HP Color LaserJet 1600, 2600, 2605, CM1015, CM1017 Fusers.

HP Color Laserjet 2605 Belt

Colour laser printers build the page image using toner powder. In the CLJ 1600, 2600, 2605 and CM1015 / CM1017 the toner is plastic and wax made as a fine powder. Patterns of toner are created and held on the page by electrostatic fields until they reach the fuser, which acts as a pair of heated rollers softening and sticking toner powder permanently to the page.

HP Color Laserjet 2600 Fuser

Fusers use both heat and usually some pressure, a combination of forces works better than either alone. In the fuser the plastic softens sufficiently to adhere to paper. The wax provides a bit of lubrication which minimises the amount of toner that sticks to the fuser surface.

The Color LaserJet 2600 series fusers use a technology called Instant On by HP. The fuser is a cylinder of teflon-like material around a metal bar, at the base of which is a thin bar of ceramic with a resistive film heating element. The heater can turn on and provide heat in seconds, unlike the mechanisms used in some other laser printers which take more than a minute to come to working temperature. This both saves energy and allows the printer to deliver the first page out in a short time.

The fuser is mounted in the top front part of the printer and is partly accessible from the top if the lid is lifted, and from underneath if the cartridge door is opened.

HP Color Laserjet 2605 Mechanism

The fuser is not particularly complicated and usually lasts a long time. It isn't uncommon for fusers in small machines to last for 100,000 pages. In bigger machines like the P4015 a 220,000 page life is likely.

Fusers in colour laser printers commonly have about half the page life of those in mono printers. Page cover tends to be greater (- and perhaps toner composition is a bit more sticky). So the fuser is likely to give trouble somewhere in excess of 50,000 pages.

With low cost printers manufacturers often make the presumption that the fuser will last the life of the printer - this suggests they can disregard it's replacement cost in calculating the price per page for print. It also means they aren't inclined to make fusers easily replaceable in small machines - as is the case with this series.

If you have experience of the Color LaserJet 3600 series you will know that it's fuser just clips in and out. This machine is quite different, changing the fuser means removing the top and side panels. Making a printer cheap to buy often does mean design compromises.

An advantage of the CLJ 2600 series and the CLJ 2605 in particular is that as a best-seller compatible and refilled cartridges are quite cheap. For a small office wanting to produce publicity material these printers have proved good value and many people would like to keep them going. The information below suggests how.


HP Color Laserjet 2600 Series Fuser

Fusers

There are several printers using the same Canon LBP-5000 engine. The fusers are all pretty similar, the big difference being that the CLJ 2605 duplex fuser includes part of the duplex paper path.

RM1-1825 fuser for Duplex 220 Volt Models of the CLJ 2605 - RM1-1825-050CN

HP Color Laserjet 2605 fuser for duplex models

Fits the:

  • Color Laserjet 2600DN and DTN only (not the simplex or single-sided printer - and this version is 220 Volt only (See RM1-1824 for the 120 Volt Version)).

RM1-1829 Fuser for CLJ 2605 Simplex 220 Volt version only - (not the Duplex or double-sided printer). RM1-1829-050CN

Fits the:

  • Color Laserjet 2605 Simplex 220 Volt printers only.

HP Color Laserjet 1600 and 2600 Fuser

RM1-1821 for CLJ 1600 and 2600 Simplex version 220 Volt Power only - RM1-1821-240CN

Fits the:

  • Color Laserjet 1600 and 2600 Simplex version 220 Volt Power only.

As well as new HP branded fusers it is also sometimes possible to get refurbished fusers. At the time of writing (July 2012) the major distributors are not offering refurbs for this model of printer. There may be fuser-films available - its the film that usually fails.

HP Color Laserjet 2600 Series Main Components

Before Starting Work

The fuser in the CLJ 2600 series printers is not easy to change. The next- higher machine in the series is the CLJ-2700 /3000 / 3600 and its fuser unplugs from the top and another plugs into place. In the CLJ 2600 case the fuser is screwed in onto the top metalwork of the printer and a wiring harness connect it to the low-voltage power supply next to it. To get at these parts the right side and top of the printer has to be removed.

warning

Before work first turn off and unplug the printer. Removing the plastic panels exposes voltages which could be fatal. A fuser delivers a substantial burst of heat to pages as they pass through, so it is directly mains powered and so is the Low Voltage Power Supply (LVPS). There are no fine adjustments to be made with power on. Make sure power is off.

warning

Also take care to protect the printer electronics against electrostatic discharge from yourself. People wearing artificial fibres commonly make charges of several thousand volts that can damage electronic circuits if they discharge in the wrong place (they are at lower current than the fatal voltages present in the printer, but can damage chips). Wear an anti-static strap or - if non is available, discharge any static onto a grounded surface such as a metal radiator


HP Recommend the following tools:

  • Philips No 2 screwdriver with a magnetised shaft at least 150mm (6 inches) long. (They dislike use of Pozidrive tips)
  • A small flat blade screwdriver (often called a terminal screwdriver) .
  • Needle -nose pliers
  • An Anti-Static Strap

Fuser Removal and Replacement Procedure

This is a brief guide to changing the fuser. Some Pictures are from the HP Service Manual (which is fairly freely available on the Internet) but we have reduced and labeled them to make them easier to use on screen.

screw locations - right

Pull the paper cassette right out of the machine, it obstructs access to the side panels.

tab locations - left

Remove the delivery or output tray from the top of the machine. Its on plastic clips.

Remove two screws from the right side cover.


screw locations - right

Open the front door. Be careful not to touch the ETB surfaces.

If you also intend to change the ETB you need to remove the left side panel as well. There is a set of instructionshere. Basically take one screw out of the other side.

Changing the ETB requires both right and left sides to be removed, but the fuser only needs the right side and top to be removed.


right side tab locations - right

Remove the right side by twisting the front edge of the cover outward, there is a tab about halfway up that needs to release. The side panel then pivots away from the front as though there were hinges at the back. It may need moderate force as various little protrusions hold it under the top cover. However we need to get under the right cover before removing the top to get at the control panel cable.


right side control cable - right

The Control Panel membrane cable has to be removed from it's socket before the top cover can be lifted off. Note which way the cable goes, it won't work if reinserted back to front.

This kind of cable also needs careful handling - keep it straight. if the cable is bent sharply the metallised tracks can fail.

(If you want to remove the left panel it is secured by one screw in the lifting point towards the base and by a plastic latch at the level of the tray. It isn't necessary to remove that side to work on the fuser.)


top cover release tabs

The top of the printer has a dark grey fascia or cover over the light coloured plastic. Small tabs at the rear next to the face-down tray release this and it lifts up from the rear. There are big tabs along the front.


top cover lift up

Once the top fascia has been removed the screws holding the top cover are visible.

top cover screws
top cover screws

Remove the screws that hold the top cover down.


top cover screws

Lift the top away. Avoid any damage to the control panel cable.


face down tray removal

The face-down tray can now be lifted off the top.

face down tray
Fuser motor plug removal

The fuser motor cable can now be unplugged from the motor itself

Top view - electronics
Fuser power connector

The circuit board on top of the printer is the Low Voltage Power Supply or LVPS. It converts main (or line) power to the low voltages used in the formatter and DC controlled (3.3 Volts) the motors and HVPS (24 Volts) and provides power to the fuser.

The LVPS contains a number of connectors in black and white plastic, several have to be unplugged to take the fuser out. Note connector position - wires tend to rest in the right place.

The fuser power cable harness stretches across the Low Voltage Power Supply and can be unplugged.


Fuser opto and HV connectors

At the right side of the fuser are 2 three pin opto connectors and a High Voltage tag connector on a red wire. They unplug.

Fuser opto and HV connectors 2
Fuser screw locations

The fuser is held in place by three screws and slide-on tabs .

Notice that the screw near the fuser motor is next to a hole leading into the depths of the printer. Use a well magnetised screwdriver to avoid it disappearing into the works.

Duplex models may have an extra screw securing the fuser to the duplex motor bracket.


Fuser lift out

The fuser slide-tabs tend to lock it in position, a bit of rocking back and forth allows it to be lifted away.

Fuser Underside

Once the old fuser is out of the printer installing the new one is a matter of reversing the actions.

This guide is based on the HP Service Manual and on experience. It is based on the HP CLJ 2605 manual.

The full procedure for both ETB and Fuser can be found in the service manual. Use Google to search for Q7821-90930 or buy a manual from one of the websites specialising in such things.



Copyright Graham Huskinson and Mindmachine Associates Ltd 2009-2012. Mono Pictures from the HPs Service Manual