Instead of dye black I get a pale green.
This is the same result as the last time my print head had a failure.
I too thought it was my carts, as they had been filled dozens of
times, so I replaced them with original carts that had just run out
and been refilled, but with the same result?
Yes, it does sound more like a print head problem. Follow some of the
cleaning suggestions from this group. Personally, I like to clean the
print head from the bottom using a water pik (used for teeth) and then
flush with a syringe from the top side. You would need a syringe with
a hose adapter that matched the inlet for the ink. When clean, you
can see all the spray nozzles working for each color. If everything is
flowing and it still doesn't work when reinstalled with ink, the head
must be bad. Of course, don't overlook the obvious of cleaning all the
electrical contacts.
I know it's strictly anecdotal, but I had a Canon one time that
refused to print black from the black cart. I did all the cleaning and
flushing and I was certain there was black ink getting to the head. I
printed for months mixing the colors to come close to black.
Periodically, I would retest the black. Eventually, it started
printing black again and never had another problem. So now I'm
reluctant to throw out any parts.