The noise is not really like a grinding noise, it is just a louder than normal engine noise. If you print a black only page, the noise will become louder and higher pitched because the engine turns faster.
The cause of this problem is the black developer becoming stiff which then wears the gear on the developer drive assembly that drives the black developer.
To remove the developer unit:
- Remove the image drum assembly
- Remove the toner cartridge cover
- Remove the four toner cartridges, being careful not to drop toner into the toner hoppers causing contamination to the different colours
- Remove two screws at the front and release two clips at the back and remove the top cover
- You can now fit the toner cartridges back in place if you want to seal the hoppers and prevent any stray toner getting into them
- Remove the two side covers by removing the screw at the back and releasing the clip at the front of each cover
- Pull out the two hinge pins and remove the imaging drum cover
- Remove the high voltage power supply board by removing five screws and releasing the plastic clips on the right hand side. Disconnect the two cables at the top of the board. As you pull the board toward you, disconnect the cable plug on the other side of it. When you fit the board back in to the printer, don't forget to reconnect this plug. Also, make sure the plastic clips are clipped over the board
- Disconnect the four tubes from the back of the developer units by pressing the latches in and pulling them out. These tubes have sealing mechanisms on them but it's probably a good idea to try and tape them, facing up, to the top of the printer because they will drop toner
- Disconnect one connector at the top of the developer frame and then grab the handle and pull it up and out of the printer. You will need to keep the developer frame level or toner will drop out of the back of the developer units
Grasp the gear on the right hand side of the developer and see how much force is required to turn it. Compare it to the other developers. You might find it is tighter.
To remove the developer drive assembly:
- Remove the four cable clamps and remove the cables from the cable guide
- Remove two screws and remove the cable guide from the printer
- Disconnect the one connector on the developer drive motor
- Remove three screws and pull the developer drive assembly out of the printer. As you remove it, note the position of the door switch at the top which will probably drop out
Now would be a good time to remove all the loose toner that's lying in the printer using a laser vac.
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The part number for the black developer is M6091. I've had some new (?/refurbished/second user/second hand) developer units that are completely empty and after numerous developer cleaning cycles and printing many pages either won't put any toner on the paper or dump toner all over the paper.
A genuine developer unit from Dell will already have some toner in it and will have two sealing plugs in the back of it. Remove these two plugs before you fit it. You will find that these work first time without any problems.
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| Dell 5100cn 5110cn Developer Drive Assembly |
The part number for the developer drive assembly is:
Dell 5100cn H6702.
Dell 5110cn YD415.
i did this last night, and found your article this morning. thanks it was rewarding to know i did it the right way.
ReplyDeleteso are you saying the gummy developer powder is inside the dev assmbly and not the gear itself?
i thought it was the dev moteor so i ordered a replacement motor and installed it last night, but still got the terrible grinding sound. so 3 hours later at 2am i discovered the dev frame and dev assmbly but was too tired to experiment with each one.
one thing you might want to mention is with power off, hold down the up & down arrows at same time on front op panel then turn on pwr switch. continue holding until customer diagnostics comes up. garrow dwon to next menu ok, then arrow down to output test, then up arrow to code 16. this will allow you to spin the dev motor to check gear noise. you can do this with the drum removed so you can see the rollers spin, but be aware it will spray fine mist of toner dust in the air, so have old clothes on and a way to vacuum up the dust. if you don't have a special laser vac, you might try a shop vacuum with a soaking wet cloth tide round the exhaust port to catch micro toner dust and do it outside. a regular vacuum with just suck and blow the toner dust all over the place and then it'll get in your lungs and you're in trouble. good luck
Very informative post. Thank you for sharing this with us.
ReplyDeletePrinter Maintenance Service