hp 7310 check cartridge on right

[shellroc]

above is a picture of my problem.. this is where the ink cartridges sit. I was given the printer for free.. Had to buy a cord, then ink.. put the cartridges in and an error message came up to check right cartridge.. after further investigation, I realized that a part had broke off, I think... no clue what this part is called.. If I did, i would see if its worth it to fix.. can anyone help?

[shellroc]

obviously this looks like my problem.. just dont know what to do with it...suggestions, plz?

[shellroc]

found the problem. how do I get it off?

found the problem. now, how do I get it out?

[Bob_Headrick]

The images you show are the service station, the part of the printer where the cartridges are cleaned, and capped when they are not being used.  The actual part where the cartridges site is called the carriage, it looks something like this: 

I would suggest starting by checking the spring (1) above.  If the spring is dislodged but has not punctured the flex circuit in the back of the carriage you may be able to fix this by using epoxy to fix the spring back in its proper position (see the spring on the other side to see how it should go).  If the spring has punctured the flex circuitry as shown in (2) above it is not likely to be feasible to repair.  There was an extended warranty for this issue but it expired a decade or more ago.

If the spring and flex are OK then I would suggest cleaning the electrical contacts on the cartridge and printer carriage with a lint free wipe.  A damp new coffee filter works well for this.

Note that for printing (only, not copying) the printer will operate with a single cartridge installed.  You will get an error message but the printer will print with just the color or black cartridge installed.

[Bob_Headrick]

OK, I had not seen the third image when I responded.  Unfortunately your printer has a damaged flex.  It is likely not practical to fix this, but you should be able to remove the cartridge and print with just the color cartridge installed.  There will be an error message but it should print OK.  

[shellroc]

I cant get the printer to do anything.... it just keeps telling me to check right side of ink cartridge. I tried not putting the ink in, and still doesnt let me do anything

[Bob_Headrick]

The printer should work for printing (but not copying)  if you remove the Black (left) cartridge and install the Color (right) cartridge.   There will be an error message about the missing cartridge, but it should still print.

It is possible the flex has been damaged enough that it cannot print even in single cartridge mode.