hln5065wx/xaa horizontal lines contrast areas

[cdwatters]

Had my HLN5065WX/XAA since 6/2004, had a color wheel replaced in '05 but been great until this weekend. We're seeing horizontal lines of pixels on all input sources (and I have something on almost everything), including Component, Composite, Antenna and VGA depending on the contrast of the source. For example a low-contrast night scene in a movie might show none. Often mostly the brightest parts of faces will show these, with random scattering throughout the picture. 'Toons show almost a full screen of the problem with the bright colors.

Cable box on Comp3, DVD on 2 and 1, VCR (what's those?) on Video1, small handheld video game on Video2, PC on VGA, etc.

The TV MENU displays OVER the problem, as does the service menu.

Picture of the screen

IMGP3654.JPG (213.57 KiB) Viewed 12078 times

The attached photo shows two vertical lines in the picture, I didn't even see those, have to check if they are a camera artifact shooting a screen or not.

[ovadoggvo]

cdwatters,
The problem you have with your TV seems to me to be an issue with the Digital Board, however, a defective DMD board is also a possibility. The reason behind this is due to the fact that the Digital Board processes digital signals unless the TV is upconverting everything to HD or processing all the video digitally. I would recommend entering the service menu by shutting down the TV and then pressing:

Mute, 1, 8, 2, Power on your remote control.

There is an option to test the DMD board, however, this test detects the issue in less than 10% of the cases. As a bad DMD board would prevent you from even entering the service menu!

Let us know how it goes. Again, if you look on Discount-Merchant.com you will find that the Digital Board is priced near $80-$150.. This is a cheaper part than the DMD board which costs $180-$220.

Let us know how it goes.

[cdwatters]

:D thanks for the info. The MUTE+182 service menu works and is in "front" of the lines (as is the TV menu), so it's sounding like the Digital board.

I did have a brief period of time where the picture cleared up, and HD looked as great as usual, but on the next powerup the problem was back and has not cleared.

I've seen the several replacement instructions on the web, and it doesn't look too hard (I build PCs for fun and know which end of the soldering iron gets hot) so I may just tackle this on my own.

FWIW, while I have it open should I just replace the lamp? According to the menu I have slightly over 16,000 hours on the original bulb. :lol:

[cdwatters]

D-M has two of the boards for the HLN5065:

AA41-00851B 20031227
AA41-00851B L62A

Do I need to pull my TV apart to figure which I need before I order? :?:

From the photos on their website the parts look the same down to the info etched on the board itself, but that's just photos...

[cdwatters]

What the heck? D-M suggested disassembling the set to determine which digital board I have, which I did. Upon reassembly, my problem cleared up, and the picture is beautiful again. :o

I didn't unplug anything, just carefully moved everything so I could get the shield off. There was, considering the amount of time on the set (16000 hours), amazingly little dust. I did vacuum the fans down. :ugeek:

I'm tempted to just disassemble it for real and just reseat all the cables. perhaps a little oxidation on the contacts is what I'm having.

We'll see in the morning if the picture is still great. Maybe just tearing it down did a trick. :lol:

[ovadoggvo]

cdwaters,
The DNIe chip is what is failing and the problems may arise intermittently. I would recommend replacing the board while they have it in stock. The reason that there are 2 different boards for your set is because there are 2 different chasis models.

L62A is the chassis number... You can find this information on the back of the set i believe as well.

Let us know how it goes!

[cdwatters]

:D :D :D :D :lol:
Got the Digital board this week (been busy) and finally replaced it. Not difficult at all, took my time and labeled the right-hand cables as I pulled them. Other than a little forgetfulness on the chassis interlock switch, it fired up beautiful!

Have to figure out what to do with the 4 extra screws I have now. And my wife is VERY happy that a $3000 tv is now working again. Even with ordering the part (and a spare bulb) my cost was less than the authorized service center's diagnostic charge.

Thanks for all the info!