Epson EcoTank ET-4760: Correct Maintenance Box (T04D1) + Fixing Missing Yellow and Fading Black

Question: I found your videos and, since I live in Florida, I want to do some maintenance on my Epson EcoTank ET-4760 myself. I was going to get some tubes, new print heads, and syringes. I also wanted to get a maintenance box, but I want to be sure I get the right one. Can you point me in the right direction?

Also: I'm having trouble printing yellow at all, and now black is giving me trouble too. I tried soaking the print heads in warm water with no luck, and now I can't perform any more head cleanings or power cleanings with my maintenance box. I'm hoping it's just the print heads or tubes-do you recommend otherwise?

Answer:

1) The correct maintenance box for the ET-4760

For the Epson EcoTank ET-4760, the maintenance box you linked is the correct one:

• Epson Ink Maintenance Box T04D1 (T04D100) (https://epson.com/Accessories/Printer-Accessories/Ink-Maintenance-Box-T04D1/p/T04D100)

Why this matters: Cleaning cycles and purges push waste ink into the maintenance box. If the printer believes the maintenance box is full (or near full), it will block head cleaning / power cleaning to prevent overflow.

2) Why you can't run more head cleanings (and the "error codes" to watch for)

On Epson machines, when cleanings are blocked, it's usually because one of these conditions is met:

• Maintenance box is full / waste ink limit reached (your description strongly points here)

• Printer detects the maintenance box incorrectly installed or incompatible

• Protection counter / waste ink counter threshold reached (some models will present a "service required" style message)

Different regions/firmware display different messages. You may see wording such as:

• "Ink pad is at the end of its service life" / "Service required"

• "Maintenance box is full" / "Replace the maintenance box"

• Sometimes a structured Epson-style code appears similar to E-XX or 0x..-type messages depending on device/driver screen.

If your printer shows a specific code on-screen (example: "E-11" or anything starting with "0x"), that exact code is important-but even without it, your symptom ("can't perform any more cleanings with my maintenance box") is most commonly tied to the maintenance box full / waste system lockout.

First recommended move: install a new T04D1 maintenance box and confirm the printer recognizes it.

3) Missing Yellow + Black getting worse: what's most likely happening

When yellow is completely missing and black starts failing too, the most common causes are:

A) Dried/clogged nozzles (especially if the printer sat unused)

Yellow is often the first to drop because pigment/dye behavior and channel flow differ by color. Once one channel is severely clogged, repeated cleaning can:

• temporarily worsen other channels (like black) by introducing air or stressing the pump/capping system

• consume the waste-ink capacity quickly (filling the maintenance box)

B) Air in the ink path (after cleaning attempts or partial disassembly)

Any time the ink system is disturbed-tubes moved, tanks run low, repeated purges-air can get introduced. Air pockets can cause:

• complete dropout on a color (yellow disappears entirely)

• weak/fading black

• inconsistent nozzle checks (some lines return, others vanish)

C) Capping station / wiper / pump issues (cleaning system isn't sealing)

If the printhead can't "cap" tightly, cleanings don't pull ink correctly. This often looks like:

• cleanings don't improve anything

• black degrades after multiple attempts

• printer quickly reaches maintenance box limit because it's wasting ink without restoring flow

4) About soaking the printhead in warm water

I understand why you tried it-lots of people do. But on many Epson EcoTank units, soaking can backfire because:

• it can push water/contamination where it shouldn't go

• it can loosen internal debris and relocate it into a worse clog

• it may not dissolve the specific dried ink binders causing the blockage

If soaking didn't help and now cleanings are blocked, that's a sign we should shift away from "more cleaning cycles" and toward restoring the ink path and waste system first.

5) Practical next steps (in the safest order)

Here's a sensible sequence that avoids wasting parts and reduces the risk of damaging the printer:

1. Replace the maintenance box (T04D1)
   This restores the printer's ability to run cleaning cycles if they are still needed.

2. Run a nozzle check BEFORE any more cleaning
   A nozzle check tells us whether yellow is:

   • totally blank (hard blockage / air / delivery failure), or

   • partially present (clog that may recover)

3. If yellow is still totally missing, do one standard cleaning, then nozzle check again
   Avoid repeated "power cleanings" back-to-back. Over-cleaning can:

   • overfill the waste system quickly

   • overheat or overstress the printhead's firing

   • introduce more air and destabilize black

4. Verify tank venting and ink levels
   Make sure the tanks are properly vented/opened per the printer's design. A closed vent can mimic a clog because ink can't flow consistently.

5. Consider that tubes alone usually aren't the main culprit
   Replacing tubes can help if there's:

   • a visible kink, leak, or break

   • contamination/sludge in a line
     But most color dropouts start at the nozzle plate, cap/pump, or air/flow interruption, not the tube itself.

6. About replacing printheads on an ET-4760
   This is often not a simple "swap a head for just yellow/black." Epson's design typically uses a single integrated printhead assembly serving multiple channels. If the head is truly damaged or irrecoverably clogged, it's usually an assembly-level repair, not just a single-color replacement.

6) Do I recommend tubes/printheads/syringes right now?

Based on your symptoms, I'd prioritize this way:

• Yes first: Maintenance box T04D1 (because you're blocked from cleaning and diagnostics).

• Then: Nozzle checks + minimal controlled cleaning.

• Only after that: consider hardware parts (tubes/printhead) if diagnostics show the channel cannot be recovered and the waste/capping system is confirmed working.

In other words: you're not wrong that it could be the printhead, but the maintenance box lockout and possible capping/pump/air-flow issues should be addressed first-otherwise even a new head or tube can behave the same.

Addressing printer issues can be tricky because the real cause is often hands-on (ink flow, seals, pumps, and mechanical tolerances). Because of that, we're not able to provide remote troubleshooting, specific repair directives, or step-by-step repair support. We do offer an in-person evaluation and repair service through our local diagnostic facility: BCH Technologies Printer Repair Service (https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service). Due to high demand, we operate first-come, first-served, and it can take a few weeks before you're able to drop the printer off. Our services are structured to repair either the whole printer or specific parts, with clear instructions on how to proceed. That said, we understand our rates aren't the cheapest, so we genuinely recommend self-help research first.

A great place to start is YouTube-especially our channel: BCH Technologies on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies). On our channel homepage, use the search icon next to "About" (right side of the menu bar) to find videos by topic. I receive dozens of messages every day asking for exact video links, and with nine years of uploads, it's hard to remember every single title-YouTube search is the quickest way to locate the best match. Plus, YouTube may suggest helpful videos from other creators as well.

Thanks again for reaching out, and thank you for supporting BCH Technologies. I hope the maintenance box replacement gets you unstuck so you can run proper nozzle checks and make a clearer call on the next step.