Doesn't print - carriage makes a clicking noise and power/paper lights flash

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Usually print head/carriage jam is caused by paper jams or previously cleared out paper jams that left a small torn paper inside the printer.

Turn off the printer by pressing and releasing the power button.
After the printer turns off, press the power button to turn the printer on again.
The printer might go through a warm-up period of up to 2 minutes. Lights might flash and the print carriage might move. Wait until this warm-up period is complete. Then try to print a self-test page. If it is able to print, the issue is resolved. (See instructions at the end of this article on how to print a self-test page.)

If the printer does not turn off, clear any paper jam. Press the resume button on the printer front panel. If the paper jam does not clear, continue with this procedure.

Leave the printer turned on, disconnect the power cable from the printer, and then disconnect the USB cable from the back of the printer.

Push the two latch handles on the rear access door of the printer toward each other, and then remove the door. Please refer to the image below.


Remove any paper that is inside the printer by pulling the paper out from the back of the printer.
If the paper jam cannot be removed from the back of the printer, raise the printer cover, remove the paper jam from the front of the printer, and then lower the cover.
Remove the paper carefully. It is possible to damage the printer when removing paper from the front of the printer.

Reconnect only the power cable. If the printer does not automatically turn on, turn it on by pressing the power button.

Again, the printer might go through a warm-up period of up to 2 minutes. Lights might flash and the print carriage might move. Wait until this warm-up period is complete. Then try to print a self-test page. If it is able to print, the issue is resolve. (See instructions at the end of this article on how to print a self-test page.)

If the Power light is blinking and the print carriage is still in a stalled position, continue with this procedure.

With the printer turned on, open the printer cover. The print carriage might move into the access area automatically. Allow it to move to that position.
If the print carriage does not move automatically into the access area, turn off the printer by pressing the power button.

Disconnect the power cord from the back of the printer.

Looking in through either the ink cartridge access door or the output paper tray, make sure that no obstructions under or around the print carriage are blocking it from moving.

Make sure that the print carriage can move freely across the width of the printer by gently pushing the print carriage to the left and then to the right. Clear any obstructions.

Remove and reinstall the print cartridges. Make sure that it is properly installed back.
Close the printer cover and connect back the power cord.
Print a self-test page. If it is able to print, the issue is resolve. (See instructions at the end of this article on how to print a self-test page.)

To print a self-test page, make sure the printer is turned on. The USB cable of the printer to the computer must be disconnected to make sure that we are isolating the printer problem.

Press and hold the Print and Cancel button at the same time. Make sure that the printer is loaded with paper. The self-test page will like the image below.


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Jas247

Make sure you don't have a piece of paper inside the machine blocking the carriage, and that the print heads are properly/securely seated in the carriage.

Hello According to HP, follow these steps for resolving the issue
Remove the rear access door, or the automatic two-sided printing accessory, and check for any paper jams or paper obstructions. Remove any obstructions. Check to make certain the carriage is on the right side of the printer. Rotate the rear paper guide rollers upwards five times, then downwards four times. If the rollers will not move, open the top cover and slide the carriage to the right (if it is not already there and if carriage can move). Try to roll the rollers again while pushing the clutch in. If the rollers do not move, continue on to the next step. Figure Location of the clutch Replace the rear access door accessory, or the automatic two-sided printing accessory. Close the top cover. Plug the power cable back in. Turn the printer on, and replace the cartridges if possible. If the carriage moves, but there is still a grinding noise, there may be a paper feed issue. If the carriage will not move, then it is a carriage stall issue. After installing the cartridge, if the printer has a solid power light, perform a self-test on the printer. Hope this helps, if so do rate the solution

hello.....

Causes of repeated paper jams If paper jams occur repeatedly, one of the following may be causing them: The paper is being pushed in too far. The paper should only be pushed in until the first resistance. Continuing to push the paper in will force the paper up into the paper rollers and will cause the printer to pull in multiple pages. Obstructions in the paper path. Open the all-in-one (front and back) and check for obstructions.

• Unlocked rear access door. Follow the steps above to install the rear access door correctly (see Figure 3). If this condition is present, the paper will skew in the all-in-one.
• The paper guides are not positioned against the paper. Adjust the paper length and width guides so they fit snugly against the paper.
• Incorrect paper. The paper should be flat and smooth with no folded, torn, or rough edges. Papers with a glossy finish and coated papers may not feed into the unit correctly. Paper that has already been printed on once can also cause problems.
• Partially installed paper tray. The paper tray must be inserted all of the way into the all-in-one.
• Dirty paper feed rollers. Over time paper fibers and dust will stick to the rollers and should be removed.. Also verify that the rollers on the rear access door are clean and turn freely.

Check Paper light flashes but there isn't a paper related problem The check paper light may also flash if there are other problems. Verify the following conditions:

• Verify that the print cartridge door is closed.
• The print carriage may be jammed, follow these steps to correct the problem:
  1. Open the print cartridge access door. If the print carriage can move, it should move to center. If the print carriage stays all the way left, unplug the power cord and then plug it back in. This will reset the unit and may allow the print carriage to move from the left.
  2. Disconnect the power cord from the all-in-one.
  3. Remove both print cartridges.
  4. Move the print carriage left and right slightly to verify that the print carriage will move freely. If the print carriage will not move freely, check for obstructions.
  5. Close the print cartridge access door.
  6. Plug the power cord back in.
  7. After the all-in-one initializes, the print cartridge light will flash. Open the access door and install the print cartridges.
  8. Close the print cartridge access door. If the problem returns, remove the print cartridges and wipe the electrical contacts before reinstalling them.
• Try to make a copy. If it pulls in paper but cannot make a copy, there may be a problem with the scanner mechanism

Thanks

hello there. try re-seating the cartridge. Take it out, then put it back in.

Clear any paper or carriage path obstructions Right-click the link below to open a new browser window with specific instructions about how to clear paper jams. When you have completed paper jam removal instructions, return to this point in these instructions to continue resolving a carriage stall. Click here for information on resolving paper jams (c00095617).

1. With the product turned on, open the print cartridge access door. The print carriage might try to move into the access area. If so, allow it to move to that position.
2. Without turning off the product, unplug the power cord from the back of the product. Unplug the power cord from the power source. The power cord must be unplugged to allow the parts to be moved by hand and to reset the paper feed mechanism, without the risk of an electrical shock.
3. Looking in through either the print cartridge access door or the output paper tray, make sure the print cartridges are locked into the carriage and have not come loose. Also, make sure that there are no obstructions under or around the carriage to block it from moving.
4. Make sure the print carriage can move freely across the width of the product by gently pushing the carriage to the left and then to the right. Clear any obstructions found. You may have to reach through the output paper tray to access the print carriage.
5. Close the print cartridge access door and plug the power cord back to the back of the product. Plug the power cord into the power source.
6. Press the On button to turn on the product.

Plug the product directly into a wall outlet Follow these steps to make sure that the product is correctly connected to a suitable power source.

1. Make sure that the computer and the HP All-in-One both have a three-prong power plug.
2. Remove the power cord from any power strips or surge suppressors, and plug it directly into a grounded wall outlet.

Perform a partial reset A partial reset will return user settings to factory defaults. On some models, language and country/region settings are also reset. Perform a partial reset of the product by following the instructions below.

1. Unplug the power cord from the unit.
2. Reconnect the power cord into the unit.
3. When the lights begin to flash, press and hold the On/Resume and Paper Size buttons.
4. When only the On/Resume light is flashing, release the buttons. When the On/Resume light is steady, the reset is complete.
5. Try the print job again to see if this step resolved the issue.
   • If the issue is resolved , you do not need to continue with the rest of the instructions on this page.
   • If the issue is not resolved , continue to the next step.

Remove and re-install the print cartridges Improper placement or installation of the product's print cartridges can cause the product to indicate a carriage stall error condition. Ensure correct installation of the print cartridges by following the instructions below.

1. With the printer plugged in and turned on, open the cartridge access door (see the illustration). After a moment, the print carriage should come to the center. The print cartridge carriage is the plastic part that holds the print cartridges. When the carriage is at the center of the access area, unplug the printer.
2. Remove the cartridges from the carriage and check them for damage. Check for obstructions under and around the carriage. Replace any damaged cartridges.
3. Reinstall the print cartridges.
   • The black or photo cartridge goes on the right.
   • The tri-color cartridge goes on the left.
4. Close the cartridge access door, plug the printer back in and turn it on.
5. Try the print job again to see if this step resolved the issue.
   • If the issue is resolved , you do not need to continue with the rest of the instructions on this page.
   • If the issue is not resolved , continue to the next step.

Service the printer If you have completed all the steps listed above and are still experiencing a problem, service the product.

Causes of repeated paper jams If paper jams occur repeatedly, one of the following may be causing them: The paper is being pushed in too far. The paper should only be pushed in until the first resistance. Continuing to push the paper in will force the paper up into the paper rollers and will cause the printer to pull in multiple pages. Obstructions in the paper path. Open the all-in-one (front and back) and check for obstructions.

• Unlocked rear access door. Follow the steps above to install the rear access door correctly (see Figure 3). If this condition is present, the paper will skew in the all-in-one.
• The paper guides are not positioned against the paper. Adjust the paper length and width guides so they fit snugly against the paper.
• Incorrect paper. The paper should be flat and smooth with no folded, torn, or rough edges. Papers with a glossy finish and coated papers may not feed into the unit correctly. Paper that has already been printed on once can also cause problems.
• Partially installed paper tray. The paper tray must be inserted all of the way into the all-in-one.
• Dirty paper feed rollers. Over time paper fibers and dust will stick to the rollers and should be removed.. Also verify that the rollers on the rear access door are clean and turn freely.

Check Paper light flashes but there isn't a paper related problem The check paper light may also flash if there are other problems. Verify the following conditions:

• Verify that the print cartridge door is closed.
• The print carriage may be jammed, follow these steps to correct the problem:
  1. Open the print cartridge access door. If the print carriage can move, it should move to center. If the print carriage stays all the way left, unplug the power cord and then plug it back in. This will reset the unit and may allow the print carriage to move from the left.
  2. Disconnect the power cord from the all-in-one.
  3. Remove both print cartridges.
  4. Move the print carriage left and right slightly to verify that the print carriage will move freely. If the print carriage will not move freely, check for obstructions.
  5. Close the print cartridge access door.
  6. Plug the power cord back in.
  7. After the all-in-one initializes, the print cartridge light will flash. Open the access door and install the print cartridges.
  8. Close the print cartridge access door. If the problem returns, remove the print cartridges and wipe the electrical contacts before reinstalling them.
• Try to make a copy. If it pulls in paper but cannot make a copy, there may be a problem with the scanner mechanism

Check Paper light flashes but there isn't a paper related problem The check paper light may also flash if there are other problems. Verify the following conditions:

• Verify that the print cartridge door is closed.
• The print carriage may be jammed, follow these steps to correct the problem:
  1. Open the print cartridge access door. If the print carriage can move, it should move to center. If the print carriage stays all the way left, unplug the power cord and then plug it back in. This will reset the unit and may allow the print carriage to move from the left.
  2. Disconnect the power cord from the all-in-one.
  3. Remove both print cartridges.
  4. Move the print carriage left and right slightly to verify that the print carriage will move freely. If the print carriage will not move freely, check for obstructions.
  5. Close the print cartridge access door.
  6. Plug the power cord back in.
  7. After the all-in-one initializes, the print cartridge light will flash. Open the access door and install the print cartridges.
  8. Close the print cartridge access door. If the problem returns, remove the print cartridges and wipe the electrical contacts before reinstalling them.
• Try to make a copy. If the all-in-one pulls in paper but cannot make a copy, there may be a problem with the scanner mechanism. Contact HP for assistance.

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