Tray 4 Empty Message on Control Panel

This type of failure on an HP Color LaserJet 9500hdn or HP LaserJet 9000/9000MFP series product is a false lifting problem; in this case, the Tray 4 has detected a closed status but thinks it is out of paper. There are two sensors/sensor flags that hang down from the paper input unit (PIU) in Tray 4. One flag detects tray lift (call-out 2 below); the other is for detection of tray empty (call-out 1 below). The empty tray scenario usually involves a stuck Tray 4 lift sensor (call-out 2 below).

Figure 1: Tray 4 PIU sensor flags 1-Paper presence sensor flag 2-Paper surface sensor flag

Make sure media (letter size) is not loaded on both sides of the tray. Also, have the customer verify that something other than paper is not in the empty side of the tray. The paper lift sensor only checks for paper loaded on the right side of the tray when looking at it from the front.

Remove all media and power cycle the printer or MFP.

Reseat all paper guides and power cycle unit making sure to move the guides through their range of movement before coming to rest on the proper paper size.

Remove the Tray 4 drawer and physically inspect these sensors. In some cases, the Tray 4 lift sensor (call-out 2 in Figure 1) can get stuck. The customer can sometimes resolve this scenario by pulling down on the stuck sensor.

Make sure media (letter size) is not loaded on both sides of the tray. Also, have the customer verify that something other than paper is not in the empty side of the tray. The paper lift sensor only checks for paper loaded on the right side of the tray when looking at it from the front.

Remove all media and power cycle the printer or MFP.

Reseat all paper guides and power cycle unit making sure to move the guides through their range of movement before coming to rest on the proper paper size.

Remove the Tray 4 drawer and physically inspect these sensors. In some cases, the Tray 4 lift sensor can get stuck. The customer can sometimes resolve this scenario by pulling down on the stuck sensor.

If none of the above resolves the issue, then the Tray 4 PIU needs to be replaced.

© 2005 Hewlett-Packard