HLM507W lamp and color wheel won't start

[CathodeRay]

I have a Samsung HLM507W. The lamp and color wheel will not start.

Here is a little background on this TV. Some info may or may not be relevant, but I wanted to be sure I didn't leave anything out.

About 2.5 years ago, the lamp went out after about 4800 hours (Toshiba lamp). I got a new lamp (another Toshiba direct replacement) and the TV worked fine for another 200 hours. When it went out, the screen went black but the lamp was still on and I could not control it via the remote. Unplugged it for a while and turned it back on. Lamp would not start. Three blinking lights.

Took it apart to see if there were any obvious problems and checked the lamp and all connections. Put it back together and it worked fine for one day, but after that it would only fire up the lamp about 25% of the time. I tried the old lamp, since it still had a bit of life left, same problem. Got a hold of a refurbed digital board, but still no change. Eventually, it did not start at all (except all the fans would come on) and I’d get the usual three blinking lights on the front of the unit after it made three attempts to start.

During the 25% of the time it was still working, you could tell that it would start up just by listening.

When it worked, this is what I’d hear:
Power up, two faint clicks (which I assume was the igniter firing up the lamp), then the whir of the color wheel, then the light would come on. Success.

When it didn’t work, this is what sometimes would happen:
It would begin to start up as described above, but then I’d hear the color wheel spin down and the lamp go dim, but then it would spin back up and the lamp would come back on. It might do this two or three times in rapid succession. The best way to describe it would be like being in your car and revving the engine a few times. Sometimes it would eventually come on, but mostly the color wheel would spin down, the lamp would go out and it would not come on.

In the end, this is what it was doing (and is currently doing):
Turn on TV, fans come on and that’s it. No color wheel spin-up, no sparking noises (or any other noise) and no lamp.

Samsung repair was no help and wanted $900 to look at it (very disappointing). After fiddling with it for so long, I got frustrated and gave up for a while. The TV has been sitting in my basement under wraps for two years, but I finally have some time and decided to give it one more go. I’d really like to get this thing fixed. It’s still behaving like it did two years ago (no color wheel or lamp).

So far I’ve given all components a basic inspection looking for anything obvious. I also checked the input voltage on the ballast (two post connection, green and red wires) and I’m getting a steady 380 VDC which I believe is correct. I’m starting to suspect a bad ballast, but wanted to check with the experts here before I get a replacement. What do you guys think?

I’m a somewhat skilled engineer and I’m not afraid to take things apart, run tests, or do what is necessary, so don’t hold back.

[Jason1976]

I would say it' the color wheel or the dmd board since it controls the color wheel.

[Moofus12]

Did you ever get this resolved? I have a similar problem. I have changed color wheel, ballast and lamp to no avail.