How to troubleshoot a jamming LaserJet 5P

I recently bought a used LaserJet 5P. It worked perfectly for the first 50 pages, but now all of a suddan, it jams. Every time. I cannot print.

It works fine from the upper tray, just not the lower one.

It started with a paper jam where the paper reached about 5 cm horizontally on the upper layer (the paper was picked up and it passed the U-bend but then it stopped).

I cleaned the rollers and gave them a slight rub with sandpaper to give them some more grip. This had no effect. Well, actually, it seems that it did have some effect - the paper is not even picked up from the tray anymore!

I seem to recall the D-shaped semi-roller with the jagged rubber being positioned with the round side down when I first looked down there. Now, however, it is the flat side down. Has this somehow gotten messed up? It does not move if I try to push it by hand. The other, round roller with a rubber coating moves freely in one direction and not in the other.

Does anyone recognize what this could be? Why is the paper not picked up… I wish the printer had an observation pane so I could see what is going on when it tries to pick up the paper…

I’m not terribly familiar with the 5P, but your sanding seems like it might have taken just enough off the rollers that they no longer touch paper. Fortunately, a roller kit’s not terribly expensive.

I’ve got no connection to that company, except for being a repeat customer. In addition to the rollers, you’ll get a very good set of instructions. I’ve seen some “kits” that are nothing but a bunch of parts in a baggie, and you’re on your own to figure it out.

Like this.

Are you sure that you don’t have any scraps of paper left inside from when it jammed?

I’ve had this problem. A really small scrap of paper can be in just the wrong place to prevent the feed roller from picking up a sheet of paper. And they can be very hard to find.

I did find one scrap of paper but nothing more. I think I gave it quite a thorough look.

Roller kits are not much of an option here since they are not sold anywhere (I live in East Europe).

Any other ideas? Does anyone here have a 5P? I am still a bit concerned about the D-shaped roller. Maybe somebody can confirm which side up it should be.

Well, it is definitely a mechanical problem. When I manually separate the gears and move the D-shaped roller round-side-up, it rotates it to the correct position on startup. However, it seems to be unable to go past the normal position when printing - something simply clicks a few times and the roller jumps a tiny amount when it tries to print.

I removed at least 20 screws and was still unable to separate any parts from the printer… it seems like we unforunately do not have any LaserJet experts here but does anyone know where I can find a guide on how to open the printer? I can’t even really see the gears right now.

To change the pickup roller in a 5P, you have to do some major disassembly on the bottom of the printer.

There may be a problem with the clutch that makes the pickup roller turn.

This is entirely from memory…I don’t have a service manual in front of me–If you really want to take it apart, remove the toner cartridge and the rear door of the printer. The rear door should have a tab that will release one of the hinges from it’s mount…just bend it gently until it lets go.

Remove the paper tray and the two side doors at the rear of the printer where the power cable and parallel cable plug in. With the cartridge door open, you’ll see a tab that you push down and the (left?) side of the printer will slide forward and come off.

Flip the printer over and look at all 4 corners for screws. Then there are tabs in each corner that you’ll have to bend with a flathead screwdriver…you’ll need two at a time. You can release the printer casing back end first…then have somebody hold it while you work the front end loose…this will probly require two people since somebody has to hold the body of the printer while you work it loose from the casing.

Once you get the case off the printer, you’ll be able to start removing stuff. The whole bottom around the pickup roller should come off…the formatter board–the brain of the printer is on the backside of that bottom metal piece. After you get that out, you should be able to remove the pickup roller and see the shaft and clutch or solenoid.

Before you do this, you may want to search Google for “HP LaserJet 5P Service Manual”. You might be able to get a free download in PDF format.

If you CAN get the service manual, just to to the “Removal and Replacement” section and there will be pictures and step-by-step instructions that are much better detailed than what I’ve written here.

HP has stopped producing parts for it’s old laser printers including the Series I, Series II and III, LaserJet 3Si and 4Si, HP LaserJet 4, 4+, 5, LaserJet 4L and 4P, LaserJet 5P and 6P.

In turn, a lot of aftermarket parts suppliers have stopped selling parts for these printers also.

If you need parts for that 5P, you may have a hard time getting them unless you can find someone who still has these parts on a shelf somewhere.

Alright, thanks for the info. I will try to disassemble per your instructions and try to find a service manual.

I live in a very remote area for any kind of international business, so I never really could count on any spare parts. I’ll have to hope it is just something out of alignment or some other small thing that I can repair myself (since it does seem to work every now and then - I have been able to get it to feed two sheets of paper so far).

5P’s are cheaper than dirt on ebay. Parts are also easily had there.

HP USED to sell a “Maintenance Kit” that contained all the common wear parts, the M.K. contained;

Pick-up roller assembly
Seperation Pad (the cork pad directly below the PURA
Corona Wire/Transfer Roller
Fuser

common trouble spots in that printer were;
cleaning the PURA but not cleaning/replacing the seperation pad. that typically caused paper feed problems, the paper would stop 1/4 of the way in
the solenoid for the PURA would often fail, and just not release the PURA clutch
the drum drive gear would fail, paper would stop feeding as it reached the drum in the toner cartridge
fuser assembly gets clogged up with excess toner, paper would stop at the fuser assembly
output assembly (face-down output ass’y) failures generally resulted in “accordion jams”, paper would bunch up into an “accordion” shape as it exited the fuser and the output rollers were not rolling

a maint. kit covers everything except the output ass’y issues, but good luck finding a maint. kit now as there’s no part support for the 5P, best bet is find a 5P with a bad Laser/Scanner assembly (another common failure) and use it for parts

Here - they ship wordwide