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Chip Issues
Submitted by erandall on Tue, 07/01/2008 - 18:06
While trying to clean clogged print heads, our printer ink status light came on. We removed the problem cartiridge and attempted to reset it, however the LED on the chip resetter turned red and stayed on. The manual for the resetter says that the light should flash 2-4 times in red, then turn green and remain on. It also says that a constant red light means that we have an "abnormal" chip. Has anybody else had this problem?
Red light. Green light.
When finishing up a round of cleaning, the red ink light on the EPSON came on. It indicated that our cyan cleaning cartridge was empty. We opened the printer preferences to check the ink levels which stated that the cartridge was completely empty.
The user manual indicated that we should use the chip resetter to update the ink levels. The resetter was used according to its instructions and the LED did not turn on at all. No red, no green. It also had no effect on resetting cartridges which were over 25% full. This leads us to believe that our resetter is not responding at all.
I mentioned that we checked cartridges above and below 25% because it is the recommendation of the resetter's directions to use before the level drops below 25% - while the manual indicated that it was to be used if the cartridges were empty. I'm curious as to how the resetters have been working for others. (Eric, it sounds like your resetter is a no go -essentially- as well? Or has it worked before?)
Batteries
We haven't had any issues with them here, but it may be that your chip resetter's batteries are dead. The resetter uses three LR41 watch batteries. They are expensive ($5 apiece) if you buy them at Radio Shack or a drug store, but you can buy ten for $5 on ebay, including shipping. Of course, the resetters are only $10 themselves.
Green means go
Our resetter never worked, it only gave us the red light. We bought a new one from inksupply which has worked every time we used it. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I'm under the impression that the chip's status is unrelated to the amount of ink that is actually in the cartridge. Instead the chips (and cartridges for normal printers) are manufactured to tell the printer that they are full of ink. The printer communicates with the chip and updates the chip's "balance" as it used the ink. The resetter makes it think it's full again, regardless of the actual ink level.
Good luck