Pixma IP4300 Ink Carriage Stuck On the Right and Does Not Move When Lid is Opened

[Pixmaladjusted]

Greetings,

I have a Canon Pixma IP4300, which I bought new, sealed in box a few years ago after my previous 4300's print head wore out after 15 years or so. Yesterday, I changed the PGBK ink cartridge with an official cartridge when it ran dry and the ink wasn't printing at all (but recognised as a full cartridge by the printer). So I tried a nozzle clean followed by a print test with no change. Then a deep clean and again, no ink printed. At this point, I've concluded the print head is clogged. I then receive an error message from the printer, with the green and orange lights flashing alternately without pause, which is listed as a generic error by the support codes.

I tried unplugging the printer from the power and the various sequences of button presses to reset the printer and that didn't work. I look inside the printer and the ink carriage does not return to the centre as it is supposed to, it's stuck on the right of the printer. I can't see the ink cartridges from the lid opening, only the left face of the carriage. The carriage itself cannot be physically moved, it seems stuck by some mechanism that is not visible from above. I've tried pulling and pushing it to no success so far. I contemplated using pliers to pull it but I get the feeling I'll break the carriage if I do that with any force. I've seen videos of other printers with similar issues, and typically there is some component like a gear that can be manipulated that allows the carriage to be restored to its proper position, but I haven't spotted anything similar.

Does anyone know how I might unstick the carriage? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PeterBJ]

Druckerchannel.de has got an excellent instruction for disassembling the iP4300 for absorber replacement. You find an instruction for unlocking the printhead in it.

Linking to a Google translation of a Druckerchannel.de article does not always work, but you can use Google translate yourself.

A service manual might also be useful. You find one here.

 

[Pixmaladjusted3]

I lost my login details and wasn’t able to recover the password, so I had to make a new account.

Thanks for the help, PeterBJ. With the guide you linked, I was able to dismantle the printer chassis and manually unlock the ink carriage, which allowed me to remove and clean the clogged print head. With the service manual, I was also able to reference the error code, which is B200 (10 alternate green and orange flashes, ending with a prolonged green), which is defined as a print head error.

Unfortunately, the printer is still not functioning. I was hoping manually unlocking the arm would clear the error, or one of the ‘turn it off and on again’ tier solutions for B200 would work, specifically the one where a Pixma printer is plugged in with its case left open and spontaneously starts working again after cleaning.

I recently watched a video where a B200 error was solved by unscrewing the bottom plate of the print head and poking out dried ink from the nozzle holes with a tooth pick, and I would probably also inject alcohol with a syringe in that scenario. If the error in this case is caused by blocked nozzles, then that would explain why the head is still not recognising, even after the water ran clear from several sessions of cleaning.

Do you have any further insight into how I might clear the error? Again, the help is appreciated.

 

[The Hat]

Do you have any further insight into how I might clear the error? Again,

You’ve reached the end of the road, the B200 error is electrical not mechanical or clogging, and pulling the print head apart won’t solve anything for you either, it’s time to think of a new printer, sorry..

 

[mikling]

When people solve B200 errors by mechanically doing something, the B200 was not really eletronic in nature but a faulty contact. Faulty contacts can look like a faulty electronic component. You cannot tell without reseating contacts or cleaning contacts. If after performing the steps to reseat etc and the B200 remains, the most likely cause is indeed an electronic failure in the printhead. Most times the B200 is indeed a failed printhead....but there exists the odd and very slim possibility.
What have you got to lose by trying?......likely a lot in many instances. If you start removing cables etc and you don't know how to properly reseat them, you might cause real mechanical problems where even if the printhead is replaced afterwards, the printer will not work. Only in the cases where a replacement printhead cannot be acquired then there is no downside risk of mucking around should mucking around be attempted. This is the way I see it.
So if you get a B200 and there exists a replacement printhead.....go straight for the replacement printhead first.

 

[Artur5]

I suspect that finding nowadays a new genuine Canon printhead for the IP4300 is quite impossible.
Of course, there's always the Ebay/Ali-Express lottery of refurbished or fake printheads. I wouldn't advice to try that but, if a refund is guaranteed in case of defective merchandise, there isn't much to loose except time.