Good tip for the Lexmark All-in-one inkjet printer owners (mine is the X6170):
After some months of use, your printer might get the habit of stopping in the middle of a page and showing “Hardware Error 0502” on the LCD display. If you leave the printer alone for a while, it might start printing again. Then again, it might not. Pretty annoying.
The Lexmark support site will let you power off, remove the power cord for 30 seconds (!!), take out the cartridges and fiddle with some encoder strip. This whole procedure might take you up to 30 minutes and it will not help (been there, done that).
The real answer is given by a person called ‘clem’:
Hardware Error: 0502.
On the multi function machine seems to be a coating on the metal rod that the cartridges travel on. Just wipe this rod with a kleenex and the problem seems to go away. Somehow it presents a drag on the cartridges and causes an error.
Clem
(from fixyourownprinter.com)
This works! Clean the sucker with a paper towel (another page talks about re-lubricating the thing, but that was not necessary in my case). The towel will be black (ink residu, presumably), but there you go printing to your heart’s desire again.
A big thank-you to Clem, Google and the wisdom of crowds!
UPDATE: also seems to work for some Dell printers (some of them are manufactured by Lexmark)
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thanx for the tip…worked to a degree! Still having problems printing from web pages (X5150) Downloaded drivers etc from Lexmark site but still something not quite right. So it’s still getting the boot for an all in one photoprinter whose cartridges are cheaper.
Success! (After many tries)
I also had the 0502 error. I saw this site and the corresponding original message from ‘clem.’ I cleaned the rod with a tissue several times, cleaned it with the paper towel, messed with the encoder strip, and still it wouldn’t work. I used spray cleaner with paper towel on the rod and still couldn’t get it to work. There didn’t seem to be any black residue left to clean. But I persisted. I slid the cartridge back and forth trying to feel where resistance might be. It kept getting stuck when in the far left position but slid easily across the rest of the bar. So then I took the some spray cleaner on a paper towel and cleaned the left inside wall of the printer where the rod connects to the plastic side. Apparently, that’s what was causing my 0502 error because that last cleaning seemed to do the trick.
Moral of the story: keep cleaning until your 0502 error goes away!
Thanks so much for keeping this site up and running – it has saved me and many others from unnecessarily buying new printers.
Theres obviously a lot of love in the room for the tissue wiping of the bar to fix the error. i need a solution to error 1102!! Its driving me mad. Hoping for similar success!
Sorry dudes it dosent work 4 me
idk why i triedalot of ways mayb my
printer is just broken
i need this to workcuz of some
projects i need to finish its very important
and plus i dont have money to buy a new
one and i cant be goin to my friends house evry
day to print something
out it fels rong
I cannot believe how valuable this site is! When printing on my Lexmark x6170 the left side of the pages were always smudged and “missing” information. I tried cleaning the print nozzles (by hand and via the control center), realigning the cartriges, etc., etc., etc. In fact, I was becoming so frustrated with bankrupt results that I was literally going to chuck the printer out the window and go buy a new one. Unbelievably, all I had to do was thoroughly clean that transparant plastic strip thingy that runs horizontal behind the printer cartriges from one side of the printer to the other (took about 1 minute) and “voila” my printer prints like new again!! I am so happy now and can now get some work done around here without having to alway go to my office to print stuff. Thanks a million!!!
Thanks for the fix on the printer hardware error 0502. Cleaning the metal bar seemed to fix the problem of freezing up when copying.
Becky
TENGO EL ERROR 0502 EN MI IMPRESORA LEXMARK X5150 ,POR FAVOR QUISIERA ME ENVIARAN INSTRUCCIONES PARA SOLUCIONARLO, YA LIMPIE BARRA DE METAL, PERO LA PORTADORA DE CARTUCHOS NO REGRESA AL CENTRO, Y ALLI ESTÁ EL ERROR 0502, …QUE HAGO? S.O.S
i clean it but the problem still…when the ink move u hear a strong voice from it….help me plssssssssssssss
I HAVE A LEXMARK X6170. AND I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING ON THIS SITE TO DO AND SOME. AND I STILL GET A HARDWARE ERROR 0502 ERROR. I AM ABOUT TO STOP BUYING LEXMARK PRINTER. IT ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING WRONG WITH THEM.I HAVE KNOICA MINOLTA 2400 MAGIC PRO. IT WORK REAL GOOD. I JUST CAN NOT DO ANY COPYING OR SCAN. IT IS ONLY A PRINTER. I HAVE 2 MORE LEXMARK PRINTER. ONE CONNECTED TO MY COMPUTER AND THE OTHER ONE IN MY ATTIC. AND I THINK THAT THIS IS WHERE THIS ONE IS GOING TO. AND FORGET ABOUT THE LEXMARK FOR NOW ON. WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO GET IT TO WORK. I HAVE A X6170 ALL IN ONE PRINTER.
This worked like a charm!
I had, however, to turn on the printer while the cover was open, in order to get the cartridges to go in the middle, so I could clean the left side of the rod as well.
Thank you so much for saving me lots of $$$ and pain!
Many thanks Clem and google as this is what does the trick. I have tried everything under the sun and finally stumbled onto your website and wiping the silver rod with a paper towel does the trick alright. It is hard to believe it was that easy of a fix. Many thank you’s for your advise, very helpful.
Yes it really worked. Repair time 1 minute. Thanks!
worked for me! I thought I was going to have to pull the whole thing apart!!! Thanks “Clem”!
worked a treat after 2 hours sodding around, uninstalling, reinstalling, checking the rabbit who comes in in the evenings had not eaten the cable. only wanted to scan how annoying i was getting.
brill advice
many thanks – just wish the lexmark would have the deceny to tell people rather than wait for us to pay for repairs or buy a new one.
lexmarx x5150 – cleaning metal rod A++++
It worked! I thought I was gonna spend a day trying to fix this. Once I read this it took about one minute. Thank you!
Hey, I was having the same problem that wiping the bar wasn’t clearing my 0502, and I dislodged the strip, but fiddled until it got back on. I had taken out the cartridges while doing that, and accidently booted back up without them in place. Suddenly the carrier “assumed the position” looking for ink. Now everything is fine. For folks still stymied, try powering up without the cartridges. It seems that a “no ink” error trumps 0502, and makes the machine forget it was trying to drive you mad.
Tried cleaning the rod etc, replaced catridges, will copy and scan but when I test print only goes to about 40% and then fails? Help, Thanks
I have a Lexmark P4350. I keep getting the message Error 1102. I have replaced the cartdidge, cleaned the rod. Nothing works. Please help me b4 I throw this printer out of the window.
Yay!! I hated the thought of having to throw this thing out – you saved us! Thanks
Thanks for the help; I use this machine now as a fax and back up printer; got the message a couple of weeks ago and it’s been pretty useless ever since. Finally googled and found your post. It worked! Thanks for the help.
Thanks for the tip
Had the 0502 error on a Lexmark all in one at the office that we use mainly for scanning
I was about to get another all in one for scanning when i came across your tip
Works like a charm
I am free now
You saved my visa some charges
Thank you!!!!! I was about ready to toss my printer. I just used your tips and now my printer is working fine, no more error messages
; )
i have a series of blues lines that print out on my Dell A940 . how do you get rid of them.
During the cleaning of the rod ,there was a thin tinted plastic strip about 13 inches long this strip came loose .I do not know where it belongs ,Can some one help ?
thank you
Frank
Thank you Clem!
You Da Man:]
Maybe somebody at Lexmark should check this out, duh!
Anyway THANK YOU!!! It worked great!!!
Your tip is just amazing and unbelievable. I have an X6170 for several years and tried many other things before – without success. I was close to through that s… machine away and buy a new one.
It took me 20 seconds to clean that metal rod and: it works just perfect, as good as a new printer !!
Great thip, many thanks
Hey, thanks for the tip. I don’t know why I haven’t found your post before. This was my 4th time that I was looking for a solution, and FINALLY!
)
)
I have a Lexmark X5150, and after cleaning the metal rod, that transpatent plastic strip was disattached and I had the same problem as Alan’s (the carriage slams across to the left hand side (with an almighty bang!))
But after wiggling for about a minute, that plastic strip caught the carriage (of cartriges) and started to slide normally again.
Thanks for the post, and another thanks goes to Alan, way back to 2007!
Cheers.
Clem deserves a medal!
Thank you guys!
Worked like a charm.
This is what real troubleshooting is about.
Thumbs up to you! Cleaning the rod with a tissue worked! Thanks so much for your help! I was about to throw the printer in the garbage! You saved me lots of money and saved the printer unnecessary disposal!
This was frigging brilliant!!! Just googled the error message and read this site. Wiped the printer bar with a tissue. Right back in business!! I have a model X5150. Thanks so much!! I think I will refer my IT department to this site!
Hey my printer gets this all the time. I usually just open it up, slide the cartlidges back and forth let it set for a minute and then it does the job fine!
Unreal! I was ready to chuck the printer… decided to type the error message in google… 3 minutes later, printing like a pro! Thanks!
Thanks so much to everyone who posted here! My Dell all-in-one was fine for years, then this 0502 error started up and it has been driving me MAD. I was about to solve the problem with defenestration when I googled and got this website. I cleaned and lubricated the metal rod, and so far the printer is working again. This 30-second fix has saved some expensive window glass!
Thans man your genius compare to those moron at Lexmark
This site was really helpful in fixing my Lexmark 502 printer error. After cleaning everything and wiggling the plastic strips my printer is working again. I was 15 minutes away from buying a new printer. Thanks again.
I opened mine up to try the “clean the rod trick” and found a paper jam, but no paper jam error…cleared the jam and that cleared the 0502 error!
thanks a million,i tried for hours with checking catridges.claening the rod really worked
Had the 0502 error and was frustrated. Found your blog and cleaned the metal rod and Presto! It works. Thanks!
We have a lexmark x6170 and your guide did the trick! A HUGE thanx!
yep, sweet!!!
Thank you guys.My lexmark x6170 had the error 0502.Cleaned the rod.All OK.Thanks to all the people here.
I can’t even believe that’s all it took to fix it. Thank you so much. We were getting ready to just go buy another printer.
I following the process exactly that you explain and works PERFECT!!! Thank you a lot!!
Thank you so much for the advice. I tried wiping the rod but it didn’t help. I started looking more in depth into the problem and noticed that a fishing hook was under something making the cartridges not go all the way across the rod!! I wouldn’t have known where to start if it wasn’t for this post.
Clem you are a legend cheers mate, that’s just got me out a lot of trouble as I needed to do a load of printing tonight.
What a tip as the printer works perfectly again.
Cheers again.
Help! The thin tinted plastic strip fell off and I have NO IDEA where to put it back. Can someone please help before I throw it all out! THANKS!!
Thanks a lot for this, my P6350 is back up and running after 2 minutes of cleaning.
Prior to reading this site I spent about an hour trying to figure out the problem!
I cant get my cartridge to move from left side. i tried everything EVEN tapping it with small hammer.. Help,, Error 0502