76, 77, 78 Fuser / Machine Errors – Â Brother MFC 8440, 8640, 8840, 8840
The Brother MFC 8440, 8640, 8840, and 8840 are getting on in age but they are still work horses that should have plenty of life left given some TLC. With their durable print engine, wide variety of features, and low-cost to maintain they have been a much loved piece of office equipment for any small to midsize business. However, they can be prone to 76, 77, 78 Fuser / machine error. In this article, I will discuss why they get the 76, 77, 78 Fuser / machine error and how to possibly clear the message to avoid unwanted service expenses.
Brother MFC 8840, 8440, 8640, 8220, LM2579001 Fusing Assembly
Situation with the  Brother MFC 8440, 8640, 8840, 8840  – 76, 77, 78 Fuser / Machine Error
Most times these errors come out of nowhere. You or another employee  goes to check  the company  faxes or to retrieve a print job and you notice your DCP or MFC has one of four machine error codes: 76, 77, 78, 79. All these errors are fuser related errors. 76 means an overheat issue, 77 is a general fuser error, 78 is an under heat error, and 79 is a defective thermistor error. At this point, you press a few buttons and eventually turn it off and back on only to be faced with the same error. If you call Brother Tech Support they will tell you to turn the machine off and  and let it sit for ten to 15 minutes and  turn back on  .  Sometimes they might recommend letting it sit with the error for 15 minutes and it should reset itself. I think I’ve only seen one machine reset itself. All other I’ve had to actually go into  maintenance mode and clear the 76, 77, 78 Fuser / machine error through the exit and restart  sequence.
Majority of the time, the 76, 77, 78 Fuser / Machine Error codes results in a sudden power outage where the power briefly turns off and on within a few seconds. You know when the lights flicker and your like what just happened. Usually during storms or when utility work is being done near by. I have a few companies that this happens a few times a year because of frequent short power outages at their locations.
Why Brother  Brother MFC 8440, 8640, 8840, 8840 76, 77, and 78 Fuser / machine Error Codes Happen
Brothers, like a lot of copiers, when they have fuser errors the machine needs to be put into maintenance mode to reset the code. People ask why? Well, if you run into a overheat issue if you turn the machine back on right after, it starts to heat up again which could result in melting the fuser pressure roller or in a worse case scenario start a fire. So, manufactures decided rather than have a law suit on their handsto just disable the machine until a repair man can come on site and diagnose the problem to avoid further damage to the machine. I have seen melted fuser pressure rollers, broken gears, and Brother did have an early mode printer that was known to have the fuser catch on fire so it’s something to take serious. Most of these recent errors though are a result of the machine being suddenly reset and it doesn’t properly power up. During the power up sequence the fuser lamp turns on an after a few seconds the thermistors read the correct temperature and the machine cycles to a ready state. When a machine resets all the sudden it skips a few steps and immediately checks the temperature which is usually wrong because it hasn’t had a chance to warm up so it throws a machine error code leaving you without a fax or printer until its reset.
How To Fix  Brother MFC 8440, 8640, 8840, 8840 76, 77, and 78 Machine/Fuser Errors
First, since some of these can result in over heat issues I always recommend letting it sit unplugged for 1/2 hour. Hey, you might get lucky and plug it back in and it might start-up properly. Brother and other manufactures recommend this as a first action to take whenever you get a fuser error. This should allow the machines to sit long enough that it will carry out its regular power up cycle if it is a recoverable error. If not then we will have to put it in Maintenance Mode to attempt to manually clear the 76, 77, 78 Fuser / machine error . To do this on most Brother Faxes, and MFC’s you need to press ( Menu, *, 2, 8, 6 ,4 ). DCP’s Press (Menu, Start, then the ^ button four times) Sounds easy right? It’s not. The button sequence has to be done within a few seconds or it will not work. I usually tell customers to get a beat in their head or say the sequence over and over in their head then press the buttons. It might take you a few times. The main thing a can say here is not to read the screen. I’ll repeat, Do not read the screen just press the buttons. If done correctly the lights on the display will flash and the display will read MAINTENANCE. To reset the machine at this point just press 9,9 and the machine will exit maintenance mode and start its normal power up sequence. 99% of the time that’s all that needs done to reset the 76, 77, 78 Fuser / machine error codes . DCP’s you have to scroll the ^ or down buttons to get to the 99 reset. If it doesn’t fix your 76, 77, 78 Fuser / machine error you could try a 0,0 or a 0,1 in maintenance mode but these do restore settings so you might need to reconfigure your header and other settings. If that still doesn’t work then it’s probably time to call in a service technician to check the fuser out and possibly the power supply. Maintenance mode is not to be taken lightly. This isn’t a new toy on your fax machine. Certain modes can render your machine useless so only use it when necessary.
Conclusion about the 76, 77, 78 Â Fuser / Machine Error in the Brother MFC 8440, 8640, 8840, 8840
On newer models they have life counters for parts like the fuser. Replace fuser messages don’t always mean you have a fuser issue, just that the fuser has reached its 100,000 PM cycle and needs replaced.  Hopefully this article  has helped you solve your immediate problem of the 76, 77, 78 Fuser / Machine Errors – Brother MFC 8440, 8640, 8840, 8840. Maybe in another article I will write about replacing the fusing asembly if it needs to be done.
Below I have provided a link to purchase a new fuser if needed and current models of Brother Multifuction machines that are built with the same durability as these old workhorses. I have several of the DCP 8085, MFC 8890, 8480 with over 100,000 copies and prints and are still running great.
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Thank you, this ( Menu, *, 2, 8, 6 ,4 ) has worked for me and my Brother MFC-8820DN model showing Error 78, after 12 years of perfect use now!
I thought I have to let it go into retirement now…