Apple Portable StyleWriter Troubleshooting Guide

Fault-finding for the Apple Portable StyleWriter, from Apple's Portable StyleWriter Service Source. The printer reports faults with its three lights and with beeps, and the Macintosh printer driver shows a matching message. Apple's symptom charts try the cable, software, paper, cartridge and battery, then replace the whole printer.^[1] Purging and battery care are on Apple Portable StyleWriter General Maintenance.

Error lights and beeps

Apple's chart lists the driver's message, the state of the Power, Error and On Line lights, and the fault. In the chart, "blink" means the light is flashing.^[1]

**Portable StyleWriter error chart**^[1]
Message from the driver	Power	Error	On Line	Fault
None	Off	Off	Off	No status lights
Printer beeps 2 or 3 times	On	Off	On	Out of paper
Printer beeps continuously	On	Off	On	Paper jam
Printer beeps continuously	On	Off	Blink	Carriage position error
Printer beeps 5 times	On	Blink	Off	Printer start-up error
Printer beeps 3 times	On	Blink	Off	Printer error
Power light blinks once every second	On	Blink	Blink	Battery being charged
Power light blinks once every half second	Blink	Off	Off	Battery low
Printer beeps 5 times and Power light blinks every half second	Blink	Off	Off	Battery empty
Printer beeps 5 times and two lights blink alternately	Blink	Off	On	Battery error

The light states are drawn from Apple's chart. For the battery-charging and battery-error rows the drawing does not match the wording in the message column, so go by the message and the fault name.^[1]

Error charts

**Cures for each error, in Apple's order**^[1]
Fault	Cures
No status lights	Printer switched on and plugged in; on battery, a known-good charged battery; replace the printer
Out of paper	Add paper; replace the printer
Paper jam	Check the cables; clear the jam and press the power switch (a steady status light means it is cleared); replace the printer
Carriage position error	The carriage has not returned home: switch off, wait a few seconds and switch on; replace the printer
Printer start-up error, printer error	Switch off, wait a few seconds and switch on; replace the printer
Battery being charged	Wait for the charge to finish; replace the printer
Battery low	Recharge the battery; replace the printer
Battery empty	The printer beeps again after five minutes and switches itself off; recharge the battery; replace the printer
Battery error	Recharge the battery two or three times; replace the battery; replace the printer

Other symptoms

**Symptom charts**^[1]
Symptom	Cures, in order
Computer cannot find the printer	Correct driver installed; Chooser and control panel settings; serial cable connected; replace the cable
No lights or movement	Switched on and plugged in, or a known-good charged battery; replace the printer
Print quality problems	16-24 lb cotton bond; purge the cartridge; replace the cartridge; replace the printer
Mechanical problems	16-24 lb paper; clear the jam; sheet feeder aligned with the printer; replace the printer
No printing	Serial cable; printer chosen in the Chooser; purge; replace the cartridge; replace the printer
Garbled printing	Serial cable; purge; cartridge; replace the printer
Overprinting	Line spacing and length in the application; correct driver; replace the printer
Too light or too dark	Purge; 16-24 lb paper; forms thickness lever (up for standard paper, down for envelopes, transparencies, labels and heavy paper); cartridge
White lines; wavy, splotchy or distorted image	Purge; cartridge; replace the printer
Page off centre	Paper; no more than 50 sheets in the feeder; paper inserted correctly; margins and paper size in Page Setup; replace the printer
Ink on the back of the paper	Clean the platen with a soft, dry cloth; replace the printer
Carrier faults (erratic, not moving, grinding, no self-test)	Clear the carrier area where the carrier does not move; otherwise replace the printer
No paper feed; grinding; binding or tearing	Sheet feeder aligned; obstructions; forms thickness lever; paper inserted correctly; 16-24 lb paper; replace the printer
Envelopes feed badly	Set the paper thickness lever, do not mix sheets and envelopes in one job, reset the lever afterwards; replace the printer
Control panel buttons do not work	Replace the control panel assembly; replace the printer
Problem in one program only	Known-good software; software compatible with TrueType fonts

Test pattern

The purge procedure ends with an optional test pattern: release FWD ADJ and REV ADJ and press LF/FF at once. All the lines should be continuous; if any are broken, purge again.^[2] The full procedure is on Apple Portable StyleWriter General Maintenance#Purging the cartridge.

Related pages

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Apple Computer, Portable StyleWriter (Service Source), Troubleshooting: Error LEDs, p. 2 (PDF p. 15), and Symptom Charts, pp. 3-14 (PDF pp. 16-27), hosted as File:Portable stylewriter.pdf; described at Portable StyleWriter Service Source.
↑ Portable StyleWriter Service Source, Additional Procedures, Purge Ink Cartridge, pp. 1-5 (PDF pp. 43-47).

[pss-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Apple Computer, Portable StyleWriter (Service Source), Troubleshooting: Error LEDs, p. 2 (PDF p. 15), and Symptom Charts, pp. 3-14 (PDF pp. 16-27), hosted as File:Portable stylewriter.pdf; described at Portable StyleWriter Service Source.

[pss-purge-2] Portable StyleWriter Service Source, Additional Procedures, Purge Ink Cartridge, pp. 1-5 (PDF pp. 43-47).

[1]

[2]