Epson error 0xE5: diagnosis and repair steps

What causes it

• The scanner carriage locked by the transport lock switch on the underside or side of the scanner bed
• The scanner carriage stalled on its rail or stuck against the glass frame
• A foreign object under the scanner unit stopping the lid from closing fully
• The print head carriage failing its home sweep for the usual mechanical reasons
• Scanner motor or sensor failure on an older machine

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. Check the scanner transport lock

   Several Epson multifunction models have a small lock switch, usually a slider with a padlock symbol, on the left underside or the side of the scanner section. If it is in the locked position the scanner carriage cannot move and the printer reports a fatal error at boot. Slide it to the unlocked position and restart.

2. Power drain the machine

   Turn the printer off, unplug it at both ends, hold the power button for 30 seconds and leave it for five minutes. Reconnect and power on. Watch whether you hear the scanner lamp carriage move under the glass in the first few seconds, since silence there points straight at the scanner mechanism.

3. Lift the scanner unit and check underneath

   Raise the scanner section and look at the printer chassis below. A pen, a paperclip or a folded sheet resting there stops the unit from seating and can hold a switch open. Clear it, then lower the unit gently and make sure it clicks closed rather than resting a few millimetres proud.

4. Free the print head carriage

   With the printer unplugged, slide the print head carriage along its rail by hand to make sure it is not stuck to the capping station. If it resists, put a few millilitres of warm distilled water on the capping pad, wait ten minutes and try again gently. A stuck head produces the same class of error as a stuck scanner.

5. Clean the document glass and check the ADF path

   Lift the document cover and clean the glass and the narrow ADF scanning strip with a soft dry cloth. Then open the ADF cover and remove any paper still sitting in the feed rollers. Debris on the scanning strip does not cause the error by itself, but a jammed original in the ADF can hold a sensor and does.

6. Reseat the cartridges

   Power on, open the scanner unit and let the carriage travel to the replace position. Press each cartridge down until it clicks and confirm none sits proud. Close everything, restart, and see whether the boot completes.

7. Isolate the scanner by testing a print-only path

   If the printer boots at all, send a small print job from a computer without touching the scanner. If printing works and only scanning fails, the scanner mechanism is the fault and you can decide whether you need scanning enough to repair it.

Frequently asked questions