D4160's cartridge cradle gets stuck when in the right side of the printer...

[Condottiere]

Since yesterday, my D4160’s cartridge cradle randomly gets stuck when in the right side of the printer. The problem is with the part in the pic and don’t know what it’s called, but the cradle can’t move from side to side when this part doesn’t move back and forth. Is this part connected with the roller, as it now won’t grab individual sheets of paper. In order for the cradle to go left, I have to manually move it past that part. How would I go about fixing this?

[Jay_G24]

Hi @Condottiere,

I'd like to help.

Step 1: Check for obstructions in the carriage path

Make sure the carriage path is not blocked.

1. With the printer on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.

2. If your printer has a battery, remove the battery.

3. Open the door to access the carriage inside of the printer.

   Examples of carriage access doors

   

4. Look in the carriage path for debris such as crumpled paper or dislodged labels, and then remove any that you find.

   Example of a printer with debris in the carriage path

   

5. If the carriage on your printer has a latch, make sure it is closed.

      CAUTION: 

   Ink tank printers: If the latch is closed, do not press down on it.

    

   

6. Use your hand to move the carriage to each side, making sure it moves freely. If the carriage is stalled or docked to one side of the printer and you cannot move it, continue with these steps.

7. Close the carriage access door.

8. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer, and then turn the printer on.

If the error persists, continue to the next step.

Step 2: Reset the printer

An error might continue to display after the jam is cleared. To clear the error state, reset the printer, connecting the power cord directly to a wall outlet to make sure the power source is stable and prevent more carriage jams.

1. With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the printer.

2. Unplug the power cord from the power source.

3. Wait 60 seconds.

4. Reconnect the power cord to a wall outlet and to the printer.

   NOTE: 

   HP recommends plugging the printer directly into a wall outlet.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

And, Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping

[Condottiere]

Thanks for responding.

Other than the remains of ink spillage, probably from old cartridges, I couldn't find any debris along the carriage path. I disconnected the power cord and scooped out piled up clumped wet ink from the sponge area on the right, beneath where the carriage rests when the door is raised. I thought this might have been the issue, but when I tried to print a test page, the paper jammed for some reason and the carriage wouldn't move from the right. With the paper removed and the door lowered, after holding down the Resume button, the carriage began moving from side to side again, and kept doing so whenever I raised and lowered the door, though it began slamming to the right.

Could this be a wear and tear issue? I've been using the D4160 since 2006, IIRC.