HELP! SAMSUNG DLP MODEL HL-T6187S--- NO PICTURE

[smartyj]

THIS IS A 4 YEAR OLD SAMSUNG HD DLP #HLT6187S 61" TV. FOR THE LAST MONTH IF THE TV WAS TURNED OFF IT WOULD TAKE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO BE ABLE TO TURN IT BACK ON (IF LEFT ON IT WORKED FINE). NOW THE TV WONT TURN BACK ON ( I SHOULD QUALIFY THAT STATEMENT, I SHOULD SAY THE PICTURE WILL NOT COME ON YET THE FANS COME ON IMMEDIATELY. IT HAS 3 LIGHTS ON THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER 1st ONE "STANDBY/TEMP" 2ND "TIMER" 3rd "LED", THE LED LIGHT BLINKS SEVERAL TIMES (WHILE BLINKING I AM UNABLE TO TURN THE FANS OFF) THEN STOPS BLINKING AND AS I SAID NO PICTURE. IF SOMEONE HAS HAD THIS EXPERIENCE OR CAN HELP IN ANY WAY I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT!

[grayfox]

Hi!
well to start trouble shooting, have you replaced the lamp recently?

[smartyj]

NO I HAVE NOT CHANGED ANY PARTS BECAUSE I WAS NOT SURE WHAT PARTS WERE BAD AND KINDA ON A LIMITED BUDGET, THATS WHY I WAS HOPING SOMONE HAS HAD THE SAME PROBLEM (NOT THAT I WANT SOMEONES TV TO GO OUT, BUT YOU GET MY POINT) AND NEW WHICH PART NEEDED TO BE CHANGED. i TALKED WITH SAMSUNG CUSTOMER SUPPORT AND THEY SAID IF ALL THREE LIGHTS ON THE FRONT OF THE TV WERE BLINKING THEN I HAD A BAD BULB OR LAMP.

[grayfox]

OK so judging by your symptoms this is most likely a ballast issue since the problem lies in the ignition (for which this takes 15kv, and the ballast that powers this is also a consumable part) but I would still begin with a basic physical lamp inspection and look for any signs of burning or fogging..

[smartyj]

tHANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSE, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT! dO I NEED TO TAKE THE FRONT OFF TO INSPECT THE LAMP? i ASK THAT BECAUSE i HAD THE FRONT OFF AND FROM WHAT I COULD TELL THE LAMP LOOKED FINE BUT TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH I DONT KNOW WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR AS TO TELL WHETHER IT IS BAD OR NOT? AND IF YOU COULD INSTRUCT ME AS TO HOW TO TAKE THE LAMP OUT I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT! THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP

[Technician]

hello,
I am not familiar with this TV model, but your owners mannual should have a diagram, it is fairly simple theres a lamp door cover to remove and the lamp just slides out, if it is bad it generally has a fogged or burned look inside!

[grayfox]

dido! :mrgreen:

[smartyj]

unfortunatly the manual does not show even where the lamp is located, do you think I could find a diagram on samsungs website or do you know of any other site where i might be able to view a diagram? Once again I thank you for your help!

[grayfox]

Hmm, you mentioned you contacted Samsung parts? I am sure they would have no trouble emailing you a PDF or at least helping you out through the phone to guide you towards the lamp....

[smartyj]

I called twice and they told me I need to have a technician come out and look at it. I thought the same thing, that they could help me over the phone but like I said both technicians could only tell me it was not the lamp. Is there a way I can check the ballast to find out if that is the problem?

[grayfox]

what a shame :(
If you are familiar with using a multimeter you can test to see if the ballast is receiving voltage (ruling out the power supply). But as for the ballast output I would not recomend testing since it feeds the lamp 15,000 volts for ignition! It can damage your tester!

[smartyj]

could you tell be what the voltage should be or am i just looking for no voltage? Also would the fans come on like they do if the power supply was bad? Thanks again for your help!!!

[grayfox]

yeah depending on what part of the supply is damaged it can cut off for certain parts, and yes you would be looking for no voltage, but be careful!

[smartyj]

Well i cleaned up any dust inside the components ans put all the covers back on then pluged the tv back in and turned it off and on a few times and low and behold the tv turned back on with a picture. I am still concerned because the fans are make pretty loud noise at least the same type of noise a pc makes and i dont remember if that was the case before i had these problems. Does that lead you to anything in particular? none of the light on the front of the tv are on?

[grayfox]

morning,
If you are certain it is the fans making the noise; either one can be malfunctioning and tripping the thermostat or the thermostat itself can be malfunctioning..
note* if you get any discoloration or distortion of colors, the humming/spinning sound might come from the colorwheel and would explain the shutting down, and the dusting might have helped it out if it was stuck...

[smartyj]

should i use the stuff they sell for cleaning the dust out of computer components (i believe it is just compressed air) to clean it out some more, until at least the noise goes away (granted i relize it might not just be dust but wanted to know if this was a good place to start). Thanks again for all your help!

[grayfox]

welcome :mrgreen:
and yes try to use those since they are static free etc (safe) ;)

[appleads]

Has anyone pointed out to you yet that this model uses the LED illumination system and so HAS NO LAMP AND NO COLOR WHEEL? Now it is very possible that one of the LED Phatlights has gone bad, and my guess is it's the RED LED. If all your LED's pass the test here, then suspect your ballast. Here's a quick and easy way to test the LED's in your set. Open up the back, remove the light engine, or at least pull it as far out as possible.
Remove the plastic ducting on the right side. You'll see fat wire leads going to each of the three Phatlight LED's (one green, one blue, one red). Take a 9 volt battery (the usual drugstore variety) and after pulling off the wire lead to the LED, touch the two terminals of the battery to the two terminals of the LED. Did the LED light up? Look into the large glass lens to your left to see if you can detect a red light. REVERSE the battery connections if necessary. This sounds scary but LED's only work with electricity flowing in one direction and you can't hurt them by doing this. Did it light this time? If it lights up, it's okay. If it does not light up, it's a dead LED and will need to be replaced. Be sure to use "heat sink paste" when you install the new one. Cleaning everything in that portion of your set is also vital, especially between the copper fins that act to disperse heat. It may sound daunting, but anyone with a good screwdriver can do it. Take pictures so you know what goes back where. Hope this helps.