Epson error 0x1A: cartridge and carriage circuit fault

What causes it

• Ink or moisture bridging the electrical contacts inside the carriage
• A refilled or compatible cartridge with a chip the firmware cannot read after an update
• A bent or flattened contact pin in the carriage
• A cartridge inserted in the wrong slot or not clicked fully down
• A damaged carriage ribbon cable

How to fix it, in order

Work down the list and stop when the printer recovers. The steps are ordered from most likely and least invasive to last resort.

1. Power down and drain the printer

   Turn the printer off with the button, unplug it at both ends and hold the power button for 30 seconds. Wait five minutes and reconnect. Cartridge detection runs once at power-on, so a fresh boot with a clean electrical state clears a fair number of one-off read failures.

2. Remove all cartridges and inspect the chips

   Open the scanner unit, let the carriage travel out if the printer allows it, and take every cartridge out. Look at the green or gold chip on each one. Wipe any ink film off with a dry lint-free cloth, never a wet one, and check the chip is still firmly attached and not cracked at the edges.

3. Clean the contacts inside the carriage

   Look into each empty cartridge bay and you will see a row of small metal contacts. Wipe them gently with a dry lint-free cloth or a clean cotton bud, taking care not to bend them sideways. If any contact is visibly flattened compared with its neighbours, ease it up with a wooden toothpick and nothing metal.

4. Reinstall one genuine cartridge at a time

   Fit the black cartridge first, press until it clicks, close the lid and see whether the printer boots. Then add the colours one at a time, restarting between each. This is slow but it identifies the exact cartridge causing the failure, which guesswork will not.

5. Swap out third-party cartridges for testing

   If any cartridge is compatible, refilled or has a replacement chip, take it out and fit a genuine Epson one. Firmware updates regularly change how chips are validated, so a set that worked last month can start failing after an update. If genuine cartridges clear the error, the chips were the cause.

6. Check the carriage ribbon cable

   With the printer unplugged, look at the flat ribbon cable running to the carriage. It should be seated in its connector and free of creases and shiny wear marks where it flexes. Push the connector home if it looks proud. A worn cable gives intermittent chip reads that show up as random fatal errors.

7. Confirm with a nozzle check

   Once the printer boots with all cartridges installed, go to Maintenance and print a nozzle check. That exercises every colour and confirms the printer both sees and can use each cartridge, which is a stronger test than simply reaching the home screen.

Frequently asked questions