Troubleshooting HP Spongeless Cartridge Modification: Why Your Black Cartridge Isn’t Recognized

Question:

I just bought a spongeless mod kit for hp ink cartridges and I just managed to get the color cartridge done. My cartridges worked perfectly before the mod thing but after using a black ink 304A cartridge for my HP Deskjet 3752 printer, it no longer recognizes the cartridge. I have lifted the cartridge lid up to higher settings and calibrated several times, but I still can not get it.  What is wrong with this problem?

Answer:

I appreciate you contacting me! We truly value your comments and readership, especially on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies), where you can see actual product demonstrations. Our technical content is the key to your feedback, and this issue is part of us elaborating our offerings, so we are happy to help with that.

By the way, congratulations on getting the color ink cartridge mod to work! This is super impressive because these are some tricky changes for tri-colors. Now, we will discuss the problem with your black ink cartridge.

You seem to have everything in the right places and are doing pretty much what you should be, so it may come down to a few technical elements that affect your black ink cartridge recognition;

Light cartridge height and contact problems

This is the thing that plagued many a spongeless mod. Sanding often affects the height of the cartridge, and you can change it ever so slightly. The problem is that since the black cartridge after modding is shorter than it was before, your printer will have difficulty contacting its electrical connectors, so then nothing happens.

Based on what you have stated, part of your experimentation has been to take the liquid cart and add height to the cart with some drops of hot glue on the prongs. Well done. But you'll have to finetune this process closely. When you raise them, Could you ensure that the contacts on your connector reach the printer connectors? Just a tiny bit of an off-placement could cause these buttons not to be recognized;

Check for Glue Interference:

The glue that seals the cartridge lid might have seeped down and covered up or obstructed the electrical connections, thus preventing the printer from making a proper connection. If you cleaned the connections with rubbing alcohol, as you mentioned, this is less likely, but re-inspect to make sure all contact points are visible.

Modding the Lid Height:

The lid of the black cartridge seemed perhaps to be "off" compared to your extra cartridge. The lid may not be perfectly flush, which would cause a gap between the cartridge and printer contacts. If too much sanding of the lid has lowered its height, try adding a very thin spacer (such as a plastic or adhesive strip) to the top surface of the lid and see if that helps increase contact.

Electrical Contact Check:

So you mentioned that the problem is with the printer. Even though the color cartridge is okay, that doesn't eliminate an issue with the printer's contacts regarding the black cartridge. You can use a flashlight to light up the printer cartridge slot and look over the contact pins; none should get bent or damaged. If the printer checks out, it might be the cartridge that is to blame for this issue.

Final Adjustments and Tips:

Before adding any more REAL functionality, I suggest looking at your modded black cartridge next to an original one and seeing where the contacts are realigned! If you must use it, keep on experimenting with more or less a bit of money-grubbing hot glue or a different skinny substance to raise the cartridge high enough to touch. Be sure not to let the cartridge become too tall, as you could run into alignment issues.

Because of the interactive characteristics of the problems, troubleshooting printer is a tedious activity. Therefore, we cannot troubleshoot the printer or suggest a solution remotely; it uses a modular repair design. Our local diagnostic facility also performs evaluation and repair in person (https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service) on a first-come, first-served due to the high demand. It could take several weeks to have your printer deliver it or send the printed manual to us. If you choose mail-in or local drop-off services, our processes are step-by-step to repair the printer entirely or repairing of/as-needed. But we realize that our prices could always be more reasonable. Therefore, it is suggested that you help yourself through the Internet. I hope it will help:) You may begin by looking at YouTube or visiting the homepage of our channel: https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies. Search for videos using the search in the right-side menu bar near About.

Thank you once again for contacting us. We trust these tips will help clear up your cartridge-related problems quickly! If you have any questions, please ask me again.