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HP RM1-5080 Cartridge Door Microswitch for HP P4014 Series Printers.

HP Part RM1-5080 is the cartridge door microswitch for the LaserJet P4014, P4015 and P4515 printers and the ten N, DN, TN X and XM variants.

It doesn't seem to be the same as the switch used in the LaserJet Enterprise M601 which is RM1-8307 or that for the LaserJet 4200, although that looks similar.

The switch assembly is an Omron "normally open" subminiature microswitch with a low force hinge lever marked SS-5FL-11113T. This seems to be an SS-5 switch. We weren't able to find the specific model in the Omron catalog or the complete reference in Google. Although hkinventory.com had heard of it they had no matching records. However Omron says of the SS series:

Subminiature Basic Switch Offers Long Life of 30,000,000 operations

A design that combines simplicity and stability by use of two split springs ensures a long service life of 30,000,000 operations

A variety of models are available, with operating force ranging from low to high.

Solder, quick-connect terminals (#110) and PCB terminals are available.

Approval obtained for standards including UL, CSA, and VDE.

It is possible that this specific switch was made for HP. The wire seems to be included in the HP part and has the quick-connect "spades" at one end and a "CT" style plug at the other end of a 24cm (10 inch) red wire pair that connects to the DC controller.

The switch is operated by the cartridge door. When the switch is open it cuts the 24 Volt rail which disable the motors and HT circuits so that user safety is preserved when the cartridge door is opened.

If the printer reports Close Top Cover - press ? for help when the door clearly is closed then the switch is suspect. The sevice manual also says a 13.21.00 error message indicates that the top-cover-open switch (SW101) was activated while a print job was printing (the top cover was opened or the switch is defective). The switch is mechanical so it could fail, although Omron's claimed longevity suggests not. Most printers are unlikely to have the cartridge door operated a hundred times - never mind the rated switch life of 30 million operations.

The simplest way to prove a fault is probably just to use a continuity meter on the switch, out of circuit. This kind of switch can develop intermittent faults so watch out for that. We would recommend against bridging the switch connectors because the switch is an essential safety feature, the machine is hazardous if the switch does not operate. (We know workshops often do foul lid-switches for test purposes but it is dangerous. Any test link used for the switch must be removed !

A problem getting the cartridge door switch to register changes is far more likely to be cartridge misseating or switch positioning than an actual defect in the switch.

The door switch is worked by the top coverRM1-4552 (P4015 P4515) orRM1-5250 (P4014).The door switch connector is on the DC controllerRM1-4582 where the circuit diagram suggests it connects pins 24VA and 24VC.

To see RM1-5080 in context in the engineering diagrams click here.

HP Information

A wildcard search on partsurfer says:

... and a specific search gives -

We were unable to find an EAN/UPC code in Icecat.

It seems likely that HP do have alternate parts that will fit but we can't currently prove that.

RM1-5080

Web Research

Google search in July 2013 found About 174,000 results for this part at prices as follows: chips £2.78, printerworks, $8.46 impact $16.23, sparepartswarehouse $8.37, partshere $4.27, Amazon(DECtrader) $18, Lambdatek 5.92€, newfuser $4.41, (with a compatible at $3.31 and a refurb at $2.87), Everprint $70.04 and memory4less at $141.91 specially discounted from $166.95! (Memory might be less; I didn't look). Non of these vendors offered any information beyond what Partsurfer says.

Prices noted are for a new item without tax. The list is as encountered. We haven't bothered with currency conversion - half of our readers are outside the UK and are more interested in dollar prices.

Tradebin found 2 US suppliers claiming to have stock. The number seemed to get it confused with a great many other parts having the pattern 1-5080 in them.

As said above, the Omron part was not found and may be specific to HP.

Other Research

Our research in UK distribution lists suggested just 2 distributors list the components and neither had stock in July 2013.

Supply Situation

The part is listed by a couple of distributors but they don't hold stock. We think demand for the part will be very low because it is unlikely that the switches will actually fail and highly likely that by the time they do service people will have another machine they can cannibalise.

We can provide these parts when required. The price is about £3.50 which largely reflects the logistics of obtaining one.

These are guidelines, our prices change with distribution lists - see the catalog. Stock numbers indicate there is not much call for the part.

Copyright G & J Huskinson & MindMachine Associates Ltd 2013, 2015, 2016. Some pictures derived from HP User and Service guides. These technical pages do not constitute an offer for sale; just our knowledge at the time of writing. See the catalog. Sales pages on this Web site use cookies to store user information. We also use Google Analytics to track site usage patterns.