Apple Color StyleWriter 2400 Troubleshooting Guide
Fault-finding for the Apple Color StyleWriter 2400 and Apple Color StyleWriter 2500, from the symptom charts in Apple's Service Sources and the troubleshooting chapters of the user's guides.[1][2] The two printers' charts are the same except where noted. Apple lists cures in order of likelihood: try the first, check whether the symptom has gone, and refit the original module before moving to the next cure.[1]
Routine procedures named below (nozzle check, head cleaning, EEPROM reset, loose gears and rollers) are on the general maintenance page.
The two lights
[edit | edit source]| Lights | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Both off | The printer has switched itself off after being idle (usually about five minutes). Press the power button; if the lights stay off, check the power cord and the outlet |
| Error light steady | Out of paper, or the paper has misfed |
| Error light blinking | The cartridge may not be seated: open the cover, reseat it and lower the blue lever firmly |
Driver messages
[edit | edit source]| Message | Symptom |
|---|---|
| Out of paper | Paper pickup error |
| Paper jam | Paper jam |
| Ink cartridge jam | Carriage control error |
| Obstruction, clear and try again | Cleaning error |
| Check connector and try again | Temperature sensor error |
| Cartridge not installed properly | Cartridge error |
| Check connectors and try again | ROM/RAM error |
| Waste ink absorbers full | Waste ink full error |
| Cartridge needs to be replaced | Head temperature error, or head temperature sensor error |
| Symptom | Cures, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| Paper pickup error | Add paper. Use only specified media. Check Page Setup. Fan the paper |
| Paper jam | Check the eject roller for obstructions or damage; clean or replace it |
| Carriage control error | Check the eject roller for obstructions or damage; clean or replace it |
| Cleaning error | Check the eject roller for obstructions or damage; clean or replace it |
| Temperature sensor error | Check the cable connections. Replace the logic board |
| Cartridge error | Make sure the cartridges are set firmly. Replace the cartridge. Replace the carriage unit |
| ROM/RAM error | Check the cable connections. Reinstall the printer software. Replace the logic board |
| Waste ink full error | Replace the ink absorbers (kit 076-0470), then reset the EEPROM |
| Head temperature error | Replace the ink cartridge |
| Head temperature sensor error | Replace the ink cartridge |
Power
[edit | edit source]| Printer | Cures, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| 2400 (internal supply) | Check the power cable connections. Replace the power cord. Replace the fuse. Replace the power supply |
| 2500 (external adapter) | Check the power cable connections. Replace the power cord. Check the voltage of the power adapter: if there is none, replace the adapter; if it is within the specified range, replace the logic board |
Warning: the 2400's power supply carries mains voltage. It sits behind the front covers, rear covers and cut sheet feeder; it is unplugged from the logic board at connector CNV and held by two screws, and the fuse is under its own cover.[1] Apple lists the fuse as 922-0180 (125 V) or 922-0181 (250 V) without a current rating, and gives no output voltages for the supply or for the 2500's adapter (922-2194).[1][2] A printer with both lights off may simply have switched itself off after about five idle minutes; press the power button before suspecting the supply.[3]
Operation
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Cures, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| Does not print | Switch the printer on and restart the computer. Check the interface cable. Check the driver and port in the Chooser. Replace the printer driver |
| Carriage does not move to the centre when the front door is opened with the printer on | Make sure the black latch at the upper left corner of the front door engages the button on the logic board. Replace the logic board |
| Carriage moves back and forth for five minutes | A print job was cancelled during a purge. Switch the printer off and on |
| Will not print with the LocalTalk option installed | Switch on and restart the computer. Check the cable. Check the Chooser. Replace the driver. Print a test page. Print directly through the serial port. Replace the LocalTalk module |
On a 2500, check that the LocalTalk module is the later version labelled for both printers; the earlier module works only with the 2400.[2] The 2500 user's guide adds that on a Macintosh IIfx, Quadra 900 or Quadra 950, slow printing is cured by setting the Serial Switch control panel to Compatible.[4]
Paper handling
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Cures, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| Paper sticks together | Remove excess sheets. Use only specified media. Check Page Setup. Fan the paper |
| Paper skews | Remove excess sheets. Use only specified media. Stack the paper against the left side of the tray and set the guide. Check the sheet feeder rollers and eject roller; clean or replace them |
| Jam while loading | Remove the paper carefully by hand |
| Jam inside the printer | Pull the paper out carefully in the direction of output |
| Jam during output | Pull the paper out in the direction of output. Check the eject roller for obstructions or damage |
Pull jammed paper out gently. Forcing it out knocks small gears and springs out of the front door and small rollers out of the platen, and none of them were available as service parts.[1]
Print quality
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Cures, in Apple's order |
|---|---|
| Missing dots or white streaks | Run the nozzle check and print head cleaning. Make sure the cartridges are set firmly. Use only specified media. Replace the cartridge. Replace the logic board |
| Blurring or smudging | Use only specified media. Clean the print head. Replace the cartridge |
| Missing dots followed by a blob of ink | Set print quality to Best in the driver |
| Vertical lines distorted or wavy | Open and close the blue lever next to the cartridge to reseat it |
| Poor image at the bottom of the page | Increase the bottom margin to at least 0.8 in |
| Dark streaks or ink stains with the Color PhotoGrade cartridge (2500) | Move the internal paper selector to the Envelope position, which leaves more space between head and paper |
| QuickDraw GX does not work with the PhotoGrade cartridge (2500) | Disable QuickDraw GX before printing with the PhotoGrade Print Kit |
If the printer takes paper but prints nothing, check that the cartridge and tanks are installed correctly and that the tape was removed from a new cartridge's print head, then print the test page and clean the head.[3]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Apple Color StyleWriter 2400 and Apple Color StyleWriter 2500
- Apple Color StyleWriter 2400 General Maintenance
- Color StyleWriter 2400 Service Source and Color StyleWriter 2500 Service Source
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Apple Computer, Color StyleWriter 2400 (Service Source), 158 pp., hosted as Color StyleWriter 2400 Service Source (PDF). PDF pages: troubleshooting general p. 21; error messages and LEDs pp. 22-24; symptom charts for operation pp. 25-26, paper pp. 27-28, print quality pp. 29-30 and error LEDs pp. 31-32; front covers pp. 34-36; logic board pp. 60-64; power supply pp. 65-68; fuse pp. 69-70; exploded view p. 158.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Apple Computer, Color StyleWriter 2500 (Service Source), 163 pp., hosted as Color StyleWriter 2500 Service Source (PDF). PDF pages: test page pp. 14-15; troubleshooting general p. 28; error messages and LEDs pp. 29-31; symptom charts for operation pp. 32-34, paper pp. 35-36, print quality pp. 37-38 and error LEDs pp. 39-40; exploded view p. 163.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Apple Computer, Color StyleWriter 2400 User's Guide, 1994, hosted as File:Apple Color StyleWriter 2400 Users Guide 1994.pdf. Troubleshooting chapter, pp. 49-66 (the lights p. 57; nothing printed p. 58); page numbers are the guide's own.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Apple Computer, Color StyleWriter 2500: Setting up, connecting, and using your printer, 1996, hosted as File:Apple Color StyleWriter 2500 Users Guide 1996.pdf. Troubleshooting chapter, pp. 65-88 (the lights p. 72; slow printing and automatic head cleaning p. 73); page numbers are the guide's own.