Need help troubleshooting! Is it the lamp?

[mburnz8]

Hello,
I have a Samsung DLP which I bought back in 2004. Lately, over the past 2 months or so, I have been having issues starting my tv. When I try to turn it on, I hear it click and cycle trying to turn on. After a time when it fails, I get the 3 blinking lights. Usually after this it takes me about 20 minutes or so before I can get it to turn on. When it's on, no problems after that. I do believe the picture is a BIT dimmer but I can't tell due to having the tv for so long and being used to it.

Now, the other day my wife told me that when she went to turn the tv, it was on for about 5 minutes before the picture "wierded out" then simply shut off.

Would this be a problem with the lamp? I'm wondering if the lamp, since it's going bad, wasn't able to carry the voltage thereby causing the wierd screen then shut down. There was audio the whole time, btw. I did read somewhere that a bad lamp can have an affect on the picture (green hue or what not) since it can't carry the voltage needed.

Before I spend money trying to repair it I'd like to know what exactly the trouble could be. Thanks!

[grayfox]

hello,
you have to be more specific about the image distortion the lamp only emits white light so it cannot cause any distortion, that could be the colorwheel...
IF you get clickign sounds and have never changed the lamp you should do so now, if you have then this is most likely a colorwheel issue!
hope this helps!

[mburnz8]

Grayfox,
Thanks for the reply. As per your request this is what happens.
Went and bought a new bulb so I know it's not the bulb anymore....

Upon starting the tv, it starts right up with a great picture, no problems. Let the tv play for 5 minutes and this is what happens:

It begins with a massive color distortion. All the colors on the screen are off with a green hue being the most dominant color seen.
Immediately following that, the image on the tv begins to flicker back and forth. Pretty soon it evolves into a full scroll as the image scroll sideways and then the picture shuts off. I have to operate the TV by manually unplugging it from the wall.

1. I don't hear ANY odd noises, things sound "normal" but I won't rule out the color wheel.
2. When the image began to distort, I pulled up the Samsung TV menu and the menu feature was ALSO distorted (therefore not a bad board?)
3. At this point I am leaning towards the color wheel as well. How do I know it is not a bad ballast?

Thanks for helping, look forward to replies!

[grayfox]

Hello again!

Well to answer you last question, the ballast is successfully igniting your lamp and keeping it on until an error in the image projection causes the TV to force shut down. That is its only task so it seems fine ;)

Good news is that this sounds like a simple colorwheel issue, the analog and digital video boards should be fine given your menu is affected. :D

On that same token, Bad news is that if for some reason it is not the color wheel this can be a DMD/light engine problem :(

But i am almost certain your colorwheel is the problem, you can trouble shoot a bit by turning on your tv then immediately lowering the color setting to zero (leaving a black and white image) if there is no other distortion and it just shuts down after flickering I would replace the colorwheel... :geek:

Hope this helps! :mrgreen:

[mburnz8]

Ok so I am going to assume this is what you meant:

Went into my tv menu and under PICTURE I went to CUSTOM PICTURE. From there I lowered the COLOR to 0.

Well....what I'm seeing after 5 minutes (with color set to 0) is that my TV fluctuates between massive flickering and/or ghosting.

BUT she WON'T power down! Its been on longer than normal under these circumstances with no sign of shutting down.

UPDATE: As I sat here typing this, all types of flickering/ghosting has dissapeared. The screen is not moving (flickering that is) but I wouldn't say its exactly black/white on my screen, wish I could take a picture of it. Almost looks like a little rainbow effect thrown into the grey/white non color. Almost looks like an oil slick thrown in, if that makes any sense? But again, picture is NOT moving (MINIMAL flicker here and there) and I can actually watch the tv.

This help any?

[grayfox]

yup , the reason I do this is so that if there is a colorwheel malfunction we can bypass it by removing the color aspect and seeing any distortion beyond the color, since there is none (flickering can be a part of a malfunctioning/shattered colorwheel) I would replace the colorwheel first, it is relatively inexpensive, not like a lamp, there is a guide on the homepage of this forum and I have purchased some for my clients at discount-merchant.com

hope this helps!!! :mrgreen: