Kodak 5300 first said error 3802 now says print head missing or loose

I got the same Problem as listed above. This is the way how I was able to solve it:

• Remove the color and black ink cartridges and the printhead. (the 5300 Printhead can be removed by pressing a button on top of the carriage and a slight pull --> for better instructions use this official Kodak PDF)
  

• Try to clean the printhead and the carriage with a slighty wet cloth from ink. CAUTION!: better not touch the green electronic chip! Be carefull while cleaning.
  

• Reinstall the printhead and the ink cartridges.

• If the printer detects a 'new' printhead just do a calibration and your are done. If not try to print a test page.

Remove printer ink cartridges and try to remove printhead,if u can't i couldn't just press it down to reseat it in position. reinstall ink cartridges and close lid. wait til printer is ready, and print a test page from control panel, printers, printer properties.

this worked for me, for how long i don't know. the printheads are faulty by the looks of what i have read on the net. if you have no joy then Kodak should be contacted and made aware of the problem.hopefully they will send a replacement printhead for you.

no promises.

I did all of the above with my 5500, still getting error 3802 & now its telling me the coloured ink cartridge needs replacing when Ive just put a new one in today!! I bought this printer thinking Kodak was a good brand, Im beginning to wonder!!

Yep I had the same problem. I bought a new printhead nothing changed. So I got sheet of fine sandpaper and sanded the contacts behind the printhead. Works great! Only takes about 10 seconds if that-don't overdue it. Your Wife-girlfriend will think you are a genius!? Like I say, don't overdue it! O-yea God First!

Solution 2 worked beautifully for me, when I removed the printhead it was spattered with ink that I cleaned off with a damp cloth. Made sure to move the cloth in the direction of the grooves of the printhead, not sure if this will mess them up but better safe that sorry. Be sure not to touch the green chip or the electrical contacts. Reinserted the printhead after a good clean and it worked like new!
Also increased the tension on my cheap print cartridges by bending them out a little bit for a few seconds before reinserting them. This should keep them from bouncing around in there.

I did what solution 2 & 3 said and then went to my printer menu and did a basic printhead clean.

Yeah I tried all of the things imaginable but it still will not print black... it prints color but not black.

Mine to

For resolving 3802 kodak error message, first you have to disconnect the power adapter from the printer, and you wait for about 5 second to allow the printer to reset, and connect the power adapter to the printer and turn on the system if necessary. If the error shows continuously, just open the access door and remove and install the print head (two times), close the printer access door and you have to wait until the printer is ready to use.

Error code 3802 would not go away...so, I disconnected the power to the printer, waited about 3 minutes, and then plugged the printer to it's power source again and the error code 3802 was gone.