Epson L805 Printing Blank Pages After Printhead Replacement: Possible Causes and Fixes

Question:
I have an Epson L805 that was originally printing blank because the printhead was clogged. I replaced the printhead, but now the printer is still printing blank pages. I had a very difficult time removing the printhead because of the clip locations. While taking it apart, I pulled a cable out and could not get it back in properly. I also may have accidentally jabbed around the printhead housing area while trying to find the clips. Could that damage be the reason the printer is printing blank pages?

Answer:

From what you described, the cable you pulled sounds very much like the page width sensor cable. In most cases, that sensor by itself does not directly cause blank pages. Its main job is to help the printer detect paper width and monitor paper path conditions. When that sensor or its cable is disconnected or damaged, the printer is more likely to show paper-related behavior, such as refusing to print, stopping mid-process, misreading the paper size, or showing abnormal carriage movement. In some cases, the machine may throw a paper or sensor-related fault. So yes, that cable matters, but blank output alone usually points elsewhere.

If the printer is feeding paper normally, the carriage is moving, and the print job appears to complete, but the sheet comes out totally blank, the more likely issue is that ink is not being delivered to the nozzle plate or the printhead is not firing electrically. That is a very different category of problem from a paper-width sensor issue.

Here are the most likely causes in your situation:

First, the printer may still have an ink delivery problem. Even after replacing a printhead, the new head will not print unless ink is actually reaching it. If air entered the ink path during disassembly, the printer can act like it is printing while producing blank pages. On this model, possible causes include air in the ink lines, dampers not fully primed, or ink not properly charging into the new head. This is especially common right after a head replacement.

Second, the issue may be related to the capping station or pump assembly. If the capping station is not sealing well against the bottom of the printhead, or if the pump is weak or clogged, the printer cannot pull ink through the head properly during cleaning cycles. In that case, you may install a good head and still get blank output because the head never gets charged with ink.

Third, there may be damage to the FFC cables. These flat white ribbon cables are critical. If one was partially unseated, inserted crooked, torn, or scratched during removal, the head may not receive proper firing signals. This can absolutely result in blank pages. Because you mentioned having difficulty with the clips and accidentally jabbing around the housing, this is an area I would inspect very carefully. Even minor damage to an FFC cable or connector can interrupt head firing.

Fourth, the printhead itself may not be firing correctly. Since you mentioned that the board had previously fried and the printer started beeping, that makes me more suspicious of an electrical failure rather than just a clog. When a board failure happens, it can damage the head drive circuit, the head itself, or both. In that case, even a replacement printhead may not print if the mainboard driver transistors, firing circuit, or related components have been compromised.

Fifth, the mainboard may be damaged. A printer can still feed paper and move the carriage even when the head-firing section of the board has failed. That is why a printer may appear mechanically normal but still produce a blank sheet every time. In simple terms: the printer is "printing" in motion only, but not electrically firing ink.

A helpful way to separate these possibilities is this:

• A paper handling or sensor problem usually causes the printer to stop, reject the print, misread paper, or behave abnormally with loading and carriage travel.

• A blank printing problem usually means the printer is moving normally, but the ink is either not reaching the printhead or the head is not being fired.

Since you asked whether the accidental damage could be why the printer is printing blank, the answer is: possibly yes, but probably not because of the page width sensor alone. The more concerning possibilities are:

• damage to an FFC cable

• damage to an FFC connector on the board or carriage

• a poorly seated printhead connection

• damage to the printhead itself

• or failure in the mainboard's printhead firing circuit

If you are troubleshooting this further, I would check the following in this order:

1. Make sure all FFC cables are fully seated, straight, and not reversed, creased, or torn.

2. Verify the new printhead is installed correctly and locked down evenly.

3. Check whether ink is actually reaching the head. If the lines or dampers contain air, the head may never charge properly.

4. Inspect the capping station and pump to make sure the printer can pull ink during cleaning.

5. If the printer had a prior electrical event such as a fried board or persistent beeping, strongly consider that the mainboard or head drive circuit may still be defective.

As for error codes, a disconnected or faulty page width sensor is more often associated with paper path, paper width detection, or carriage-related faults, while a blank-page condition often occurs without a specific error code if the machine can still complete the print cycle. If your Epson L805 is not currently displaying an error code and is simply outputting blank pages, that further supports checking ink delivery, FFC cables, head installation, and mainboard firing damage first.

Printer problems like this are often difficult to diagnose remotely because they are so hands-on. Because of that, we are not able to provide step-by-step remote troubleshooting, live repair guidance, or direct repair support from a distance. We do offer an in-person evaluation and repair option through our local printer repair service (https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service). Due to heavy demand, repairs are handled on a first-come, first-served basis, and it may take a few weeks before we are ready to receive your printer. We can service either an entire printer or a specific part, with instructions provided for each option. That said, we understand our service may not be the lowest-cost route, so self-guided research is often the best first step. You may want to search YouTube broadly or visit our YouTube homepage (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies) and use the search icon next to "About" on the right side of the menu bar to look for videos on your exact issue. We get many questions every day, and with so many videos created over the years, YouTube search is usually the fastest way to find the most relevant content. It may also suggest useful videos from other repair channels.

Thank you again for reaching out to us and for supporting BCH Technologies. We truly appreciate your patience, your trust, and your support of our content.