Repair Epson L805 error A printer's ink pad is at the end of its service life

When the printer is turned on, the ink LED and paper LED light alternately orange, and when checking Printer Status, an error message appears "The printer's ink pads are at the end of their service life. Please contact Epson support." This error occurs because the waste ink reservoir pad is full.

The waste ink pad on the Epson L805 has three parts, namely:

1.   Waste ink pad lower (Platen pad counter)

2.   Waste ink pad cap lower (Platen pad counter)
3.   Waste ink tray (Main pad counter)

When the error message "The printer's ink pads are at the end of their service life. Please contact Epson support.", there are two possibilities that can happen, namely:

1.   Platen pad counter is full (Waste ink pad lower and Waste ink pad cap lower is full)

2.   Main pad counter is full (Waste ink tray is full)

For example, look at the image above:
-   Main pad counter = 100% (18593 points) - Max: 17650 points

-   Platen pad counter = 0% (143 points) - Max: 49200 points

Based on the information on the value of the Main pad counter and Platen pad counter, what must be reset is the Main pad counter, and the Waste ink tray must be replaced with a new one. The following is the printer repair process, the error "The printer's ink pads are at the end of their service life. Please contact Epson support."

1. Reset Main pad counter and Platen pad counter on Epson L805

• Adjustment Program is a portable software that works on Windows Operating System (11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP.)
• Adjustment Program can be used if the printer driver has been installed and the printer is connected to the computer with a USB cable (not Wireless.)
• Download Adjustment Program Epson L805
• Open AdjProg (1) - Select (2)

• Port: Auto Selection or select USB port Epson L805 (3) - OK (4)

• Particular adjustment mode (5) - Waste ink pad counter (6) - OK (7)

• To find out the value of Main pad counter and Platen pad counter before resetting, check the Main pad counter and Platen pad counter (8) - Check (9).

• Main pad counter = 100% (18593 points) - Max: 17650 points, Platen pad counter = 0% (143 points) - Max: 49200 points. From the two values, it can be concluded that the cause of the error is that the Main pad counter has reached 100%, while the Platen pad counter is still below 0%. Next we will reset the Main pad counter value to zero.

• Check the Main pad counter (10) - Initialization (11) - OK. Wait a while, the Main pad counter value will be reset to zero. Follow all the commands that appear on the screen until they are finished, such as: turn off the printer and then turn the printer back on. After all the instructions on the screen have been completed, press Finish (12) then close the Adjustment Program.

• After the Main pad counter value is reset to zero, then we will replace the Waste ink tray with a new one. Follow the procedure below, how to replace the Waste ink tray.

2. Replacing the Waste Ink Tray

Regarding the full waste ink tray, there are two solutions that can be done, namely:

2a.   Replacing the waste ink tray

2b.   Modify the waste ink reservoir

Choose one of the two solutions below, which you think is the easiest to do.

2a.   Replacing the waste ink tray

• Remove the Paper Support Assist

• Remove the four screws (see picture)

• Remove the Ink Supply Tank Assy

• Remove the Upper Housing upward

• Loosen the timing belt

• Remove the CR Motor by removing the two CR Motor screws.

• Remove the Waste ink tray and replace it with a new one.

• It is highly recommended to replace the waste ink tray with a new one. The new waste ink tray can be purchased in the market, you can look for it on the internet. If a new waste ink tray is not available in the market, an alternative solution is to wash the ink pads, dry them, and reuse them.
• Reassemble the printer and make sure the assembly is done correctly.

2b.   Modify the waste ink reservoir

Modification of the waste ink container is to divert the waste ink container which was originally accommodated in the Waste ink tray, to a new waste ink container (transparent plastic bottle).

Materials needed:

-   Small hose with a length of 30 cm

-   Transparent plastic bottle

• Open the small door on the back of the printer.

• You will see the ink tube leading to the waste ink tray. Remove the ink tube.

• Attach a small hose to one end of the ink tube, and insert the other end into a transparent plastic bottle.

Questions and Answers

Q: There is an error "A printer's ink pad is at the end of its service life" on my printer. If the waste ink pad counter is reset, but the waste ink pad is not replaced or cleaned. Can the printer return to normal?

A: Because the waste ink pad counter has been reset, the printer can be reused, but because the waste ink pad is not replaced or cleaned, in the near future, the waste ink will overflow from the printer because the waste ink pad can no longer hold the waste ink. Resetting the waste ink pad counter becomes effective if the waste ink pad is replaced with a new one.

Q: Error Code: 20000xxx when using the Adjustment Program. What to do?

A: Communication error! Error Code: 20000xxx occurs because the printer is not ready to accept commands from the Adjustment Program because it is still busy processing the previous command.

So when the printer receives the command example Main pad counter - Check, the power light will blink for about 60 seconds. The printer can process the next command example Main pad counter - Initialization after 60 seconds have passed. Communication error! Error Code: 20000xxx occurs because the second command "Main pad counter -> Initialization" is done while the printer is still processing the previous command. So wait for the power light to stop flashing, then run the next command.

When there is damage to the Epson printer and requires replacement of spare parts, after the damaged parts are replaced, then use the Adjustment Program to reset the printer so that it can work optimally with new spare parts. If you are having trouble repairing a faulty printer yourself, we recommend contacting an Epson Authorized Customer Service Center.