Contrary to its name, there is nothing supernatural or spooky about a ghost jam. Instead, ghost jamming refers to an issue whereby the copier reports a paper jam even though there is no paper being physically jammed within the copier. Such an occurrence is also known as a fake jam or a false jam.
A ghost jam usually occurs from previous paper jams in the copier, which may leave behind residue such as bits of shredded paper that are stuck between the gears moving the rear duplex of the copier. As such, the roller will feel stuck, causing the copier to assume that there is something stuck in the duplex and not in the gear itself, hence resulting in a ghost jam.
Fortunately, this issue can be troubleshooted quickly via the following steps:
- Switch off the power.
- Remove the rear duplex so you can grip the four rollers to see if they can move freely. If they don’t, proceed to step 3.
- Touch at least two of the contact points with a paper clip as this bridges the electrical current between them, causing the copier to think that the duplex has been installed.
- Press OK on the control panel when prompted.
- Look for any white plastic gear on the left-hand side and touch them. If they feel stalled, frozen, or jammed, you may need to clean them.
- Grip the furthest rubber roller and rotate it while looking out for shards of paper. Once done, clean all the white plastic gears and restore the rollers.
- Switch the power on and observe if the issue has been resolved.