening at least once a day under very light use.
VERY helpful! Many thanks!
I did all that and toggled the printer Off for five mins to dissipate any possibly remaining charge, and to cycle the electronics fully off, in case there was some aberration in the circuitry that a reboot might help.
Might have helped? Anything to kill that error message and not replace the drum unnecessarily.
Thanks!