Remove and Replace EPSON Scanner ADF for WorkForce Series: WF-3640 WF-3620

Remove and Replace EPSON Scanner ADF for WorkForce Series: WF-3640 WF-3620

Today we’ll be looking at an error message that some of you Epson owners may be familiar with. I will help you find the common causes of the scanner error message and walk you through how to fix them.

This message could be caused by something as simple as the lamp burning out, an error in your ADF feeder, or some other mechanical problems. I will start by showing you the most important step to fixing any of these problems: how to take the scanner off.

Once the scanner is off, you can start troubleshooting it more thoroughly, and you won’t have to spend nearly as much time with a trial and error method. However, if you think trying to fix the issue is too much of a hassle and you’d rather just buy a new unit, you can feel free to go to BCHTechnologies.com and click on scanner parts (under the printer parts tab).

Step One: Accessing the Scanner

Before we can remove the scanner, we’ll have to gain access to it by removing the covers and other parts in the way. Turn the printer so the back faces you and remove the two screws on the right side. The screw is called Screw SKU: AS-SCREW-EP3x10-Black.

After these two screws have been removed, give the cover a little wiggle, and it should come out pretty easily. Underneath the cover, you’ll see a ton of wires bundled together. Epson wiring tends to look a little disorganized, so stick with me while I walk you through how to disconnect them all.

Step Two: Disconnecting the Wires

Despite the wires looking jumbled and messy, the process is pretty simple. I recommend taking a picture of where each of the wires is plugged into the circuit board before you unplug anything so that you’ll know exactly how to plug them back in when we’re done.

First, find the wire with the yellow base. There’s only one of them this time, so there’s no way you’ll get the wrong one. The wires coming out of it will be red and black. Don’t get these confused with the red and black wires connected by a white base.

Between those two, you’ll have a white base with four wires coming out of it. Below the first white base with the red and black wire coming out, you’ll see another one that looks almost the same. That one doesn’t connect to the printer, so you don’t have to unplug it, and you can just leave that alone for now.

Nearby will be a white base with three wires (black, white, and gray) coming out. Notice that on the top of that base is a small notch so that when you put it in, you know which side is up and which is down.

Once you’ve taken a picture and know which wire goes where, you can remove all of the wires going to the scanner. There will also be an FFC cable that you need to remove. You don’t need any special tools to remove it, but make sure you’re gentle and don’t break it when pulling it out. When you put it back in, just remember that the blue should be facing toward the right.

To the left of the circuit board, you’ll see two ground wires secured by a screw. All you have to do to remove those is unscrew them.

Step Three: Removing the Scanner

Now that all of the wires attaching the scanner to the computer are out, we can move on to work on the actual scanner itself. For this, I usually prefer to start on the right side. Open the scanner. You should see a small tab if you look closely near the hinge. Using your finger, move that to the right, and you should see the scanner is starting to come out.

To take the scanner off the printer, I usually put one hand near the hinge (after pushing the tab) and close the scanner. This creates a bit of a lift and forces the scanner from the hinge.

There will be a screw in the way when you try to lift the left side. Remove it using a number two Phillips head screwdriver. The scanner is resting on an angled black piece of plastic in the printer. To remove it, you should slide it at an upward angle rather than pulling it straight up.

Once you’ve finished troubleshooting and fixing the scanner, simply reverse this process to put it back together.

Follow me for more printer advice

I hope you found this post useful! Here’s a video walkthrough of this tutorial if you’d prefer. For more helpful DIY printer tips and tricks, follow me on YouTube at Kevin at BCH. Happy printing!