Fix Epson L1800 error Ink Pad is at The End of Its Service Life

Problem:
-  When the printer is turned on the paper light and ink light, turn orange alternately.

-  When the printer is turned on, the print head does not move.

-  Printer status: Service required. A printer's ink pad is at the end of its service life. Please contact Epson Support.

Error message:

A printer's ink pad is at the end of its service life. Please Contact Epson Support.

Solution:

1.  Replace the waste ink pad.

2.  Reset the waste ink pad counter to zero.

Problem Description

Every time the printer is turned on, or every time it starts printing, the pump will suck ink from the ink tank, and flow it to the print head, to make sure the print head are ready to print. This suctioning of ink, produces waste ink that is flowed through the drain and collected in the ink pad. So the ink pad serves as a reservoir for waste ink.

Until one day the ink pad reaches the end of its service life or in other words, the waste ink storage reaches its maximum capacity. When the ink pad reaches the end of its service life, the paper light and ink light will turn orange alternately. When this error occurs, the printer cannot be used and must be repaired immediately.

Solution

Printer repair is carried out in two stages:

1.  Replace the waste ink pad.

        a.   Replace the waste ink pad with a new one

        b.   Modify the waste ink reservoir

2.  Reset the waste ink pad counter.

In this post we will discuss, the process of repairing the Epson L1800 printer error the ink pad is at the end of its service life.

1.  Replace the waste ink pad

Because the ink pad has reached its end of service life, two solutions can be used:

#1. Replace the waste ink pad with a new one

#2. Modify the waste ink reservoir.

a.   Replace the waste ink pad with a new one

The waste ink pad on the Epson L1800 printer is at the bottom of the printer. To replace the waste ink pad, we have to completely disassemble the printer. Look at the picture below.

Waste ink pad (white color) consists of several parts. Make sure you have prepared a new waste ink pad before disassembling the printer. However, if the new waste ink pad is not available in the market, you can clean the old waste ink pad and reuse it.

The way to clean the waste ink pad is by soaking the waste ink pad in water. If the water turns cloudy, replace the water with a new one. Soak it repeatedly until it feels clean. After the waste ink pad is clean, dry the waste ink pad before putting it back in the printer.

After the waste ink pad is cleaned or replaced with a new one, reassemble the printer, and make sure the assembly is done properly, to avoid unwanted new damage. However, if the replacement of the waste ink pad is too difficult to do because you have to completely dismantle the printer, then the alternative solution is to modify the waste ink container.

b.   Modify the waste ink reservoir

Before making modifications to the waste ink reservoir, pay attention to the image below.

1.  On the right side of the printer, behind the "Ink Supply Tank Assy" is the "Ink eject cover".

2.  When the ink eject cover is opened, you will see a drain hose leading to the waste ink pads.

3.  The waste ink tube leads to the bottom of the printer.

4. The waste ink tubes flow the waste ink into the waste ink pads which are located at the bottom of the printer.

Based on the above mechanism, here is how to modify the waste ink storage on the Epson L1800 printer.

-  Open the ink eject cover

-  Remove the waste ink tube

-  Connect with an additional hose (± 40-50cm) to the waste ink tube

-  Make a hole in the casing then insert an additional hose.

-  Insert the end of the hose into a transparent plastic bottle, so that the waste ink is visible from the outside. Cut the hose if it is too long.

2.  Reset the waste ink pad counter

Reset the waste ink pad counter is carried out after the waste ink pad has been replaced or cleaned, or after modification of the waste ink reservoir has been carried out. Follow the instructions below on how to reset the waste ink pad counter.

-  Turn on printer and connect the USB cable

-  Download Adjustment Program Epson L1800

1)  Extract the Adjustment Program

2)  Open folder Adjustment Program, the open Start
3)  Click Accept to open Adjustment Program

4)  Select the L1800 in the left column.

5)  Click Start to open Adjustment Program Epson L1800.

6)  Open Select

7)  Port, select USB port Epson L1800 or use Auto Selection - OK

8)  Open Particular Adjustment Mode

9)  Open Waste Ink Pad Counter - OK

Before resetting, you should check the waste ink pad counter value.

10)  Checkbox: 0 column side ink pad counter

11)  Click Check

Based on checking, the waste ink pad counter = 12476 points (100%). Because the waste ink pad counter reaches the maximum, it must be reset to zero.

12)  Checkbox: 0 column side ink pad counter

13)  Click Initialization 

14)  When the OK button is clicked, counter will be initialized. Click OK to continue.

15)  Please turn off the printer. Press OK then turn off the printer.

16)  Please reboot the printer - OK.

17)  Click Finish to exit Adjustment Program. Done.

Printer repair for the error the ink pad is at the end of its service life is carried out in two stages. Starting with replacing or cleaning the ink pad, followed by resetting the waste ink pad counter. After these two steps have been completed, the printer will return to normal and can be used again.

Questions and Answers

Q: When resetting is done the message "Communication error! Error code: xxxxxxxx" appears. What to do?

A: Communication error! error code: xxxxxxxx occurs because the printer is busy because it is still completing the process that was previously ordered. The solution to this problem is, you have to wait for the printer to finish the previous command (or wait for the power light to stop blinking) before you perform the second command.

Q: If I only do a reset, and the waste ink pad is not replaced or cleaned, will the printer return to normal?

A: Because the waste ink pad counter has been reset, the printer will return to normal and can be used again. However, in the near future there will be a new problem, namely the waste ink will overflow out of the printer. This happens because the waste ink pad is full and cannot accommodate the waste ink anymore. To get maximum results, repairs are carried out in two stages as discussed above.

If you have trouble doing it yourself, we recommend asking the nearest printer repair professional for help.