TECH: Epson 500 won't print

["Garry Jantzen (Marshfield)" <GarryJ@COOS-BAY.K12.OR.US>]

I have an Epson 500 that won't print because it thinks it is out of black
ink. A suggestion was made to use the cleaning program, but that won't work
as long as the printer thinks its out of black ink. Neither the control
panel functions, nor the software programs will work as long as the printer
thinks it's black ink is empty.

What have I done so far?
        1. Replace both black and color cartridges
        2. Cleaned all around the cartridge holders with warm water and foam
swabs
        3. Disassembled the small "carriage" that the cartridges sit in
while idle and cleaned the tubes, pads, etc.

Question - should I soak the 'carriage' overnight in a glass of water -- the
question being why does the printer think there's no black ink. Is it
because something somewhere is clogged and no ink is reaching a sensor
somewhere? I suspect this may be the case, since this printer was donated by
an elderly couple that didn't use it very much.
Where is this sensor? Is there another sensor somewhere that can actually
measure the ink tank and it is defective? I've tried just about everything
that this "non-tech" can think of. I have no repair manual (I do have the
user manual, installation disk, etc.).

Has anyone had this problem? What did you do (precisely, please)?

TIA from
Garry Jantzen, Librarian N7SBG
Marshfield High School
Coos Bay, OR 97420-0102
garryj@coos-bay.k12.or.us

http://www.marshfield.coos-bay.k12.or.us/garryj/

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