Hi,
Welcome to Just Answer ,My name isXXXXX will try to help you..

This is basically a hardware error related to Purge Unit/Waste ink absorber (WIA). If printer is in warranty get it replaced by Canon. If not please try to follow the steps below and check, if you can resolve the problem in home.

1. Open the printer cover and when the carriage head moves to center pull out the power cord.
2. The WIA unit is on the right side. Use a flashlight to check, then you will see two ink pads (sponge). This is where the print-head is homed/parked and is the top of the WIA unit.
3. There you will find wiper blades that move from the rear to the front. They wipe the bottom of the print-head when it is homed.
(The ink pads actually drop down about three quarters inch, to allow the wiper blade to pass and then it is supposed to spring back to the rear. Also the ink suction for cleaning the print-head is done by the WIA unit.)
4. Use some rubber gloves and a paper towel and see if you can press the ink pads down just a little bit - about quarter inch. See if for some reason the wiper blade is stuck extended. If so, see if you can get it unstuck. Please do this gently so that you don't break anything there.

This error indicates that the WIA unit is not giving the correct timing signal as it rotates inside 360 degrees. Therefore, something is either broken or jammed inside. If you had a paper jam and tried to forcefully pull it out, you could have pulled the internal gears out of alignment or sometimes due to timing problem the print head and the wiping blades can clash with each other.

So you will need to do some maneuvers to try to release the cartridge from its parking position. Again, don't try hard.

Please try the steps below to hard reset the printer and then check the issue, if the problem persist, then turn off the printer then try to move the cartridges with your hand, if you see, that they are jammed, then the purge unit seems to be jamming them and in that case, you will have to replace the purge unit from any repair shop, but before that please take an estimate from them, because as the printer is 5 yrs. old, the service charge plus the price of the purge unit may cross the price of a new or refurbished printer. I know, you may not like my honest answer, but I cannot tell you anything except the truth, because this is a hardware error and if you are unable to solve the problem at home, then you will need the repair shop. Hope you will understand. Please feel free to let me know, if you need further information, otherwise remember to click on accept, if you want to credit me for my time and effort.


1.Remove all the cables from the printer.

2.Wait for 10 mins.

3.Connect only the power cord and try to power on the printer.

4.If the problem is solved, then connect all other cables.