How do I Fix a Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer? [Quick Guide]

In this article, we will guide you on how to fix a locked carriage on an HP C309n printer within minutes.

Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer [Solutions]

To fix the locked carriage on an HP C309n printer, do the following solutions.

1. Reset your HP Printer – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

To reset your HP C309n printer, do the following steps:

Step 1: Turn on your printer, if it is off.

Step 2: Wait for your printer to become silent and idle before you proceed.

Step 3: Unplug the power cable from your HP printer.

Step 4: Unplug the power cable from the power source it is plugged into.

Step 5: Wait for 60 seconds.

Step 6: Plug the power cable into an electric wall outlet instead of power strips or surge protectors.

Step 7: Plug the power cable into your printer.

Step 8: Turn on your HP printer if it fails to turn on automatically.

Step 9: Wait for the printer to become silent and idle.

Check if the issue is resolved.

If the issue persists, do the next solution.

2. Clear Paper Jam – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

A jammed paper in your printer might cause the carriage to get locked. Therefore, you need to clear the paper jam by doing the following tasks to resolve the problem.

1. Remove Loose Paper – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

Check the printer’s input tray as well as the output tray for loose paper sheets. If you find any, remove them.

Caution: Don’t try to remove any jammed paper now. Doing so might lead to print mechanism damage.

After removing loose paper sheets, do the next task.

2. Remove Jammed Paper from the Printer’s Duplexer (Two-sided Printing Accessory) – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

To remove jammed paper from your printer’s duplexer (two-sided printing accessory), do the following steps:

Step 1: Turn off your HP printer by pressing the power button.

Step 2: Remove the USB cord from your printer.

Step 3: Unplug the power cable from your printer.

Step 4: Locate and press the tabs on the duplexer (two-sided printing accessory).

Step 5: Pull out the duplexer to detach it from your printer.

Step 6: Carefully pull out the jammed paper from the rollers.

Caution: If the jammed paper tears during the process of removing it, check the printer’s wheels and rollers for the torn paper pieces. Ensure that no torn piece of paper is left inside your printer as this might lead to future paper jams.

Step 7: Take out any paper from the paper path’s top zone.

Step 8: Press down the latch on the duplexer’s side.

Step 9: Open the duplexer cover.

Step 10: Carefully take out the jammed paper inside your printer’s duplexer.

Step 11: Reattach the two-sided printing accessory to your printer.

Step 12: Gently push the accessory toward your printer to allow it to snap into place.

Check if the issue is resolved.

If the issue is not resolved, check the next printer area for jammed paper.

Also, if you did not find jammed paper in the duplexer, check the next area for jammed paper.

3. Remove Jammed Paper from your Printer’s Front Area – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

To remove jammed paper from your printer’s front area, do the following steps:

Step 1: Open your printer’s cartridge access door by raising the handles on your printer’s sides.

Step 2: Carefully pull out the jammed paper from the rollers.

Note: Ensure that you remove the jammed paper as gently as possible to prevent the paper from tearing. Paper pieces within the printer can lead to future paper jams that can lead to the print mechanism damage. If the paper gets torn, ensure that you remove all the pieces inside your printer.

Step 3: Close your printer’s cartridge access door.

Step 4: Plug the USB cord into your printer.

Step 5: Plug the power cable into your printer.

Step 6: Turn on your printer by pressing the power button.

Step 7: Print a printer status report.

i. Load your printer’s paper input tray with regular white paper.

ii. Press “Setup” on your printer’s control panel.

iii. Highlight “Tools” by pressing the down arrow button until you get to the item.

iv. Press “OK.”

iii. Highlight “Printer Status Report” by pressing the down arrow button until you get to the item.

iv. Press “OK.”

Check if the problem is resolved.

If the problem is unresolved, do the next solution.

You can read this article: HP Printer Locked [Issues & Proven Solutions] to learn about other HP printer locked issues and how to resolve them.

3. Ensure that the Carriage is Moving Freely – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

To ensure that the carriage is moving freely, do the steps below:

Step 1: Turn on your HP printer by pressing the power button.

Step 2: Open your printer’s cartridge access door by raising the handles on your printer’s sides.

Step 3: While the printer is on, unplug the power cable from your printer.

Caution: Ensure that the printer is disconnected from power to prevent the risk of injuries or electric shock when moving the carriage by hand.

Step 4: Unplug the USB cable from your printer.

Note: Don’t plug the power cable and the USB cord into your until you receive such an instruction.

Step 5: Remove the power cable from an electrical wall outlet.

Step 6: Check inside the printer around the area where the carriage is jammed for foreign objects or torn paper pieces that might be obstructing the carriage’s movement.

Note: If the inside area of your printer is dark, illuminate the area with the aid of a flashlight.

Step 7: Place your hand inside the printer via the carriage access door to move the carriage.

• Move the carriage to the left if it is on the right side.
• Move the carriage to the right if it is on the left side.
• Move the carriage to the right if it is in the middle.

Step 8: Ensure that the carriage is moving freely within the printer.

Step 9: Remove obstructions or loose paper you find along the carriage path.

Step 10: Close your printer’s cartridge access door.

Step 11: Plug the USB cord into your printer.

Step 12: Plug the power cable into your printer.

Step 13: Plug the power cable into a wall outlet.

Step 14: Turn on your printer by pressing the power button.

Step 15: Print a printer status report.

i. Load your printer’s paper input tray with regular white paper.

ii. Press “Setup” on your printer’s control panel.

iii. Highlight “Tools” by pressing the down arrow button until you get to the item.

iv. Press “OK.”

iii. Highlight “Printer Status Report” by pressing the down arrow button until you get to the item.

iv. Press “OK.”

Check if the problem is resolved.

If the problem is unresolved, do the next solution.

4. Remove and then Reinstall the Printhead Assembly – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

When the printhead assembly is not installed or placed correctly, it can lead to a locked carriage. Therefore, you need to remove and then reinstall the printhead assembly by doing the tasks below.

1. Take out the Printhead Assembly – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

To take out the printhead assembly, do the following steps:

Step 1: Turn on your HP printer by pressing the power button.

Step 2: Raise your printer’s cartridge access door and ensure that it is firmly locked in place.

This action will cause the carriage to move to the middle of your printer.

Step 3: Wait for the carriage to become idle and silent before you proceed.

Step 4: Press the tab on the ink cartridge.

Step 5: Take out the cartridge from the slot by lifting it.

Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 for each ink cartridge.

Step 7: Check around and under the carriage for obstructions and remove them if you find any.

Step 8: Raise the carriage’s latch handle until it can’t go further.

Step 9: Remove the printhead assembly by lifting it from your printer’s carriage.

Caution: Don’t touch or scratch the electrical contacts.

2. Reinstall the Printhead Assembly – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

To reinstall the printhead assembly, do the following steps:

Step 1: Grasp the printhead assembly and ensure that the colored icons are facing up.

Step 2: Return the printhead assembly to your printer’s carriage.

Step 3: Gently return the latch handle on the carriage.

Step 4: Slide the ink cartridge into the appropriate slot.

Step 5: Press down the cartridge so that it snaps in place.

Step 6: Close your printer’s ink cartridge access door.

Step 7: Print a printer status report.

i. Load your printer’s paper input tray with regular white paper.

ii. Press “Setup” on your printer’s control panel.

iii. Highlight “Tools” by pressing the down arrow button until you get to the item.

iv. Press “OK.”

iii. Highlight “Printer Status Report” by pressing the down arrow button until you get to the item.

iv. Press “OK.”

Check if the problem is resolved.

If the problem is unresolved, do the next solution.

5. Partial Reset your printer – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

To partial reset your printer, do the following steps:

Step 1: Turn on your HP printer by pressing the power button.

Step 2: Unplug the power cable from your printer.

Step 3: Wait 20 seconds.

Step 4: Press down the “3” and “#” buttons on the control panel.

Step 5: While pressing down the above-mentioned buttons, plug the power cable into your printer.

Step 6: Once the printer is on, let go of both buttons.

This action will reset your printer to its factory defaults.

Step 7: Print a printer status report.

i. Load your printer’s paper input tray with regular white paper.

ii. Press “Setup” on your printer’s control panel.

iii. Highlight “Tools” by pressing the down arrow button until you get to the item.

iv. Press “OK.”

iii. Highlight “Printer Status Report” by pressing the down arrow button until you get to the item.

iv. Press “OK.”

After printing the status report, check if the problem is resolved.

If the problem is unresolved, do the next solution.

6. Service your HP Printer – Locked Carriage on an HP C309n Printer

To service your HP printer, contact HP Customer Support to fix a repair date. Folks living in the Asia Pacific are usually directed to the nearest local service center.

If your printer is still under warranty, the repair will be done for free. However, if your printer is no longer under warranty, you will pay for the repair. Furthermore, if the printer is beyond repair and needs to be replaced, you will get a free replacement if your printer is still under warranty.    

Not sure if your printer is still under warranty? You can click this link to confirm the warranty status of your HP printer.