How to Fix HP 7612 "Printhead is Missing" Error: Removal and Installation Guide

Today is the first part we're trying to fix this printer which claims the printhead is missing. We're going to take the printhead out and then reinsert it, just if it's something simple as a connection problem. We found probably the previous owner already worked on this. There are two springs to secure the printhead on the base. It has been removed. Here's a screw. When we talk to the owner, he says nobody has worked on it, so it's a mystery why those two screws are loose and not those two springs.

Without those two springs, it's effortless to lift the printhead and disconnect the electronic cables underneath. You can see there are two air tubes and there are two cables to disconnect. Just pull them out. We can see the printhead is severely clogged, and on the white cable, there are some red streaks. I suspect somebody has been working on it. We'll put some protective film on. This particular film is designed for the printhead, so I protect the printhead from scratching. At home, you can use Saran wrap to do the same thing.

Now I use our precision tool to remove the screws from the electronic board. We're going to open it up and take a quick look, see if there is some dried ink in it, or maybe the printhead has been flooded with something, and we can see something right away. I got this set from eBay for $12 free shipping. We're going to use a 5. They look pretty clean inside, and just in case. Next, I'm going to clean the brass plates.

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Now we have to deal with two springs, two tubes, and two cables. To make things easier, we're going to take the top of the printhead off. It is much easier to put this part again than the whole unit. The first thing we will do is attach the bottom of the spring to the base, then we're going to, under the tube, go through the spring to give more stability. Take a closer look here. The tubes go through the bottom hoop of the spring. After you install it, you can pull the spring up and attach the printhead. Then we're going to flip the printhead upside down and connect two big cables and the one little cable.

We'll use a pair of pliers to pull the spring up and then attach it to the printhead. Then we put the cover back. It seems simply taking the printhead out and put it back in didn't fix the printhead's missing problem. We're going to keep troubleshooting in the next part. At least at this part, we show you how to take the printhead out and put it in.