If you have a Dell 5100cn or 5110cn colour laser printer that is noisy when printing and prints faint black or no black at all, check the black developer and the developer drive assembly.
The noise is not really like a grinding noise, it is just a louder than normal engine noise. If you print a black only page, the noise will become louder and higher pitched because the engine turns faster.
The cause of this problem is the black developer becoming stiff which then wears the gear on the developer drive assembly that drives the black developer.
To remove the developer unit:
- Remove the image drum assembly
- Remove the toner cartridge cover
- Remove the four toner cartridges, being careful not to drop toner into the toner hoppers causing contamination to the different colours
- Remove two screws at the front and release two clips at the back and remove the top cover
- You can now fit the toner cartridges back in place if you want to seal the hoppers and prevent any stray toner getting into them
- Remove the two side covers by removing the screw at the back and releasing the clip at the front of each cover
- Pull out the two hinge pins and remove the imaging drum cover
- Remove the high voltage power supply board by removing five screws and releasing the plastic clips on the right hand side. Disconnect the two cables at the top of the board. As you pull the board toward you, disconnect the cable plug on the other side of it. When you fit the board back in to the printer, don’t forget to reconnect this plug. Also, make sure the plastic clips are clipped over the board
- Disconnect the four tubes from the back of the developer units by pressing the latches in and pulling them out. These tubes have sealing mechanisms on them but it’s probably a good idea to try and tape them, facing up, to the top of the printer because they will drop toner
- Disconnect one connector at the top of the developer frame and then grab the handle and pull it up and out of the printer. You will need to keep the developer frame level or toner will drop out of the back of the developer units
Once the developer frame is on the bench, you can remove the black developer unit by pulling the two white plastic clips up and the developer can be pulled out. If you tilt the developer up, toner will pour out of the back of it.
Grasp the gear on the right hand side of the developer and see how much force is required to turn it. Compare it to the other developers. You might find it is tighter.
To remove the developer drive assembly:
- Remove the four cable clamps and remove the cables from the cable guide
- Remove two screws and remove the cable guide from the printer
- Disconnect the one connector on the developer drive motor
- Remove three screws and pull the developer drive assembly out of the printer. As you remove it, note the position of the door switch at the top which will probably drop out
With the developer drive assembly on the bench, find the gear that turns the black developer. Run your finger nail up it and you will probably feel a ridge where the teeth are worn. You might also see some white dust from the gear on both sides of the main frame where the drive unit mounts to.
Now would be a good time to remove all the loose toner that’s lying in the printer using a laser vac.
The part number for the black developer is M6091. I’ve had some new developer units that are completely empty and after numerous developer cleaning cycles and printing many pages either won’t put any toner on the paper or dump toner all over the paper.
A genuine developer unit from Dell will already have some toner in it and will have two sealing plugs in the back of it. Remove these two plugs before you fit it. You will find that these work first time without any problems.
The part number for the developer drive assembly is H6702.
After reassembling the printer with the new parts, the printer should be a lot quieter and the black will be printint normally again.
