Epson L3160A Error FA04010 After FFC/FPP Cable Misplacement & Printhead Replacements: What It Means and What to Check Next

Question 

My Epson L3160A was accidentally damaged after I misplaced the FPP/FFC cable. After that, everything went wrong. I tried cleaning the printhead with isopropyl alcohol and believe the head got damaged. Since then, I've replaced three printheads with no success. I also used an ultrasonic cleaner, but I suspect the heads may be short-circuiting. I replaced some transistors and everything seems fine now, but I'm afraid to test another head. Do you have any suggestions? Also, is it mandatory to write the printhead's serial number (SN/Head ID) to the EEPROM?

Answer

1) What error FA04010 usually points to

On Epson EcoTank-style machines like the L3160A, FA-series faults commonly indicate an electrical problem detected by the printer's protection circuitry-often involving the printhead drive circuit, head cable/FFC connection, carriage PCB, or the mainboard's head driver section.

In plain terms: FA04010 often shows up when the printer detects an abnormal load/short/open in the printhead circuit. Once this happens, the printer may lock out printing to prevent further damage. Because your issue began immediately after an FPP/FFC cable misplacement, the timeline strongly suggests an electrical event (short, reverse connection, pin misalignment, or arcing) occurred in the head circuit.

Key implication:
If the underlying driver circuit is damaged, installing new printheads won't fix it-and can actually risk damaging each replacement head.

2) The FPP/FFC cable mistake can cause cascading damage (even if "it looks fine")

Misplacing or misaligning an FFC/FPP cable can do several things quickly:

• Short adjacent pins (instant overcurrent)

• Send voltage to a signal line that shouldn't see it

• Blow a driver transistor/MOSFET (sometimes more than one)

• Damage a driver IC or fuse/resistor network on the board

• Damage the carriage board (if your model uses one)

Even after replacing "transistors," the circuit can still be compromised if:

• A driver IC is partially shorted,

• A protective resistor/fuse is open,

• A connector pin is burned/loose,

• Or the replacement transistor type/spec isn't identical (important for switching speed/current handling and gate characteristics).

3) About cleaning: isopropyl alcohol and ultrasonic cleaning on this head

You're correct to be suspicious here.

Isopropyl alcohol soak:
IPA can dissolve some ink components, but soaking can also:

• Wash lubricant out of the nozzle plate area,

• Carry debris deeper,

• Affect adhesives/seals,

• And in some head designs, it can contribute to internal delamination or electrical leakage if it infiltrates where it shouldn't.

Ultrasonic cleaning:
This is the big one. Only a few Epson printhead models tolerate ultrasonic cleaning reasonably well, and even then it's risky. For a head in the L3160A class, ultrasonic cleaning is very likely to cause:

• Micro-cracks in the nozzle plate,

• Separation of internal layers,

• Electrical leakage paths,

• Or outright failure of the piezo elements / internal flex bonds.

So yes: using an ultrasonic cleaner on an L3160A-style head can absolutely destroy it, and it can create the exact "short circuit" symptom you suspected.

4) Should you keep testing new heads? (How to avoid sacrificing another head)

Given your history (FFC misplacement + multiple head failures + FA04010), I would treat the printer as "board/cable suspected" first, and not "head suspected" first.

Before installing another head, focus on these safer checks:

A) Carefully inspect/replace the FFC/FPP cable

• Even a tiny crease, carbon track, or damaged edge can short pins under pressure.

• Look for dark spots, kinks, exposed copper, or melted connector marks.

• If there's any doubt, replace the cable. This is often cheaper than one more head.

B) Inspect the printhead connector(s) on the board

• Bent pins, pushed-back contacts, heat discoloration, or looseness can cause FA errors.

• A connector that "looks okay" can still fail under vibration/movement.

C) If your model has a carriage board (some variants do), inspect it too

• Any corrosion, burn marks, or cracked components there can trigger FA04010.

D) Make sure you are not aligning the cable backwards

• Many FFC cables look symmetric, but the contact side orientation matters.

• A reversed cable can instantly re-damage the circuit.

5) Is it mandatory to write the printhead SN/Head ID to EEPROM?

In most cases for this type of Epson EcoTank printer: No-writing the Head ID/SN to EEPROM is not mandatory just to make the printer function.

What Head ID programming typically affects:

• Calibration / drive compensation parameters

• Print quality tuning

• Sometimes reducing banding/fuzziness or optimizing waveform timing

So, generally speaking:

• If your printer is throwing FA04010, that's an electrical/drive detection issue-not a "Head ID not written" issue.

• You would usually consider Head ID writing only after the printer is electrically healthy and printing, and only if the output is fuzzy, banding, misfiring, or otherwise off even when mechanically and electrically correct.

Your proposed answer is right: Head ID writing is typically not required unless print quality is abnormal, and it won't resolve an FA04010-type fault by itself.

Addressing printer issues can be a complicated affair because so much of it is hands-on and depends on measurements, inspection, and controlled testing. Because of that, we're not able to provide remote troubleshooting, step-by-step repair suggestions, or remote support for printer repairs. We do offer an in-person evaluation and repair service through our local diagnostic facility: printer repair service (https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service). Due to high demand, we operate on a first-come, first-served queue, and it can take a few weeks before we're able to schedule your drop-off. Our services are structured to repair either the whole printer or specific parts, with clear instructions on how to proceed. That said, we recognize our rates aren't the most economical, so we strongly recommend self-help through online research first. A great place to start is YouTube, especially our channel homepage: BCH Technologies on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies). To find the most relevant content quickly, use the search icon near the "About" section on the right side of the menu-since I receive dozens of video-topic questions daily, and after nine years of videos, it's tough to remember every single one. The YouTube search function is the fastest way, and YouTube may also recommend helpful videos from other channels.

Thank you again for reaching out, and thank you for supporting BCH Technologies and our YouTube community. I truly hope you're able to get the L3160A back to a reliable, working state without sacrificing any more printheads.