HP Photosmart C5180 - Ink System Failure

[Lorell]

I have the same problem and called HP tech.  He had me go through a procedure with resetting the printer (HPC5180 photosmart) which I paid a lot for.  It was working wonderfully and printed photos beautifully.  I loved it and now I have been getting this window (on printer) ink system failure  I tried shutting it off and on.  Cleaning each ink cartridge with a soft rag, pulling out the plug in back of printer.  I purchased all new ink cartridges and it was after I put them in that I started having a problem.  I plan on sending them back to HP online because they could be imperfect.  The technician told me I would have to get a new printer.  I have HP photosmart C6100 series that I use in my studio and it was purchased 6 yrs. ago, and works fine.

I'm not sure what printer to buy or should I change brand names.  [Personal Information Removed]

[Freecelladdict]

Have you checked out http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-printing-questions/Photosmart-C5180-Power-Up-Power-Down-Problem-L... yet?

The Ink System Failure is the first symptom of an underlying hardware-problem, that is surprisingly easy (and cheap!) to fix.

[Lorell]

I wasn't able to print on my HP C5180 printer and kept getting a message: Ink system failure.  For three days, I went into different sites and found  a HP website suggesting how to fix this.  I did call on the phone and the technician had me go

through steps and at the end the same message came up.  He told me I had to get a new printer since there was a hardware

failure.  I did quite a few things that people suggested and still the same message came up.  Yesterday, I went out to look

for a new printer.  They aren't made as well as the one I own - they looked flimsy.  I was very disheartened.  I didn't give up

hope and went oneline to the support group for HP.  The technician took me through steps starting with the front panel on the printer: press the setup button with the left arrow key held down. press o.k.  Using the right arrow, scroll to System configuration Menu.  Then press O.k.  This is in more detail and if you want to get in touch with me, I will explain through e-mail how I managed to get my printer back working.  It is excellent now.  I am glad I didn't part with HP C5180.  The photographs come out beautifully.  The problem stemmed from the ink cartridge.  I used a clean wet rag (no fuzz) and wiped the contacts on both the ink cartridge and the inside of the printer where the cartridge is placed.  Then I dried it with a soft dry cloth.  This tech was great: he was patient, and simplified the directions. 

 with the left arrow key held down

[ptplestat83]

it show 0xc18a0007  it shows the ink level(full) and recognize all cartiges but don t allow me to print!!!

[Milt88]

Thanks so very much for the answer to this problem!! I spent several wasted hours trying things before finding your post on the first try - top listing on Google. It worked like a charm. Since I don't use the inkjet daily I thought I had a "old ink" problem.

[jarms1983]

I was having same problem diff error code. Dont shut the system off and just press the help ok and button and that did the trick for mine hope this helps!

[Milt88]

Unfortunately I was too enthusiastic about this fix working for me. The next time I turned the machine on I had a repeat of the failure notice. I tried several other things, including the "look at the capacitors" suggestion (found in the thread below), but ended up killing my LCD display (scanner worked, but since I couldn't clear the messages about printing I couldn't see, I wasn't able to get to the printing stage) . So I junked the C5180 and bought a new all-in-one.

The capacitor problem discussion is here (if you try to remove the board be very careful..):

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-printing-questions/Photosmart-C5180-Power-Up-Power-Down-Problem-L...

I do have a couple of observations, for what they are worth. After extensive reading about this problem on other blogs/forums online it appears to me that oftimes this failure notice on different HP printers may be a software problem on the printer, while occasionally it may be an actual hardware failure (like the capacitor situation). There seems to be a "secret menu" that can be accessed to clear the error memory and resolve this problem when it is a software error. But I will admit to it being a confusing situation and I didn't come across any clear guidance on how to do that on a C5180.

Good luck to anyone else with the problem!

[MrPiano]

LimonP   Thanks for the tip.  I just did this and the printer is on like it's doing something, making quiet noises like a good repair man.  I guess I'll just leave it on all night and see if it's OK in the morning.  This must work because you got a lot of thank yous!

[exsvihl]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

The Master Reset worked!  I spent as much time as some of the previous posters performing every suggestion to fix the error and none worked - until now. 

[Robbie_K]

Holding down the OK/Help button simultaneously while plugging the power back in isn't going to get rid of this error.  It may seem like it's gone, but it will come back within the day while the printer sits idle.  This problem started immediately after I bought & installed the larger ink cartridge (Cayan).  I took the cartridge back to the store and told them what occurred on my printer after I installed it & they gave me a new regular 02 cartridge.  Installed it and this error has never come back.  I wish people wouldn't post here who are students who think they know something, but don't.  Kind of like the computer message boards where I've seen 80% of the suggestions will wind up destroying your software & hardware.