Epson 4880 not recognizing LM cart

1

Hello - I am having trouble with my Epson 4880 cart not being recognized. I checked the chip with the chip setter and that seems fine. I switched it out with another ML cart, it did not recognize and finally I put in a third LM cart with ink in it and still nothing. I’ve shimmed up all of the carts. I’ve looked inside the LM slot and I do not see anything different then the other cart slots. Does anybody have any other ideas? I have another LM chip but I do not want to use it if the chip is not the problem. Thank you.

2

check in the back top right of the cartridge slot. You will see small copper wires of the CSIC sensor. If one is mangled or miss-aligned this would cause the issue. CSISs are about 3 dollars ea but a PITA to replace.

-Walker

3

Hi. I found instructions on the DP review website on installing CISC connectors without tearing the whole printer apart. I have printed a few excerpts below that I found helpful. I also included my two cents and a diagram as well.

However, although I know that this works, as I fixed two connections, I still cannot get my LM cart to be recognized. Does anyone have any other ideas? I have lifted the cart with 2 strips of Bristol board to no avail. The next thing that I am thinking that I will do is to blow the dust out of the bay. Thanks for your ideas.

DPreview
Now to put the new sensor in I used a ultra-high-tech-advanced tool… A CHOPSTICK. One of the types with the squared off wide ends (because you broke two of them apart) One of the higher quality ones I end up with from japanese places. a spiral of electrical tape holds the sensor lightly onto the end of the chopstick and more tape on the chopstick than the sensor ensures that the sensor can be broken out of the tape when it is in the right slot in the bay.

Next I gently insert the sensor PART WAY into the bay taped onto the chopstick. Far enough that it is a few mm into the correct slot, but not far enough to have clicked in or for the reverse side fingers to be depressed. Now I twist the chopstick to ‘release’ the sensor in the slot. The reason I don’t push it all the way in is that I know from experience that the reverse side fingers dont like to go in without being predepressed and can be easily bent if you just force them in.

So NOW I remove the tape from the chopstick end and use its nicely squared off wide end to slip by the side of the sensor and to depress the reverse side fingers as much as possible! A second chopstick can then gently press the sensor in all the way and it CLICKs into place. If it is reluctant to go all the way in its probably because the reverse side fingers aren’t pushed in far enough… so try harder

And the chip sensor has been repaired with no costly ink draining!!
xilvar

I have worked out a simple way to remove the malfunctioning or damaged chip sensor that does NOT require disassembly of the whole printer or an expensive service call. In fact, once you have the tools ready, it takes less than 30 minutes! So I am sharing it here in the hopes that it helps others.

The sensor is simply held in place by two rails, top and bottom, and just connects contacts from the printer chassis to the contacts on the cartridge chip. You can see a picture of it at http://www.authorstream.com/presentation/neterapublishing-1084953-part-gen-9501-9800-removal/ where you can also read the incredibly complex instructions for disassembly of the printer to get at this tiny $10 removable part!

So, to avoid that nightmare, and to do the removal simply, you need some dexterity, and three small tools:

  1. A small LED flashlight to light up the interior of the cartridge bay. It has to be small in order to leave you room to work. A flexible goose-neck LED inspection light is ideal.

  2. Very fine-pointed tweezers, sharp (narrow) enough to slip into the grooves (slots) holding the sensor edges. They have to be about 6 inches long to get far enough into the bay.

  3. Long locking forceps (available as “veterinary forceps” on Amazon) for grasping the sensor when the time comes to slid it out, and to slide the new one in. Again, they have to be long enough to reach the chip sensor.

Step One: Pushing the open tweezers into the bay in a posture parallel to the vertical sensor, insert its two points into the two slots (grooves) holding the sensor top and bottom. Push it gently forward, so as to bend the top rail up a bit and the bottom rail down. The rails are strong plastic and don’t break as they bend. You are just releasing the locking action of those rails that happens when a sensor slides in and clicks into position. It only take a bit of bending to release the chip.

Step Two: With the tweezers in place, doing their job of loosening the grip on the sensor, use the forceps to simply grab the near end of the sensor and pull it straight out. The tweezers will fall out in the process, as their job is done.

Step Three: Repair the sensor (if a pin is bent, for example) or get a replacement online. Make sure the replacement is the correct one for the model and vintage of your printer! Ebay is a good place to look for the older-model ones.

Step Four: Using your forceps to hold the new or repaired sensor, slide it in, making sure to insert the correct end in first and the correct side facing the circuit board. If in doubt, use your flashlight to view another open bay. If it isn’t sliding in easily, stop and reassess its orientation. The springy rails should click and lock the sensor in place.

That’s it. Insert a good ink cartridge to test for success.
TimSUK

Hi All - After struggling for hours, I finally figured out how to insert the CISC connector with the help of the people in this post. I have made a drawing to help people with this problem in the future. In order to slide the connector into the ink bay (I was using the epson 4880) you must use the thin width of a chop stick to depress the pins on the right side before sliding it in. I used 2 chopsticks, 1 on the right side of connector and the 2nd chopstick to push it into the slot. When you place the connector into the slot (as explained in the previous posts) see that it sticks out a mm or two before you depress the pins with your chopstick.
Jean
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65389117

I can’t seem to insert an image into this post.

4

Hi Walker - I have just about given up on this 4880 cart being recognized. I had a tech guy take the printer apart and put it back together again. We replaced the CSIC sensor and checked all of the ribbon connections and still it is not reading the LM cart. Is there anything else you would suggest I do before I get rid of it?

1 Like
5

Do you have an Epson OEM 4880 cart? It’s a worth a test of the chip (again). Remove 4880 OEM chip and put on 4880 IJM cart.

Please let me know. We can send another cart if no.

-Walker

6

Hi Walker - I do not have an OEM LM cart but I will look around for one and let you know if I find one. Thanks
Jean

7

Hi Walker - Did you mean that you could send me an OEM chip or cart? I can’t seem to find one. I can buy Eason OEM chips on eBay for $15. But not sure if I should trust them.
Jean

8

New cartridge coming your way.

9

Thank you Walker for sending an OEM cart. I hope that this fixes the problem! All the Best, Jean

10

It’s not an OEM cart, it’s an IJM (replacement) cart we are sending

11

Oh I see. I misunderstood you. I have 3 LM IJM carts and none of them work. I’m sorry if you already sent cart. Do you think it is the mother board or something like that at this point? Jean

12

I think it’s probably still the CSIC connector, the cable going from there to the motherboard, or the motherboard itself :frowning:
-W

13

Thank you.
I will keep it on the back burner. I was able to find a working p800. I am going to do the firmware change on Friday. It has been so long since our course that I think that I will have to buy some handholding time with you. I’ll let you know later. Take care. J