Epson 880 ink light refuses to go out

[Jan Alter]

We have an Epson 880 at our school that doesn't want to reset the black
ink-out light once a new cartridge is placed in the ink chamber. The light
iremains on solid red. I have tried repeatedly to lift the clamp cover and
reset it (at least 10 times) but the light will not go out. I even tried
using the old cartridge to see if that would work to reset the ink out
light, thinking that the new cartridge might be physically faulty. That has
not helped.
I'm thinking that there may be a pcb malfunction but am not sure. We are
using the printer with an Apple Emac so even considering using the SSC
utility software to overide the out light would not be relevent as the
software is only used for a PC. Any ideas how to deal with this problem?
By the way, I have several other dead 880 printers on hand to scavenge
should anyone have a possible solution.

Thanks,

Jan Alter
(e-mail address removed)
or
(e-mail address removed)12.pa.us

 

[RCC]

We have an Epson 880 at our school that doesn't want to reset the black
ink-out light once a new cartridge is placed in the ink chamber. The light
iremains on solid red. I have tried repeatedly to lift the clamp cover and
reset it (at least 10 times) but the light will not go out. I even tried
using the old cartridge to see if that would work to reset the ink out
light, thinking that the new cartridge might be physically faulty. That has
not helped.
I'm thinking that there may be a pcb malfunction but am not sure. We are
using the printer with an Apple Emac so even considering using the SSC
utility software to overide the out light would not be relevent as the
software is only used for a PC. Any ideas how to deal with this problem?
By the way, I have several other dead 880 printers on hand to scavenge
should anyone have a possible solution.

Thanks,

Jan Alter
(e-mail address removed)
or
(e-mail address removed)12.pa.us

Jan

I have an old 880 which I keep going as it is very inexpensive to run
(3rd party ink carts) and is robust. With decent paper the reports I do
still look good. It works hard, self employed home office. I can see
why you want to resurrect yours, when it fails - not sure what I will
buy.

Apart from changing ink and the occasional good clean, the only
mechanical thing I have done is take out the sponge from the head
cleaning area and wash it. I have used SSC to reset the counters as
think it 'gives up' after 80,000 pages.

The only thing I can suggest is to find a laptop with XP (not Vista),
download SSC, install the printer (not as default), use the SSC utility,
re-set the counters then go back to the mac. Incidentally I normally
use the printer via a port on a network storage drive, so its always on
for the house network, but the SSC utility only works properly when it
is connected directly to a pc. Hardly a problem as I use it SSC rarely.

This site might have something

<Http://home.att.net/~arwomack01/>

 

[Impmon]

We have an Epson 880 at our school that doesn't want to reset the black
ink-out light once a new cartridge is placed in the ink chamber. The light
iremains on solid red. I have tried repeatedly to lift the clamp cover and
reset it (at least 10 times) but the light will not go out. I even tried
using the old cartridge to see if that would work to reset the ink out
light, thinking that the new cartridge might be physically faulty. That has
not helped.
I'm thinking that there may be a pcb malfunction but am not sure. We are
using the printer with an Apple Emac so even considering using the SSC
utility software to overide the out light would not be relevent as the
software is only used for a PC. Any ideas how to deal with this problem?
By the way, I have several other dead 880 printers on hand to scavenge
should anyone have a possible solution.

Get another new Epson ink cart. A few brand new ink cart have gone
bad and refused to work at all. Also your ink cart may be of the
wrong type and not compatible.

Also I could suggest the forum at http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/
and searching them to see if someone had similiar problem. If none,
you can post a new one there.

 

[tomcas]

We have an Epson 880 at our school that doesn't want to reset the black
ink-out light once a new cartridge is placed in the ink chamber. The light
iremains on solid red. I have tried repeatedly to lift the clamp cover and
reset it (at least 10 times) but the light will not go out. I even tried
using the old cartridge to see if that would work to reset the ink out
light, thinking that the new cartridge might be physically faulty. That has
not helped.
I'm thinking that there may be a pcb malfunction but am not sure. We are
using the printer with an Apple Emac so even considering using the SSC
utility software to overide the out light would not be relevent as the
software is only used for a PC. Any ideas how to deal with this problem?
By the way, I have several other dead 880 printers on hand to scavenge
should anyone have a possible solution.

Thanks,

Jan Alter
(e-mail address removed)
or
(e-mail address removed)12.pa.us

We usually look to you for help with Epsons. According to the manual
check the security of the electrical switches triggered by the clamp
closing and also for contact closure. Other than that they suggest it
may be a scrambled EEPROM to which their solution is to replace the IC
in order to forcibly overwrite the address with 00H. I have an PDF
manual for the 880 if you want a copy. It's 20 meg.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Richard,

You have written about "SSC."
What is this?
Where can it be gotten?
What does it do?
Will it work with my Epson CX4600 Some In One?

Thanks

Richard

 

[RCC]

Richard,

You have written about "SSC."
What is this?
Where can it be gotten?
What does it do?
Will it work with my Epson CX4600 Some In One?

Thanks

Richard

Its freeware which gives you far more control over the printer - for
instance on some you can clean individual colour carts., And (most
useful) you can re-set counters so the printer end of life function is
over-ridden and you have more control over chipped cartridges.

I found it by chance, and have used is successfully for the 880. It
covers a lot more models, there is a list.

Here it is:

<Http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml>

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Hi Jan,

Sorry, I've been a bit slow in my reply. Lots of "stuff" flying around...

There are a few possibilities.

Since the 880 blessedly doesn't use a microchip, this isn't about bad
chips, etc.

I don't have my 880 accessible at the moment to pull cartridges out of,
but most pre chip cartridge used some type of pressure or other
activated switch within the cartridge carriage area. It can look like a
small rubber button or appendage sticking out when the cartridge is not
installed. Look for this and see if it is ink encrusted or otherwise
appears to be sluggish or non functional. Clean the area carefully with
water and isopropyl alcohol and a cotton swab. Make sure it is clean
and mobile and try to reinstall the cartridge again. Occasionally, a
cartridge will be malformed, or some foreign matter has stuck somewhere
that is not allowing the cartridge to seat properly in the carriage
area, etc. This button may be at the base of the ink carriage area or
on one side of it.

Art

 

[Jan Alter]

Problem solved. After inspecting and realizing where the microswitch
actually was (it's in the front of the cartridge at the top) I saw that it
was actually flipped upwards. Pushing it back into position enacted the off
light position and the printer is happy again pushing ink. Those 880's are
about the most precious classic ink jets around. Cause for celebration.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Well, one out of two is better than goose eggs... glad I could provide
some insight into it, although I could not recall exactly where the
microswitch was on that model.

Art

 

[Jan Alter]

Thanks Art.