How to Fix a Procolored Printer Showing "No Print Head Available" After Replacing the Printhead

Question:
I'm working on a Procolored printer even though my background is mostly in 3D printing. The machine is not printing at all. I already replaced the printhead with the one Procolored recommended, and I also replaced the printhead cable, but it still will not print. The red light is no longer showing, but now they are telling me to replace the waste pump, even though that does not seem related to the actual problem. The printer keeps saying that no printhead is available. What should I check next?

Answer:

Based on what you described, there are two different layers to this issue: the ink-delivery/priming side and the electrical/mainboard side.

When a printer shows a message such as "no printhead available", people sometimes immediately assume the printhead itself is bad. However, that is not always the case. Since you have already replaced the printhead and the printhead cable, the next step is to confirm whether the printhead is actually being primed properly and whether the printer's mainboard is still able to drive the head electrically.

The first possibility is that the capping station did not successfully pull ink into the new printhead. That is often why the printer vendor starts talking about the waste pump. Their thinking is usually that the capping station or pump assembly is not creating enough suction to charge the head. If the printhead is installed but never properly primed, the printer may behave as though the head is unavailable or simply print blank pages.

A good next step is to do a park-and-prime procedure. Turn the printer on and let the carriage return naturally to the capping station. Once the printhead is parked, connect a syringe and tube to the waste line and gently begin drawing. Start around 4 to 6 ml. At that stage, you should feel slight resistance. That resistance is important because it tells you the capping station is sealing against the head.

Here is how to interpret what you feel:

• If you draw only air, then the printhead is probably not parked correctly on the cap, or the capping station has a seal leak.
• If you feel total resistance and cannot draw anything at all, the capping station may be clogged, which means it cannot prepare the head.
• If you hear the damper membrane crinkle and see ink begin to move, that usually means the nozzles are opening and the ink path is starting to charge.

From there, slowly continue drawing until the syringe reaches the 10 ml mark, while watching for ink movement. Then hold it briefly, around 10 seconds, to encourage the ink path to stabilize. After that, run the printer's regular cleaning cycle. I would avoid any strong cleaning right away, especially within the next 12 hours, and also avoid repeated back-to-back cleanings because that can stress the ink system and the head.

Now, if you do see ink moving during priming, but the printer still prints blank or still behaves as though the printhead is not functioning, then the issue may no longer be about clogging or priming. At that point, you need to start looking at the mainboard protection and drive circuitry.

One common culprit is the F1 fuse on the mainboard. On Epson-based converted DTF/DTG platforms, that fuse protects the printhead drive circuit. If the fuse is blown, the printer may still power up and appear somewhat normal, but the head will not fire correctly. In some Procolored setups, there may be a white wire bypass or overwrite around that fuse area, which can complicate diagnosis instead of helping it. In cases like that, I usually prefer to remove the questionable bypass and restore the circuit properly with the correct fuse. Here is the BCH part reference for the fuse: F1/F2 Fuse for Epson L1800 DTG DTF Printer (https://bchtechnologies.com/products/f1-f2-fuse-for-epson-l1800-dtg-dtf-printer?_pos=2&_sid=e258fe3f7&_ss=r).

If the fuse checks out or has already been replaced and the problem still continues, then the next suspect is the driver IC on the mainboard. A damaged driver chip can prevent the printer from controlling the head properly even when the printhead and cable are both new. Here is the BCH reference for that part: SOP28 E09A7218A 218A Printer Driver Chip (https://bchtechnologies.com/products/sop28-e09a7218a-218a-printer-driver-chip-for-epson-integrated-circuit-ic-l1800-artisan-1430-1390?_pos=3&_sid=15c449899&_ss=r).

As for the error message "no printhead available," that wording usually points to a head detection or head drive problem, not automatically to a waste pump problem. A failed waste pump can absolutely prevent priming and cleaning, but it usually does not directly explain a head-detection style message by itself. That is why I would not jump straight into pulling the whole rack apart for the pump unless you have already confirmed that the capping station cannot draw ink or that the pump assembly is actually failing.

So, in practical order, I would check things like this:

1. Confirm the new printhead is seated correctly and the cable is oriented correctly.
2. Do a park and prime to verify the capping station can pull ink.
3. Watch whether ink actually moves through the dampers and waste line.
4. If ink moves but printing is still blank, inspect the F1 fuse.
5. If the fuse is good or repaired and the issue remains, evaluate the driver chip/mainboard.
6. Only move on to the waste pump/capping assembly teardown if the machine clearly cannot create suction or maintain a seal.

Printer problems like this are often difficult because they are very hands-on. Because of that, we're not able to provide remote repair troubleshooting or step-by-step repair support beyond general guidance. We do offer an in-person diagnostic and repair option through our local printer repair service (https://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service). Due to demand, repairs are handled on a first-come, first-served basis, and it may take a few weeks before we are able to receive your printer. We can work on either the full printer or specific assemblies, depending on what you send in. That said, we also understand that professional repair is not always the most economical route, so self-guided research can still be the best next move. We strongly recommend checking YouTube, especially our BCH Technologies YouTube homepage (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies), and using the search icon near the About section to look for videos on your exact symptom. Over the years we've made many videos, and that search function is usually the fastest way to locate the most relevant one. YouTube may also recommend helpful videos from other repair channels.

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