Samsung HL-T4675S won't turn on

[talktome]

Hey folks,

I've been fortunate that my Samsung DLP has lasted 2.5 years with absolutely no issues until recently. About 2 months ago, the TV was stuck on and wouldn't respond to either my cable or the TV remote. None of the side buttons worked either. So to turn the TV off, I had to unplug it. I left it unplugged overnight and in the morning all was good.

The same situation occurred a could of weeks later and leaving it unplugged overnight resolved it again.

Yesterday, the TV got stuck in the off state and now, even leaving it unplugged overnight has not helped. The "Stand By" LED is a solid red. The timer and lamp LEDs are not lit. When I plug it, the stand by LED flashes once and then goes to red, but pressing the power button on the front of the TV or on the remotes responds in nothing except the Timer light flashing green. The TV seems to be receiving the signal from the remote, it just doesn't do anything.

So it seems like there is some power to the TV.....any help?

Thanks!

[CraigDLP50]

talktome,

Have you tried pressing the remote power button repeatedly -- up to
50 times -- to see if the TV will respond?

I am having an automatic, intermittent, power off shut-down happening
to my HLT5075S which started at month 14. Sometimes, when the TV
turns itself back on and I power it off, it does not power up when I press
the remote. I have to press the power button for 3-5 minutes and eventually
it will respond.

I have replaced the lamp and the ballast with no positive result. I'm wondering
if the power supply is malfunctioning.

[talktome]

Tried repeatedly pushing the power buttong for 50-60 times and just holding the power button for 30-40 seconds. All that happens is the green timer LED lights up and blinks. Other than the flashing green LED, nothing...

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

[CraigDLP50]

Are you technically oriented? Have you tried opening up the back of the TV
to see if there is an obvious problem like dust accumulation?

If you are not comfortable with doing some basic troubleshooting, you might
either call Samsung customer service (1-800-samsung) or do an internet
search for a reputable TV repair service. Samsung can steer you to an
authorized Samsung service center (in my case they didn't have one in
the vicinity).

Some tips about finding a reputable TV repair place.
1. Check through the Better Business Bureau on the internet.
2. If your state licenses appliance/electronic repair services, check the
state website. When I did this it was amazing to see how many were
out of business or been disciplined.
3. Some internet searching might produce websites that do user reviews
of people that have actually used a particular TV repair service.

My general feeling is that a good one is as difficult to find as a good auto
repairman.

Good luck.

[talktome]

I am pretty technically savy, but haven't cracked the case yet. Wanted to get some input first on things to look for. I'll open the back panel this evening and clean out any dust and report back whether that works.

Thanks!

[talktome]

Okay, cracked the case and took a look inside. Not overly dusty, just what you would expect for a couple years. I blew out the dust with compressed air and checked the fuse on the power supply. The fuse is intact, which doesn't surprise me since the LEDs on the front display are lighting up.

At this point, still no change. Plug it in and the Standby LED flashes once and goes steady red. When pushing the On button on the remote, the timer LED flashes green. What surprises me most is that after plugging it in, not click, whir, nothing that indicates that the TV is trying to light the lamp.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

[CraigDLP50]

How many hours are on the lamp? Has the lamp ever been replaced?

Have you tried going into the service menu? (remote: mute-1-8-2-power, in rapid succession)
If the TV isn't coming on, I doubt you will get the service menu, but you can try it.
Service menu -- "Options" (which on my set is the default on the list) press Enter to
go to the list that will show lamp hours. Lamps last ~8k to 10k hours.

If you are not hearing a click sound, it may mean that your ballast is bad.

Have you searched through some of the other problems posted in the forum?
I gained a lot of insight doing that, but not enough to solve my issue, unfortunately.
My next step is to have a Tech come out and check the voltage to different components
to try and track down the problem.

[talktome]

Can't get to the service menu because it won't power up, but the lamp has never been replaced in almost 3 years. I'm hesitant to think, though, that it's the lamp or the ballast because the lamp LEDs aren't blinking. My understanding from reading here is that lamp LEDs should blink when the lamp timer is up or the lamp/ballasts are malfunctioning.

Also, I checked the lamp door switch to make sure that was moving freely and it appears to be okay.

The only other post I found that mentioned this type of problem was this one that mentions possibly the digital board, but no resolution reported, so I'm hesitant to run out and purchase the DB:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=98

Thanks and any additional input/suggestions are welcome!

[talktome]

I took a look at this post, which has a pretty nice diagram of the startup process for the TV:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=366&p=1281&hilit=symptoms+bad+ballast#p1281

Since I don't hear any clicking sounds, I'm guessing it's not the ballast and since there are no lamp warnings, I'm ruling out the lamp, especially since it's not powering up and I'm not hearing audio. So backtracking, I'm wondering if either the color wheel or the DMD just aren't functioning at all. Never heard any grinding at all, which appears the be the primary symptom of the color wheel, so maybe the DMD is the first place to start? If the DMD weren't functioning, would the LEDs light up when I press buttons on the remot?

Thansk for any help!

[talktome]

Okay, an update on the total strangeness of this issue.

I unplugged all electronics that were connected to TV (WII, Archos dock, and Surround Sound tuner) and when I plugged the TV in and pushed the power button, it turned on. My suspicion is that this doesn't have anything to do with the unplugging of the electronics, but is just a coincidence.

The TV is currently on and picture looks good, so I'm betting not a problem with the bulb, color wheel, or ballast.

On top of this, the TV does not respond to the remote and the only button on the side of the TV that works is the volume up button. Every other button is non-responsive. To turn the TV off again, I'll have to unplug it and at that point, your guess is as good as mine as to whether it will start up again.

Thoughts? Is my TV possessed? Maybe it's just lazy...

Thanks in advance!

[CraigDLP50]

Since the TV started up, lamp lit, etc. I would plug the set back in
and try to get to the service menu to check your lamp hours. This
button sequence needs to be done with the TV off.

Seems odd that it will not take a command from the remote or the
side buttons. That sounds like a circuit board issue to me. Whether
it's the DMD or digital control board I'm not knowledgeable enough
to tell you.

In discussing my problem with a Tech, one thing he mentioned to me
was it may be a bad signal board. I think that would be the circuit board
all the devices plug into. When you unplugged your devices maybe it
helped the TV to respond. If the set fires up again without those
devices plugged in you may want to try plugging one in at a time to
see if you get a failure.

[talktome]

I was able to get into the service menu and it looks like I have 3,441 hours on the original bulb. The TV is now back to the state where it doesn't turn on and doesn't respond to any buttons. I'm thinking this must be a circuit board as well. Does anyone know which board controls the signals coming from the remote? Since it intermittently will turn on and get good picture, I'm thinking it's not bulb or ballast. Also, I checked the main fuse on the power supply to make sure that it wasn't connecting intermittently, but it looks good.

Thoughts on which board might be the culprit?

Thanks!

[talktome]

Any other thoughts on this? I'm ready to start replacing parts, but don't want to spend good money on parts that don't need replacing. Has anyone put together a troubleshooting workflow on Samsung DLPs?

Thanks!

[talktome]

Question for the folks here. I pulled the lamp and held the lamp door in place while plugging in the TV. The red standby lamp comes on. I can see the color wheel and it is not spinning. Is it reasonable to expect that it would spin? If so, since it's not spinning, is it safe to assume that the color wheel needs replacing? I'm thinking that the color wheel is not responding the startup procedure, so the TV is automatically going into suspend mode.

Any help?? Please??