hp Officejet 7130 carriage error

[Saleen 193]

What exactly makes up a carriage error? Maybe I am looking in the wrong area.

[MichaelTech]

This error is from ink build-up in the service station. Move the carriage away, and look in to the right. There may be a "mountain" of ink stopping movement.
The encoder strip may be very dirty. Clean!
Also, you may get a "scanner error". There have been many meathods described for this, but the easiest is to take off the small glass on the left, and pull the belt to bring the scanner to the far left. Use small, dry, Q-tip to clean the mirror with the widest slot. Use a flashlight to look, as you will see a lot more than just looking at it. Best fix I have found. Luck!:cool:

[aitnewbie]

Ok what if this does not work. I have cleaned the build up tray and it still does not work.

[Big Al]

If the ink residue spilled over the top of the spitoon there may be ink remaining in the area just to the left of the spitoon. In some HP inkjets this can cause current to flow between two metal peices and indicate a carriage problem when it is really a spitoon overflow. Clean up this area and it may fix your problem.

If the printer has seen this much hard use it may have ink on the locator strip. This strip is clear, has a lot of vertical stripes on it, it passes through the carriage assembly. One end hooks on the frame and the other on a small flat tension spring. If the strip gets dirty the electronics cannot figure out where the ink cartridges are and declare an error. Gently clean both sides of the strip with a Q-tip moistened in alcohol. Best to avoid water based cleaners as the water may drip down into the electronics.

Electronics problems are also the cause of a lot of these issues. Parts are not available for these and it costs more to fix it than to replace it.

Al