Printer doesn't print. Green and Red lights are blinking alternately. In the status monitor displayed "Parts inside your printer has reached it service limit. Please contact dealer."
I was only cleaning the printer head through the status monitor when suddenly the green and red lights blinking alternately..
Please Help!!!
Please go to my website http://www.the-inkstore.co.uk . I have the latest version of SSC Service Utility to download directly onto your computer and instructions on how to use it, what to click on etc etc. Click any of the Epson links if you can't find it, everything you need to know will be there, including printer Firmware resetting which sorts out a multitude of problems.
The 'maintenance required' problem with Epson printers has absolutely nothing to do with which cartridges you are using, it is a built in page counter in your printer firmware, which has a different maximum amount for each Epson model. Don't listen to old wives tales and heresay, we are the experts and it's an Epson scam to cause a lot of people to pay for maintenance or throw their printers away.
I haven't found a model that can't be reset with the latest version of SSC Serve or the manual reset on my site.
For Epson RX500 users there is also a manual reset on my site, as the SSC Serve software won't do it for you.
When using the program & choosing your printer from the list, it may have a weird name with 'x' in the model number, this is because some configurations are for many models in a series. For example, the C46 will be listed as C4x as it is for the C42, C44 & C46 models.
I hope this helps all Epson users to overcome the Epson scam of page counting and locking out until you pay their dealers money for maintenance.
If you like what I've done for Epson users, please show your appreciation by spreading the word and perhaps buying your ink from my site.
Happy trouble free printing
The INK Store (UK & Europe)
Hi Cecile,
Epson build internally a timer program that will make your printer stop working after so many thousand of pages or powering off/on. This is because they supposedly project that their printer is only good for so many pages/years of service and therefore when activated (even if still usable) will no longer print. They expect that considering the cost of the printer (low from their point of view), rather than have it repaired/service, the client would simply buy a new one.
Perhaps what you can try is a third part printer resetter software that will fool your printer into thinking that is new (again).
Such a program exists and is called SSC Service Utility for Epson Stylus Printers. It may be downloaded from here.
Hope this be of use/help to you. Pls post again should you need additional information.
Good luck and kind regards.
Hi nathan_q
If you just have the red light on, you don't have the same problem. Waste ink pad problems cause the green light AND the red light to flash alternately. A flashing red light means ink is low in one of the cartridges (but you should be able to continue printing). A steady red light on by itself means: (1) no paper, or, (2) paper jam, or (3) ink out or (4) carriage error. (1) and (2) should be evident to you, so I presume it could be (3) or (4). For (3), a faulty cartridge could also cause this, so change the cartridges to check this out.
For (4), the print head is jamming on something, such as the parking mechanism (usually because the actuation lever is stuck in the up position). Turn the printer on, and as soon as the print head moves, pull the power cord out of the back, or switch it off at the mains. You should now be able to move the print head over to the left by hand out of the way. If it won't move then it's jammed on something and you will need to dismantle the printer to investigate further.
If it moves across OK, look in the "parking bay" at the right end where the print head parks itself and see if there is a plastic arm sticking up. If there is, gently pull it towards you and it should spring down. Now turn the printer back on and it should operate normally. If it happens again, repeat the process a few times to see if it clears the problem. Otherwise it means the parking mechanism is gummed up with dried ink and needs a good clean (see below).
Alternatively, if you see that the whole parking mechanism itself has moved up to block the way, this means a spring has come off. To get this back on again requires the printer to be dismantled - as does the cleaning job above!
Should you decide to have a go at further investigation, let me know if you are going to do this because I can provide help on how to get the printer covers off, how to get springs back on again etc.
Also, if you DO have the waste ink problem, let me know with a new comment and I can provide help with this.
I have a canon printer and it just quit printing but I have new ink but the light just keeps blinking and it will not do anything. What can I do?
Indeed this is what happens when the Ink Pads are ' Calculated ' as being full, or near full
What happens is that every time the printer does a cleaning cycle it pumps ink into pads at the back of the printer
If the software in the printer did not stop the printer from working and just kept on adding more and more ink, you might notice a dark patch appearing on your desk, or even ink coming out of the printer
The SCC software will sort out the problem by allowing you to re-set the printer's ink counter
HOWEVER - if you have not replaced the ink pads (or at least taken them out, squashed, washed and dried them) then do not be suprised when the thick black ink monster leaves it's foot print
Maybe I should post how to replace ink pads :) Worked it out so you do not have to remove the paper feeder, can get in with a pair of long nose pliers - so all you have to do is work out how the casing comes off
This means your printer need to replace the waste pads inside the printer.
The story above is not correct but the sollution is correct.
You can reset the internal counter with the scc utility but i suggest better you replace the waste pads soon.
Thank you....
SOURCE: printer problam
If both lights are flashing, it means the Waste Ink Pads in your printer are saturated with ink and the waste ink ("protection") counter has exceeded its limit. The Waste Ink Pads should be replaced as soon as possible. You can overcome this problem temporarily by using the SSC utility - download from
http://www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml
and reset the Protection Counter. This will stop the lights flashing and restore normal operation. However, remember that eventually ink will overflow from the waste ink area and make a dreadful mess, so you must change the waste ink pads before this happens. This requires the disassembly of the printer. A copy of the service manual is available from a number of sellers - just Google "Epson C43 Service Manual". You will often find them
for sale very cheaply on E-Bay. Note, however, if you can find or borrow any of the C40,42,44 etc service manuals, as far as ink pad replacement goes, they are the same.
If you decide to have a go at replacing the ink pads yourself, report back and I will provide further help.
The Ready (green) and Error (red) lights on the top of the printer may be the first indication of trouble. The status of the lights, on, off or flashing, indicates your printer status, as described below. The Status Alert window in the EPSON Status Monitor 3 utility indicates what type of error has occurred and offers you a possible solution. Look through this section to find the kind of problem you have, then try the recommended solutions in the order they are presented until your problem is solved.
a. Error light (red)
b. Ready light (green)
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My epson stylus c43SC green and red lights keeps on blinking alternately. Pls. help. What shall I do?
Printer doesn't print. Green and Red lights are blinking alternately. In the status monitor displayed "Parts inside your printer has reached it service limit. Please contact dealer."
I was only cleaning the printer head through the status monitor when suddenly the green and red lights blinking alternately..
Please Help!!!
I have a similar problem with these guys right here.. red light is still on when I already replaced the ink. I couldn't print, We have been replacing inks for years now whenever it is empty. We never tried opening up our EPSON C43SX just to fix it or clean those waste pads. We just leave it as it is and just replace inks.... now I have no idea what is going on with our printer. I hope someone would help me find the solution.
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