HP 8600 cartridge problem and hp8600 ink system failure

[CeeCee15]

I have two of the HP office jet pro 8600 printers and both are giving me fits. 

One says one or more cartridges appear damaged, yellow and black.  I replaced black and it says replace yellow. I replaced yellow. Then it said the magenta, yellow and black are damaged. I have about 4 sets of ink cartridges that were new when this started. About half are original and half generic. If I keep following directions I will end up replacing all the cartridges a couple at a time (upto 4 times) and still have the same stupid message that spits out random color variations each time. I have tried switching the print heads between the two. I have used a syringe with cleaning solution to flush the clogs from the print heads. I've tried taking them apart and cleaning the contact points. Also tried taking apart and switching the contact springs around to try for better contact. I also bought a cheap print head on Amazon but it was no help. I am at a loss. Everything i can find points to a new print head to fix the problem. At the cost of $150 I can't justify the expense unless I know it will be the thing that actually works.

The other printer did basically the same thing. I did the thing where you enter the secret menu. You can do a full, semi-full, or partial reset. I believe I selected semi-full.  Now it stopped telling me lies about the ink cartridges but instead now it say ink system failure. Really all the buttons are blacked out so I can't do much with it. 

My friend had an older model of this printer that kept complaining about the cartridges. I replaced the cartridges and aligned them and her printer now works good.

I really need help with this please. Anyone ever had this type of problem that figured out how to fix it?

[A_Gayathri]

Hi @CeeCee15,

Welcome to the HP Support Community

I understand you are getting an error message HP 8600 cartridge problem and hp8600 ink system failure on your HP Printer. Not to worry I will help you to get a resolution to resolve the issue.

To assist better:

• Are you using genuine HP ink cartridges?
• Was there any recent update on the printer prior to the issue?
• Was there any paper jam or carriage jam issue on the printer recently?

While you respond to that, Let's perform a power drain: 

• With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
• Remove the USB cable, if present.
• Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.
• Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord (This is important) and then plug back the power cord to the printer.
• Turn on the printer and wait till the warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle

Update the printer firmware 

• Click here to download and install the latest printer firmware from your product
• Click here to know different methods of updating the printer firmware.

If the issue persists, then please follow the steps mentioned in this document: HP Printers - An 'Ink System Failure' or 'System Supply Problem' Error Displays

HP OfficeJet Printers - Resolving 'Print System Problem', 'Problem with Ink System' Errors

If the issue still persists, I'm sending out a private message to assist you with the next course of action. 

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it or simply click on this link.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

Please click “Accepted 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!