Hey Frank, I'm seeing a lot of love in the comments section for your work. Well deserved. Thanks for helping so many technicians and tinkerers alike, and for keeping so many devices from just getting thrown away. Really great info across this channel, keep sharing that wisdom!
I am so inspired by this Chanel, and of course YOU, a very cool instructor. This video in particular is really superb. I am restoring some vintage film projectors, some of them are from nearly a hundred years ago. The biggest problem one meets is with the old light source. The lamp bulbs are not easily available most of the time. And even when they are available, expensive in buying them, and wasting a lot of energy for nothing when in use. So I am experimenting converting them. Right now I am working on a 35 mm Zeiss Ikon Kinobox, everything is great except for the lamp house, which is missing. So I am building a new devoted lamp house from the ground up, with a 230 W HID, so this video comes in very handy, as I pulled out the ballast from an old/defect Toshiba DLP projector and reuse it. Here you explained the basic build-up of the ballast, and troubleshooting, exactly what I needed. So thanks again!
Thank you SO much for walking us through the troubleshooting process. I'm extra happy because your focus on these mosfets was BANG ON for my ballast board. I can't wait to replace them and see if I'll be able to get my projector up and running again. *glee*
Love your video. I was able to run down a bad MOSFET on my Benq projector. I have 12.4 M Ohms going across the gate and source, which tells me it is allowing some current all the time. I am repairing the exact ballast you show in your video. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
That is awesome to hear! I'm glad it was helpful. These ballasts can be a real bugger sometimes. Give a shout if you have any other questions. I have a few used but known-good ballasts around that I can check against.
@@FixitFrank I replaced the MOSFET on the board and all tested good. I reinstalled the board and the projector came on for a second and then went off. Now I have nothing. lol Back to the drawing board.
Thanks so much for taking the time to make this video Frank! I've an Optoma HD26 - it told me things were going south but I didn't listen :) For the better part of 2 or 3 months the projector would do a flicker on bright images - sometimes seeming to get stuck and eventually start displaying normal video. Also there was a nasty little wine that would come and go. Somebody recently left the projector on all day and that may have helped to push it over the edge - but it was still working. Finally two days later upon projector startup I got a popup that prompted for remote security code - though I'd never turned such on. I figured out the default and then I'd get a quick flash of normal video and then snow. On the LED side - I got red flashing power and solid red lamp. I figured duh - gots to be the lamp - took it out - looked solid, put in a new - same symptoms. Then I noticed research pointing to the ballast and thats how I happened upon this video. Took out the board - which has the AC plug integrated on the same board. Checked the obvious things (especially fuse and MOSFETs in the output path) but all check out. Any advice appreciated! -khalil
Hey there Khaliln! The mention of the "whine" .... Yes, you have a color wheel problem most likely. They will shut off the lamp and make flickering of sorts. Also, if you are on your original color wheel, then its well past its replacement time. I'd recommend maybe cleaning the color wheel sensor(look up my HD20 video) and it may run a little while to confirm. Otherwise, I'd pickup a color wheel off ebay/alibaba etc. I suspect that will get your HD26 back up and running happily.
Hi Frank, First of all thank you for making these videos. In this day of content creators and hustlers who do it primarily for money/subscribers/links, etc, it's great to see someone freely sharing their knowledge. Yeah sure you could make some money via RU-vid as well and frankly you are entitled to. Do you sell components and modules? I think you should do so and promote your store in your videos. Most of us would buy from you simply out of appreciation for the tutoring/troubleshooting. I'm currently trying to diagnose a lightly used Optoma HD180. Turns on normally, fans operate normally (verified via testing with case open), it's clean inside. Opened it, pulled it apart, didn't see anything visually interesting (signs of overheating, shorts, etc). It runs fine for about 5 minutes then the lamp suddenly shuts off, fans keep running, and then the orange power light flashes and the lamp indicator stays solid red. There are no unusual sounds, smells, or behavior other than the sudden shut down, lamp shows little signs of use, no residue, or discoloration. The previous owner reset the hours to try and diagnose but told me it was hardly used and had low hours. I have no reason to think he's not being truthful, I still have his contact information. I didn't check the power supply though so I guess I should pull it apart again and check it. I am picking up a new multimeter so I can check the parts you have identified as problem areas. Should I just buy a new bulb to start in case this one is defective? If they weren't so pricey I would have just done it already. Thanks again and thanks for any input.
Hi Inokea! Thanks so much for the kind words! I don't run a website but that's OK. I do this for the fun of it. I have a day job and that pays my bills so far. As far as your situation, I would be skeptical of the lamp assembly. The symptoms kind of sound like a bad IR block coating on the lamp housing. Before the projector shuts off, do the colors flicker for a brief moment?
Hi there, I have the exact same problem with an Optoma HD70. Its seen 5800hrs without problems, few years ago I cleaned the color wheel and it still works great, except it began to switch off suddenly as described by @Inokea in the comment. Unplugging helps, the device works again, sometimes for hours, sometimes only a few minutes. Lets see if the repair will work :)
@@RoBBz2000 Check the power supply capacitors. I just worked on an HD70 about a month ago with a set of bad capacitors. They will look obviously bloated.
Hi Frank 👋..I appreciate your work..just I have this beam 230..when I turn it on all fans are working normally but the display doesn't light up.. I measured the voltage and it seems that the board with the LCD on is not getting any voltage.. my question is: is the lamp necessary for the display and control to work because the one I have doesn't have a lamp installed yet. Second, is the board you worked on in the video responsible for power supplying the control board? I hope you find the time to answer me 🙏🙏🙏🙏 thanks
Lamp is needed or it wont fire up the rest of the way. I would try a new lamp first. The board I show is just power for the lamp. The power for the electronics is prior to this board.
Hi Frank, I have (2) Sharp vision xv-xz2000 both have same color issue using the same new color wheel. I have a bright bulb seems ok . Images are not distorted just crazy color. I checked cables which worked fine before color wheel flew apart. Both have the 2 green lights normal run and both sound good on power up with no shutdown or red lights. Both cleaned and damage checked per your videos. Did I buy a bad color wheel. One projector bought used for backup or parts had good black & white picture with color wheel glass missing.
Hello, Frank. I own an Optoma DS551 and am trying to bypass the SMPS and ballast. I've monitored the signals from the ballast and tried to replicate them with a microcontroller. Unfortunately, I noticed that the SCI signal from the projector has a specific dialogue that I'm not familiar with. I've read much online, but nothing has clarified it. Could you provide me with a hint?
Not sure if this thread is still monitored, but wondering if a a marginal ballast would be exhibiting low output of video? We had a couple rebuilt 3 years ago and gradually the image is dimmer. We've bought new bulbs and believe them to be good, but the intensity of the image is nothing like it was 3 years ago, The projectors are Eiki 'Boardroom' projectors, model LC-X85. Just wondering if the MOSFET's weaken or become heat stressed and work to some degree, but not as they should...and equate to a low output LUM?
I dont want to say its impossible but I have never seen that happen. Mosfets tend to work or not work. In my experience when you have a failing ballast they just dont light. I have not seen one put out partial power. I would check the optical path for dust buildup before going after the ballasts. The LCX85 is anywhere from 7-15 years. These older LCD units start to have issues with polarizer panels, dichroic mirrors and other optics as they age. Being that this model uses a 330W ushio bulb, they are being hit with a lot of heat inside. My money is on dust build up in the optics instead of a failing ballast. Like I said, I wont say its impossible but I have never seen it myself.
Hi Frank, I have an Epson TW6700 which worked fine, but last time I watched a movie it suddenly shut off totally. When I wanted to turn it on again.. the system started up, fans are runnen... but the lamp won't turn on. I smelled something like a burned electronic component. After 40 seconds the fans are running at full speed, the power led goes off.. the small blue status led and lamp led are blinking. From the manual it means: Internal Error. I opened the projector and try to trace the smell where it came from... that smell came from the area where the lamp and ballast are placed. The lamp is ok, so it must be the ballast right? But I measured the in and output voltage of the ballast. At the input I measured over the red and black wire 388 Volt, and the output was just 6,5 Volt. Is the input voltage right? Can you give me some tips? Thanks! Kind regards Jerry
Sure. Measure resistance between gate, drain and source pins. It should not read low resistance on any combination of pins. If you read low or short circuit on any pins, it's worth removing and checking out of circuit.
Hi, Frank! I have a Panasonic PT ae4000 whose ballast died, but I can't find another like it to replace (I live in Brazil). I only found Aliexpress, but the amount with fees is extremely high. Is there any alternative, another ballast model to adapt to this projector? Thank you very much for the videos, they have helped me a lot. I'm not a technician, just a curious person who loves DIY. Another question... do the ballast used in Moving Beam projectors (event lighting, light cannon), have the same system used in home cinema projectors?
No, unfortunately you need to use the proper model ballast or repair the old one. Moving beam fixtures use a different driver and cannot communicate with the mainboard. Your best bet would be to find a scrap unit and harvest the ballast. It might cost around the same as the part from Alliexpress but then you have a whole projector worth of parts. I'd look for one with a bad DMD. I suspect they are around.
@@FixitFrank Thank you for helping me. I have two identical ones, one works perfectly and the other had a problem with the ballast. I'll watch all your ballast videos again and try to repair the board.
@@FixitFrank It is increasingly complicated to import products to Brazil, almost 100% taxes. If the taxes collected were invested in infrastructure, if there was some return for the population, it would be great. Unfortunately, we have a criminal president convicted of corruption and a supreme court dirtier than him.
I hear you. I suspect the US is right behind you with another convict....I'd check the mosfets in your driver. They are known to fail. If you find one is bad, change both(they tend to work in pairs). Also check the small surface mount capacitors near the small IC that drives the mosfets. they can short out.
So Frank, What are the symptoms of a bad ballast besides the bulb not firing? Can a ballast be noisy (hum) but still be working? Are the Mosfets usually the problem or are other components just as likely to fail? Reason I ask is my JVC PJ (DLA X770) is starting to make a noticable low level hum once the bulb fires up. It's not super bad and you can't hear it when a sound track is playing. It is more noticeable when the room is very quiet. Even so it's a nusiance because I know the noise is there. Also concerned that it might be an indication of the ballast starting to fail. Looking forward to your response & Keep up the good work!
Hi Stephen, Thank you! I don't want to say there is no chance of a hum coming from a ballast but the chances are low and in my experience, the ballasts do not usually make a low pitched noise. Usually it is quite high pitched(around 20khz usually) and is more likely to emanate from the lamp. It can sort of act like an arc tweeter. Low pitched noise might be a fan. There are fans that come on with the lamp. I noticed they have 3 year warranties and were made starting in Jan 2017. You might want to check and see if you are still covered. I would expect a fan to last more than 3 years myself but I have seen and heard fans fail before 3 years. If you are not under warranty, then this is still a very good projector and would be worth repairing.
Unfortunately not that I am aware of. These are arc lamps so there needs to be a high voltage ignition device and then a current and voltage controlling device. It's the only reliable way I know of to test these lamps aside from a visual inspection.
Frank, thank you for this great video. I have a Benq HT1075. The lamp inside was cracked but still functioning. I ordered a new Osram bulb and replaced the cracked one in the housing, but now the projector blinks red when I power it up and show no image. When I put back the cracked lamp, it gave me the same error. I checked the ballast... the voltage coming from the PSU is alright, but the diode doesn't show an open line like in your video, I get readings in all the ways. My meter acts crazy when I am checking the output of the ballast and turn on the projector, then it stabilises and reads about 50V. I can't find these parts in my country, so I have to import them. Do you think the problem still in the lamp or maybe the ballast? Could the colour wheel sensor cause this issue? It was really dirt when I opened the lamp compartment, and maybe some dirt has got there.
Frank, First of all thanks for a great video...it is very helpful. However, I have a question about my ballast (it appears to be exactly the same as the two in the video) and I guess it really comes down to is it even fixable... Here’s the issue: The problem is that the unit shorted badly (sparks etc) but after disassembly I tested all the mosfets and they seems good (resustance in the 6-12meg range). However, I also found a nice burn spot right next to the Mosfet T5 (the one that was bad on your 1st board as described at 7:20)... the burn spot is right between T5 and the large capacitor that sits between the four mosfets. Additionally, the burn mark appears to have completely obliterated the SMC component that was immediately to the right of T5 (as viewed from the back as in your video). I have no idea what type/vale that SMC component was (my guess is that it was a capacitor based on the others near the other 3 mosfets)... Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell me that SMC component’s type and value? Also, I am curious if you think it is worth trying to repair the board with a thru hole component of the same type and value? (I should note that after cleaning up the board, everything else looks pretty good cosmetically (no obvious damage) but of course I won’t know till I try the repair, unless you have some additional tests you think I should try first). Any help/info would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Frank, I appreciate your videos they have been very helpful with repairing several projectors. I have a question concerning an Epson 6010 that I'm trying to bring back to life. Currently it will power up, cinema filter adjusts, lens cover opens, all fans operate, auto iris adjusts, lamp comes on... then it all falls apart.. lamp immediately goes back off (can only see it light with the case off), both temp/lamp lights flash red and fans go into overdrive. Then it shuts down with the lights still flashing. I'm wondering if this could be ballast related. I'm running out of things to test, everything so far seems ok. Thanks for reading!
Hi Brian! RU-vid keeps moving my replies to the wrong comment so I apologise of this appears multiple times. I would verify the voltage of the tach leads of the fans. Even if spinning correctly, they can fail to report that. I prefer to use a scope to measure(average is two pulses per room)but a volt meter will work. The measurement should be very low. Usually under one volt DC. If you measure 2v or higher, then a fan is a problem. I doubt the ballast since you get lamp/temp warning and you had an image even briefly.
I've tested that the fans all cut on and work but I'm not sure how to test the tach. Can I do that with a multimeter or do I need something different? I will say that when I first tested the fans with a 9v pigtail the two "LV" fans would not come on. They did come on however with power to the unit. Thanks for the help with this.... Losing my mind trying to figure it out.
@@FixitFrank Ok thanks. I'll see if I can test the voltage of the fans. Hopefully its just fan issue. The light output never makes it to the lens, I can just see the lamp come on for about 2 seconds when I have the case off and power the unit up. Not sure if that matters.
@@briankidd4246 Here you go ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-stIYr2bI2fQ.html I show how to test some here. As long as the door switch is bypassed, you can run it that way. I dont want to say the ballast is bad yet. You want to rule out all the items that will shut down the lamp that quickly first. So many things are tied to the lamp-on circuit that if any one of them is acting up, the unit will shut down. I'd also expect to see lamp light flash by itself if its a ballast. The fact that the temp light is flashing too makes me lean towards fans.
@@FixitFrank Awesome! Thanks! I'm tempted to just buy a replacement fan and start plugging it around the main board to see if the projector will come on with one "replaced"...
Hey Frank, Very detailed video, thank you very much. I have a 3LCD projector that almost "struggles" to fully turn on the lamp while powering on. It will flash the logo briefly and dim out several times, each time emitting a high pitch buzz, until the power lights begin to flash the error message. HOWEVER, of every 1/15 or so power-on attempts, the lamp will light and stay continuously lit and function as intended. Do you believe this to be a ballast issue? Thanks again (Hitachi cp-dw10n) following up: I removed the ballast and tested the mosfets and diode, and had a few discrepancies. My ballast appears to have 5 mosfets, 4 of the same model and an extra one next to the diode that is different. Also my readings were vastly different then yours, each mosfet had no more than 15 mOhms from drain-gate or source-drain. Nowhere on mine did I read any kOhms. Aside from that, one of my mosfets had 0 resistance one way and but not 0 when the orientation is reversed. I thought it mightve been a diode for a second but it definitely has 3 prongs... Moreover, my diode reads the 0.389 V but the orientation of the tester had little to no change of the resistance measured. What I mean is yours read something like 70 kOhms one direction and 10 mOhm the other way. Mine on the other hand was 0.566 mOhms and 0.458 mOhms. Is this a sign of a bad diode? Or merely a difference in our ballast circuitry... The ballast model# is PHG231A6NF Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Ron, How is the lamp? That could be my first suspicion. The ballast definitely could be an issue but since its making a buzzing noise, I think the ballast might be generating its high voltage for ignition and the lamp it not functioning properly to strike the arc. If the lamp is definitely new/good(possible tested in another projector) then a ballast would be my next area to check. If the lamp is anywhere over 1500 hours, I would be suspect of its operation. I say this because the lamp is the easiest part to get and return if the new lamp does not improve the situation.
@@FixitFrank Hello again, You are absolutely correct, I thought I tried a new lamp already but I must've swapped another used one in. Managed to put it all back together and shes working like a charm now! Thank you!
Hello Frank! Thank you for your great video. I had a short circuit on my projector Benq TH683 , since then the projector doesn't start. The only thing it does is power button shows red light /a bit orange i could say/ anyway after i pres power button it turns on light goes green, nothing starts. Projector shuts down green light blink once and goes dark. I can hear electricity afterwards and some heat created if power cable stays plugged. What could be the reason ? Could it be the ballasts ? Thank you!
Hi Uki, It's probably not the ballast, only because the ballast won't be powered on unless the color wheel starts spinning first. My guess would be a problem in the main power supply. A bad MOV maybe or something in the power factor circuit. This is sight unseen of course, but if I had it, I would start checking voltages and verifying semi conductors first.
@@FixitFrank so even if the ballast board tests bad - problem may still be in the Main board? Diode shows 1ohm both ways. projector gives no sign of life.
@@oleglego3655 Hi Oleg, is the diode across the transformer? You may want to unsolder one side of the diode and test it. Many times the ballast will short out and damage the power factor circuit in the main power supply.
Thanks for the video. I have a strange problem. I have sharp PGA20X projector. It was working perfectly well over the last 5 years (with no issues at all), and I use it occasionally. This whole projector ( and its lamp) has about 1300 hours of usage only. Recently I am seeing the problem that sometimes lamp is NOT turning on (but some times lamp turns on) at startup. When I power it up, I see cooling fan is working fine, and lamp (LED) indicator is blinking fine, but after 90 seconds, lamp indicator and power indicator are turning "red", basically internal lamp is not turned ON. As per sharp manual, they say this scenario as lamp circuit failure. I thought lamp reached end of life. So, I replaced with a brand new OEM lamp. But still this issue exists. The strange thing is, the lamp will turn on some times, and it works perfectly once its ON. So, when ever lamp doesn't turn ON, I will disconnect power and re-connect the power & try again & again. As of now, once in every 4 times, lamp is turning ON. When ever lamp (even with old lamp or new lamp) turns ON, it works perfectly. I am clue less, what is wrong with my projector and how to fix it. These days I am looking to use this projector more frequently, so I want to fix this projector, any suggestions will be appreciated.
Hello Krishna, That is a strange problem indeed. However I have heard of it before. I have a few theories. Since this is LCD, there is no color wheel to deal with. I would be suspect of the fans. I would download the service manual here. elektrotanya.com/sharp_pg-a20x.pdf/download.html If you have a fan that is failing, it may take a few tries to start up. Once spinning it may be OK. I see at least 4 fans in this unit. One by the power supply, One by the lamp and 2 for the LCD panels. However, even at 1300 hours, this lamp might be failing. My first recommendation is try a new or known good lamp. 1300 hours is a good 700 hours before I would expect it to fail, but if your environment is warmer this can shorten lamp life. I would try a lamp first. If it is the same, then check the fans. If not the fans or lamp, then I would start verifying voltages and see if the power supply is suffering from leaky capacitors.
Great video. I'm hoping you can help me to diagnose my issue. I have a 73" Mitshubishi DLP. I purchased an Amazon bulb which lasted trigger a the "bulb" light after 2 months. I unplugged the TV and inspected the bulb and saw no visible damage to it. I plugged it back in and the bulb worked but I was getting some shadowing on the screen. I took apart the TV, carefully cleaned the color wheel, cleaned the lens and reassembled everything. The shadowing was gone but the "bulb" light came on again. Under warranty I received a new bulb which worked for about 2 weeks. I hear a few clicks, hear the color wheel and fans spilling up ... this happens 3 times, with a minute between each time, then stops. The green power light goes out but no red "bulb" light. I removed the ballast (and kept wires connected) from its housing and plugged directly into the second bulb. The bulb lights up for a few seconds and makes a "sizzling" sound for each of the 3 cycles. I plugged the 1st bulb in which only produced a slight glow but no "sizzle". I measured the voltage going into the ballast of 343V between cycles and 330V when it attempts to turn on the light. All fets and diodes measure OK. Diode side of OPTOs measures OK. Could the problem be the main power supply or just bad luck on that warranted bulb? I would hate having to purchasing another bulb to test the theory. What are your thoughts?
Hi Ray, Make sure that bulb says Osram or Philips on it. Otherwise you have no idea what is really inside. Those amazon lamps cause more trouble than you would believe... Now if the bulb says Osram or Philips, then you want to make sure its the right wattage(I think 150-180 is normal for a 73"). I'll figure its correct for the sake of troubleshooting because the voltage you are reporting is a little low. The DC to the ballast should be closer to 380vdc. There is a known issue with capacitors on the power supply(main PSU) of Mitsubishi's. That can cause this. If you can provide the model #(WD73xxxx) I can get you more info. The fluctuation is interesting. That is supposed to be regulated. In short, make sure the bulb is Osram or Philips only. You can't trust knockoffs. Second, get model # and I will see what caps you want to check. They are not usually bloated or obviously bad(but it can;t hurt to give a look since they might be). I think the low ballast supply voltage is your root issue but I would not rule out the bulb unless you know its a name brand. Those are great TVs. Its worth putting a couple of bucks into it.
Frank, thanks for responding. My TV is WD73C9 bought from Costco in 2009. The OEM bulb lasted 5 years. The 3-4 bulb since didn’t last nearly that long each. They were not OSRAM or Philips. Can you provide me a trustworthy online source to purchase a lamp assembly or just the bulb. Also, when I was measuring the DC input to the Ballast, I also measured an AC voltage, if memory serves >400VAC. I found an online schematic that shows a voltage doubler circuit for the DC voltage generation. There are rectifiers and caps that should remove the AC component correct? Could something be wrong in this area? Bad or leaky caps will cause increased voltage ripple and a bad diode may turn a full bridge rectifier into a half bridge resulting in higher output ripple. What are your thoughts?
@@raycampbell3739 I am not affiliated with these folks but I do know of them. www.bulbsolutions.com/products/915b403001 This uses an Osram Bulb and will remove the variable of the lamp and they have a 6month warranty. I still kind of think its the lamp in your case. I did some checking and your model is not one of the more common capacitor issues models. There is a thing called the 'green light of death' that will plague some models. IT can act like a bad lamp but flash the green LED continuously. I suspect the strange voltage readings are due to the high frequency used in the power factor circuit that creates the 380-400dc. It's running a lot higher than 60hz which can cause RMA AC readings to be strange. I'd recommend taking a step back and putting in a lamp with an Osram bulb. Without having that variable removed you may run in circles. The company in the link will also take the lamp back for a refund if it turns out you have another issue which is nice. Try the lamp first and let's see where that get's you.
FixitFrank, I finally got around to ordering and installing the lamp assembly. Two months in and so far so good without issues. The “Amazon” lamps barely last this long. I would most definitely stick with a legitimate lamp supplier in the future. My original OEM bulb lasted greater that 4years ... I hope this one will last just as long. Thanks again for your help and advice. Keep up the good work!
Hey Frank nice video! Do you sell ballasts? Looking to replace on for our project here at home. It’s a NEC NP-474U. The ballast says it’s a EUC330fP/A0C. Know where I can find em or some of the mosfets ?
I don't sell parts. I get them from eBay or a contact I have in China. The Mosfets should be available from Element14 though. I think they sell in Europe.
@@FixitFrank ok I will continue my search! I am in US can’t find that ballast probably just keep looking for now don’t wanna pay 1400 for replacement:(
I’d like to get your opinion though, I replaced the Ballast on my JVC DLA4910U projector and now none of projector lights are on even when it is off or on. The first time I turned it on I did get the green light and not one time after. However the projector works beautifully… my question is there something I should have done before turning it on like resetting the projector or else….please provide your inputs…thanks much! Regards!
Sure thing. There is no reset that I am aware of. If you have no indicator lights, I'd make sure you didn't lose the fuse in the mains supply. There should be some LEDs flashing an error code if the low voltage is working. I'm a little confused with your explanation so maybe I missed something. Is it doing anything at all now? Or is it acting like it is unplugged?
@@FixitFrank Yes basically the projector turns on and works flawlessly the only issue is I lost all of my lights indicators whether the projector is on or off. Hope this helps
@@FixitFrank Also I would like to send you the old Ballast for troubleshooting and repair bc I’d to keep it as a backup just in case. Thus could you please provide a ship to address and estimated cost if that’s something you are interested in. Thanks! regards!!!
Yes even when it is functioning there’s no Green light displayed indicating the projector is on and similarly no red light when it is turned off…thanks!
Hey Frank, is there any way to determine if it is the ballast, without the sophisticated check of the resistance, etc. Without using the meter? I just replaced our bulb. But now it won't power on. I get a flicker red on the power indicator and then nothing else. Seems to suggest the ballast, but how do I know? And where to I get the right replacement?!
No, without checking voltages, it's purely guessing. There are so many other systems that can cause a lamp to not light. What model is your projector and what caused you to replace the bulb?
@@FixitFrank wow, amazingly quick reply. Thank you! ViewSonic pjd5155. It's older, definitely past lightbulb life, it darkened and darkened until the *pop* and a little smoke. Some shattered glass so certainly the bulb. Replaced and that now nothing
@@PaulOBrienSEOBrien Gotcha, the 5155 is still pretty nice so it's worth some effort for sure. I actually suspect glass is interfering with the color wheel. At least going by the flashing lamp led. Also there is a possibility the ballast was damaged when the lamp burst(that's why the manufacturer recommends replacement of the lamp at a specific hour count) but I'd verify the color wheel first. The lamp led only means the lamp isnt lighting but it doesn't say why. Usually the startup order is 1.colorhweel 2. Lamp 3. Fans(sometimes at the same time as the lamp). If the color wheel isn't starting due to glass thrown into it or being damaged itself, that would prevent the ballast from during the lamp. Depending where you bought the lamp, the seller might be able to help you too. Many of those companies offer repair service but may not advertise it. See if the color wheel is okay and we can go from there.
@@FixitFrank I found your Colorwheel video and that was helpful... But it didn't explain what to do if the wheel doesn't spin on power. And maybe because, it pointed out that we needed to trip the interlock switch but on this pjd5155 I can't for the life of me find it. So (new video suggestion, and my own question): Colorwheel spins with q-tip Not not when powered (I think) Maybe because of interlock switch? Where is that? 😂 And hell if I can't find anything about why plugging it in causes the power indicator to light up red for a split second, then goes off, and nothing starts. What's that indicate?
Hey Frank , love your videos . And I want to throw this at you . On my Optoma hd20. When I ohm out the secondary of my ballast it reads 40 megohms for a couple seconds and then goes open. Does that mean it's bad? My problem is no lamp operation and I've tried two new lamps. Can the color wheel photo sensor keep the ballast from turning on? I had a broken wire on the photo sensor and I re-soldered the three wires. I had two problems going on,. A vibrating color wheel and a lamp light warning. But the lamp didn't stop working totally, until after I put the new color wheel on. Any help would be appreciated. Currently the color wheel will start but the lamp won't turn on and then the fan turns on and then it will all shut off.
Hi Jeffrey! Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoy them. I'll break this down as best I can. The coil in the ballast is actually an inductor and is read 'sideways'. The reading you are getting is in line with a good ballast. I suspect your issue is color wheel related. The color wheel RPM sensor directly affects the ballast operation. The color wheel needs to be running at its proper speed or the ballast will not ignite. Is it possible that the wires are reversed on the sensor? That would be my suspicion. If the proj does not sense the CW spinning correctly it will go through the start up and then indicate a lamp failure at the end. I have a few vids on the HD20 that show the inside to see the wiring. If not, let me know. I have an HD20 that I can open to check.
@@FixitFrank I put the wires back on that board according to color and terminal letter. Red is going to r black is going to b in white going to w. But I think it may be bad. I had a hell of a time soldering those wires on there cuz my eyes aren't that good. I think that photo board maybe my problem now. I'm going to try and get one. I found a used one but it's going to take me two weeks to get it. I probably should just buy a new one. Is the hd27 HDR way better than the hd20?
that's a 30amp N channel 200v. I doubt its using all 30 amps or running at the full 200v. Usually its about half. However, if you can go 30amp, 300V(30N30) you can use something a little larger pretty safely.
Hey, Very interesting video! I am troubleshooting my ballasts for similar lamps. However, my lamps turn on but do not reach their maximum intensity. They flicker then suddenly cut off after a few minutes. Do you have any idea which component could be responsible for this? I tested with an ok ballast and the lamp starts without worries. I also tried to change MOSFETS but i had no results.
I'd also check the mosfet drivers. There should be some small surface mount 5-6pin packages that drive the mosfets. For the large mosfets, one pair is the ignition, the other is the "run" circuit. The ignition circuit goes through the film capacitors that you likely see grouped together(usually 3). The other 2 are used after the ignition. If they arent getting driven that would explain it. How did they test when you removed them? Lastly, are you getting the 380Vdc from the power supply to power input of the ballast? If the PFC(power factor correction) circuit in the power supply isn't working that will also cause this. If you are using 120v line voltage you will get 150dc if the PFC circuit isnt running, and 300V if you have 240v line voltage. You want to verify that 380Vdc is working.
@@FixitFrank Good evening, First of all thank you for your detailed answer. Currently, I replaced 2 of the 4 mosfets, I tested them with the ohmmeter. In addition, I ordered the film capacitors (those by 3), I am mounting the new ones this weekend. Regarding the initial voltage, I had tried with a new ballast and the problem did not appear. I conclude that I have the correct voltage at the entrance. Here is a link to a video of the lamp flickering before it was turned off : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wCUCfjmMiik.html
The color on my projector screen is horrible the color is all over the place is this due to a bad color wheel? I changed the light bulb already thinking that was the issue could it be something else? I’ve had this projector for about four years never changed the bulb till yesterday it was making noise for the longest as well but after I changed the bulb I didn’t hear much noise I have a optoma gt1080darbee and I think the color wheel might be the issue
Hi Adiel, I am thinking you are right. The gt1080 is great but they are hitting the age where the color wheel could be failing. If the issue didn't clear up with a new lamp, you are probably looking at changing the color wheel. It is a pretty easy job so it shouldn't be a problem to do. If you need a hand give a shout and myself or any of the other great techs here can weigh in. There are a few folks who comment regularly who are equally talented but a little more video shy then I am.
Hello frank I actually have three ballasts all very similar. Two are exactly the same off of a Samsung Projection tv. All three ballasts have blown MOSFETS. As soon as power was sent to them the blew. 120vac was used on them and that may have been the problem. I’m really unsure. Maybe you’d be able to give me some input. I am fairly new to this and pretty much self teaching myself so if it’s simple, I apologize for my ignorance lol.
Hi Jenny, I'm happy to help! You may be correct. The input voltage should be 380VDC. There is a power factor correction circuit in the power supply that creates the 380dc. Feeding 120vac will damage the fets. Fets require dc to operate properly. It can also damage the control circuitry on the little standup board. While possible to repair, I'd find a used but working ballast. The issue with repairing ballasts is the need for a known good power supply as well as something to generate the lamp-on signal for the control of the ballast. The part number should be on the board in a square(it's all silk screened on). What model is the Samsung? I'll find you a ballast on eBay if that will help.
Hi, Frank. First of all I would like to thank you for the video. So I would like to ask you, what was the projector's symptom with this defective ballast? Did he make the projector turn the colorwheel, make the noise trying to turn on the lamp but could not turn it on? I bought a defective Vivitek H1080 and the old owner could not explain what happens to him. He just told me that the lamp was supposed to be good and maybe it was a power supply fault. Testing the projector with the tip that you provided, I noticed that it turns the colorwheel and emits the sound trying to turn on the lamp but it can not turn on. The projector repeats the process a few times and after about 4 or 5 attempts it speeds up the cooler and needs to unplug it.
I replied on your other comment but for anyone else who reads this, I would try a known good lamp first. The startup noise from the ballast usually means its OK and that the lamp might be faulty. The lamp is the easiest part to change so I recommend trying a good lamp first. Make sure it has an Osram brand bulb inside and a good lens coating(should be red/blue when you tilt the face) and not the green coating. That will rule out your most annoying variable. Then if you still have startup issues, the ballast is readily available.
Hi, like to have your advice please. Got a Benq w1070, it is almost 10 years old. I had to change the bulb after more than 10 000 hours, the led flashed....After swtching bulb for a oem identical one, it workex well for 50 hours without any problem. Then it start to fliker and i could ear like a fan noise, like if something was touching the blade....I resolved the problem, at least that's what I tought, by turning off the projector, wait for 20 min, and restart. That time, it worked.A few days latter, it happend again, but no fan noise this time, only flikering. Re- done the power off/waiting...Restart, good again for 20 min then fliker continiously. I search info on the web, found you tutoriel....Some told me to try another bulb. I don't think it's a bulb issue cause it work well on eco mode only As soon as i put it back on normal or smart mode, it start's to fliker 2 min after. I had a good chat with benq's tech, they think it is the power board or mayne the color wheel. Since the projector is almost 10 years old as i said, i am not sure that i'm willing to spend 150 .00$ on a part and ending with ssme issue..Like very much to have your opinion. Excuse me for my bad english, not my first language. Frank🤙
Bonjour François! Your English is perfectly fine. No need to apologize. My French is very basic. When you say "flicker", is the color changing, or is the image becoming dim and then bright quickly? I ask because the color wheel is a very common failure after 7 years and will cause the lamp to shut down. You also mention a noise like a fan being touched, and that is also a noise a color wheel can make when it is failing. Most W1070's have had the color wheel changed by now. It is not a difficult job to do. I have a few videos on HT1075, W1070 and other BenQ models that are very similar with color wheel changes that you can check. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-13apdbnz-vM.html This is HT1075 but the process is the same as the W1070. I hope this helps!
It is more like a strobe effect. I put it on eco mode for a month now, is it wise to try to repair it, or considering the age of the projector, i'm better switch with another brand new? Is it an expensive repair?
@@FixitFrank it is more like a stobe effect. Is it an expensive repair? Color wheel and power board?I'm electro mecanic, i can fix it . Is it wise to put money on a 10 year old projector? Thank's for your time..
You can email me if you want with a video or share it on youtube. That would be best. I still suspect the color wheel because this is a known part to fail. If you are an electro-mecanic you will not have any trouble working on this. I very much doubt it has any power problems. In my experience, power problems are very severe. Either no power, no lamp, no fan or all is well.
Good afternoon Frank, first of all I want to thank you for this great contribution, very well explained and detailed. I am going to ask you a question because you may have seen it at some point and a suggestion would be welcome. I have a viewsonic pjd5134 projector that, after 100 seconds of being on, turns off the lamp and turns on the temp and lamp LEDs at the same time. The equipment has 59 hours of actual use, when I disassembled it I noticed that the turbine that cools the lamp did not turn and I bought an identical one, the problem persists, I have noticed, approaching my ear to the source area a very low noise, a buzzing sound, This happens when the computer is turned off. Will this have something to do with the fact that it always goes out after 100 seconds? From already grateful. Greetings from Argentina
Hello! Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate it. Your projector sound like the issue might be color wheel related. When you say 59 hours use, is that 59 hours total or 59 on this lamp? IF 59 total a bad color wheel would be very strange as would a bad turbine. The lamp fan should start soon after the lamp ignites. If the fan never starts and then the projector shuts off, the power to the fan may be a problem. The best thing to do now is measure the DC volts on the fan output while the projector starts and runs. You should read 8-12 volts on the fan power. If you read 0 volts then there is a problem that may be more difficult to fix without knowledge of the mainboard. I would put the old turbine back after testing. You can use a 9V battery and some wire to test. The turbine will rotate down to about 5volts. Then I would check voltages at the fan connectors. They all should be very similar.
@@FixitFrank Frank, good day! Thanks for the response offered Well, I will go on to summarize what happened, I have removed the color wheel, I checked that it turns with some hardness, I took advantage and I cleaned the sensor. Again, when assembling everything again, I encounter the problem that now the lamp turns on only two seconds, it turns off and the two fans remain on at maximum speed, turns on the lamp light and remains fixed, the blue light on flashes intermittently. the question that comes to my mind is that in the service where I have taken it, they have replaced some part, I have noticed that in the metallic protector that protects the color wheel there are some suspicious scratches by manipulation, what do you think? regards
If the lamp is turning on but then turning off that quickly, there is something telling it the lamp is unsafe. Usually that is a fan not reporting the fan speed correctly. You may want to examine the wires and where they are connected. If it looks ok, then checking the voltage on each RPM lead of the fans. Most measurements will be very low. Less than 1vdc. 3-5V or higher is a bad fan. This will also happen if a fan is not turning. Be sure to use the old turbine for this. The issue makes me think the turbine for the lamp may be faulty and that the new turbine may not be compatible. The RPM sensor would show a higher voltage if it is not compatible.
Hi @FixitFrank, happy 2020! Thanks for great videos that help us all with our struggles, and thanks for your help last time. Can you do it again? I have a new symptom in my HD83. 4 times out of 5 I turn it on, Optoma's startup logo doesn't show up on the screen. Whenever it happens, HD83 fails to show the picture. The lamp is on. I can see most or all of the monochromatic graphics the HD83 uses to give feedback on what is going on, like the signs that say it's detecting the hdmi channel, closing of the blu ray player's tray, playing and so on. Sometimes I can even see the home screen of the Panasonic blu ray player, that's in color even though rather dim. The vent goes always on, a little more noisy than otherwise. But the screen remains dark as soon as any film would start. (I could see an old universal opening logo that was only made of their small globe & writing in b&w.) I then have to turn the HD83 off and on again, mostly several times, 'til I finally get Optoma's colored logo at startup. Whenever Optoma's startup logo shows up, the HD83 goes on flawlessly. Faulty color wheel, faulty controller on motherboard (or wherever it may reside), or what?
Ciao Italo! That makes me think about the power supply. I had a similar issue with my personal TH1060 Optoma. I would get garbled logos. Replacing the power supply did it for me. The mainboard was not getting proper power. In your case, I would check over connections( maybe re-seat wires) to be sure. Then if there is no improvement, checking voltages that feed to the mainboard would be next.
For a PKP-K200P (epson eb-s10) what is the operating voltage? On the power supply board it says 380V, but 299V arrives at the ballast. The projector turns on but no fans and lamp, lights do not provide any error. I tried mosfet as seen by you, also disassembled but they look good. Possible H310PSM power supply problem? Thanks in advance for an answer.
If your line voltage is 220-240 50hz, 299dc at the ballast means the power factor correction(PFC) circuit in the main power supply is not working. This can be caused by a sensor error preventing the PFC from starting or a problem with the PFC circuit itself. The PFC can have a problem and still allow the low voltage control power to work. You do want 380dc at the ballast for it to function properly. If you are experiencing no fans and no error LEDs, I suspect you have a partial main power supply failure. I have not worked on an Epson PSU in a while but it should be a standard design with PFC feeding the ballast and low voltage feeding the mainboard. If you can find a replacement PSU that will probably be the easiest way to repair.
@@FixitFrank I too had suspected such a thing, from H310PSM (power supply) come out and write three wires on the board, red = + 380 V, black = -380 V common, white = 15 V, but the voltages are red and black = 229 V, black and white 350mV. Thanks for the information, I will try to replace the H310PSM power supply.
I really appreciate your videos, and hope you can help me out. My bent w1060 projector suddenly made a "click" -sound, and the image disapeard. The power lamp was blinking orange and it did not respond to anything. I pulled out the power cord, and put it in again and pushed the on-button. The projector made 2 or 3 "click" sounds and the power light started to blink 10 times, a pause and a "click" and blinked 10 times again. I have inspected the lamp and it does not look damaged. I hope you have an idea of what it can be. PS! Keep up the good work ;)
Hi Lars! The click might be a few things. If the lamp is between 1500-2000 hours, it might be a good bet. The flashing Orange power led(if only the power led is flashing) means the projector is cooling down. Something told it to turn off. If the lamp is good, then a color wheel failure would make sense. The click may be the glass segments tapping as the motor tries to start. See this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DbhFVKExGVQ.html It is showing a Mitsubishi, but the methods are good for most DLP projectors. If the color wheel ends up OK, then I would try a lamp. If the lamp does not fix it, then it will be something internal such as a power supply or ballast/lamp driver problem. I have the service manual for that model. If you need it, email me (in the about section) and I will send the PDF. Thank you kindly for the words of encouragement!
Tnx for the reply. The lamp hours are right about 600. I tried to clean the sensors on the color wheel, but that did not help. Is it likely that the color wheel is broken? The projector is barely used (600 hours), but you know this better than me ;) @@FixitFrank
@@larsandersmyklebust4794 You would have noticed if the color wheel was damaged if you have cleaned the sensor. I could see the noise being caused by glass segments getting stuck. When the motor starts, it would push the segment and make the noise. It might also be a ballast issue. Is the lamp a name brand bulb such as Osram or Philips?
The lamp is the original one (do not know the brand). The color wheel turned around smoothly and no noise when i cleaned it. But the color wheel is not responding at all, when trying to turn it on. The clicking from some relay is the only thing that is happening when I try to turn it on. Is there any temperature sensor somewhere that’s telling the projector that it has to cool down?
@@larsandersmyklebust4794 Are you sure it's a true 600 hours? For a 6-8 year old projector that is very low hours unless it is only used on rare occasions. There will be a name on the back of the ceramic of the bulb or a sticker on the side. It should be a Philips UHP bulb. I only question the lamp because the symptoms do sound like a failed lamp. There may be a crack or tiny leakage of the arc tube gasses. Of course this is without it in front of me. If the click you are hearing is the relay and CW is not starting then there is another issue. The CW should always start first, then the lamp. The startup process is usually, Color wheel, lamp, fans. Sometimes a fan will start with the color wheel. If there was a temp sensor issue, you would get a different set of flashing LEDs. I am strongly leaning towards a lamp, color wheel drive cable(the flat cable to the wheel) or it's index sensor wire(rare but I have seen it), ballast failure or lastly a logic issue with the mainboard. I doubt the mainboard highly. Ballast or lamp is what I would be looking at if it were here. At this point it would be worthwhile to check through the service manual and see where the flowchart takes you. I uploaded it to my Google drive. Feel free to download the PDF. The flowchart starts on page 68. drive.google.com/file/d/1FK-6LQvXUG3A2Gg4Ztim-kLieBmj1-Ts/view?usp=sharing
Hi Frank, Thanks for making this video. Came across it while trying to debug an issue with my Epson EH-TW3200 (aka Powerlite 8350). The original bulb seemed to die after about 1300 hrs. The lamp shut off and the fans went into overdrive, with a lamp warning light. We got a 3rd party replacement bulb, and it worked great for a couple of days, and was much brighter than the original bulb (at the time of its breaking, at least). But then it started basically doing the same thing. It would turn off after a couple of minutes, lamp indicator, fans going crazy. Hooked up an RS232 cable to get an error code but it was just 06 = LAMP ERROR, so not much help. Would you have any suggestions for where to go next? I thought of maybe replacing the thermistor on the lamp housing ... but maybe it's something more serious?
Hello Brian, Most likely it is the lamp again. 3rd party lamps can be hit or miss. It really depends on the bare bulb inside and who made the housing. That chassis uses the ELLP49 which does have an aftermarket Osram lamp available. Not quite as good as the OEM Iwasaki eye lamp but not bad. I find that when the lamp was the problem, it is likely the problem again. Wild goose chases because of unreliable lamps is something I have been on one too many times. I would contact your seller and get another lamp to try. Thermal issues would show up as thermal issues. A stuck iris would also show that as the error. I really think its the lamp. If you aren't sure about the lamp, shoot me an email(listed on the about tab) with a picture of the lamp and I can probably see if its good or not.
Many thanks for the helpful videos! Maybe you have an idea for my problem with the Optoma HD20? It always shows the lamp failure error (On LED=flashing amber; Lamp LED=red steady) even after replacing the lamp twice with original Osram lamps. Story: While I was watching a movie there was a popping noise and the lamp turned off (lamp failure LED message). Because of the popping noise I was thinking it must be the lamp. But after replacing it twice (with two new different original lamps) the problem was not solved (lamp failure LED message is still showing up and the lamp doesn't illuminate). When turning the projector on both fans are starting normal and the color wheel is also spinning without strange noises. I've measured the Hz value on the wheel with a DMM and it shows constant 120Hz. When measuring the Ballast the DMM shows nothing at the lamp output. The diode and the mosfets are ok I think (when measuring gate 2 drain at the mosfets it shows nothing - is this good?). I couldn't find any exploded capacitors which may have caused the popping sound. Do you have an idea where the problem could be or where to search for other reasons which can cause this problem? Greetings from Germany and sorry for my bad english. Klaus
Guten Tag Klaus! Wie Gehts? Your English is perfect. Better than many native speakers. I promise it is better than my high school German... I would check the power supply. I had a problem where the switching driver for the ballast power had failed and burned a hole through the chip. You should read 300vdc on the ballast input in standby. Once you press power and the color wheel starts, the voltage to the ballast should be 380vdc. I suspect you have no 380dc on the ballast and the switching driver for the PFC circuit failed. They can cause a large pop noise when they go. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IBs7E5pkS1s.html This is a more severe example but similar. I suspect you still have low voltage but no high voltage to the ballast. I would also recommend against measuring the ballast output directly. There is a high voltage ignition pulse of 3-5KV that can damage your meter and possibly injure yourself. The frequency is very high(20khz) as well and may not register on the meter correctly. Once the lamp is running the voltage drops to around 100V. If you do have 380v on the input to the ballast, then the ballast may be your problem. Verify the power supply first and I think you will find the cause. Thank you for watching and Merry Christmas!
@@FixitFrank Vielen Dank für die schnelle Antwort! Thanks for the fast reply! I will check the power supply as you mentioned. I wish you a Merry Christmas too!
Hi again, I hope you had a nice Christmas! I've managed to measure the voltage on the power supply as showed as in your linked video (at minute 16:50). It is only 312 Volts - that's not normal right or can the voltage level vary? Do you think there is a problem with the power supply?
@@AwAy-Band Christmas was very nice! Thank you for asking. You are correct, that is too low. It sounds like the main power supply has problems. You are reading the rectified line voltage(220-240~) is about 300-315DC. I'd see if you can find a used but good power supply. The existing supply would be repairable but it might be hard if you are not used to board-level troubleshooting.
@@FixitFrank Many thanks for your help! I've found a diode on the power supply (the one on the small heat sink where C31 is located) which has the same resistance values on both sides and on diode test it has the same voltage values on both sides. Update: I've desoldered the diode and got normal values when measuring it again. Guess I 've to exchange the power supply.
Hello, mr. Frank! My name is Sergey. I'm from Russia. Maybe you can help me? I have a Banq DLP projector W1100. Ballast is exactly the same as yours. The lamp does not burning up. Mosfets, optocouplers are working. The input is 380V is present. If i short-circuit the contacts on the optocoupler, the lamp light on. Can't find the problem. Most likely i need to look for the problem on the main board. But I have no electrical circuit. Can you have one? Thanks.
Hi i had today situation like this: i clean my benq w1070 and and after all my lamp worked ,and stoped. I changed bulb (i had new one) and nothing... cold dead ;) What dou You thinking? is lamp's ballance is shity now? I gave new bulb and new wheel colour (i had for safety ;) ) but projector still not starting... ventilators starting, led lamps on top to... ,wheel colour spinning ,so my diagnose is ballast,but im not sure in 100%. what You thinking about my problem? is that ballast?
@@FixitFrank They are not blinking still. I hadn't lamp explosion. I cleaned my w1070 (5th time-4x times was succesfull,without any problems). and then... lamp started (after while-not normal behavior) . Throwed Picture. was black-white with some points behind this picture i could see some shape of "menu" -not sharp. I turned off projector,and i started one again,and... dead calm. I changed wheel colour & bulb (new parts) ,and nothing. No explosion,bips etc. Starting is ok. I pushing Power button,colour wheel is spinning-checking, "Power" led is blinkig,and then "Lamp"-red led is still on
hey nice vid! tho, i have a NEC VT660 where the lamp does not light up, and if i remove the lamp (and i did it, tho i shouldn’t have done it because ballasts can break if they run unloaded iirc) i can hear some sparks inside so i guess the ballast is not totally broken, i heard that usually mercury lamps never stop working (unless they explode xD), they will just emit less light, tho this one produces no light at all... so it’s probably the ballast... what do you think? thx in advance 😅
Thank you! These lamps do go bad. They will get more dim until they can no longer support an arc. You are correct in that they do explode, and that is them failing instantly! In your situation, I would try a new lamp. The symptoms sound like a lamp to me at least. You hear the ballst ticking which is a good sign for the rest of the device. I suspect the lamp is just no longer able to support an arc. The electrodes eventually wear the gap between them too far open.
@@FixitFrank oh thx for answering! :) so if it cannot arc anymore it will emit 0 light? like, i put my eye right on the lens, and saw it completely dark during the whole start process... i got it for free from my school, and buying a lamp for it isnt an option considering its age and its low quality xD isnt there a way to check if the ballast is actually able to fire a lamp or if it’s too weak? the lamp seems brand new to me
@@xzVice Correct, it will put out no light. Unfortunately there is no other reasonable way to check a ballast. The only way to know if a ballast is working is with a good lamp. At least without special equipment. you can't use a volt meter on these because the ignition voltage is way too high and will smoke the meter(they top out at 1000v for a good one but the ignition voltage is 3000-7000v). Since you hear it ticking, that is likely good. That noise is the arc gap in the ballast making noise. honeslty this is a really old projector. Plus its an LCD so there is a real good chance the optics are failing, or have failed. It's 18-19 years old. For a projector that is really old and for an LCD, that is ancient. It would be fun to take apart or if you find another projector lamp that you can steal a bare lamp out of and fit into yours it mght be worth messing with. Basically its not really worth anything monetarily but it would be fun to hack up and try things with. Take the ballast out, try and put an LED driver in it. Or just scrap it down and make some stuff with the optics. Maybe sell the ballast and other guts on ebay. I agree that its not worth putting a lamp into and I dont think you can even find them anymore. I'm sorry I can't help with getting it working, but I do think you could still have some fun taking it apart. Just be careful with the power supply and ballast. The power to the ballast is close to 400Vdc and can kill you if you are not careful.
@@FixitFrank Yep you’re right, and no dont be sorry you already helped me a lot and i gotta thank u 😃 also, i have another projector, it works but the dlp is broken (a lot of white dots on the screen) idk if i could move that one’s lamp to the lcd one (i’d have to move its driver too), and idk if it would either be worth the job 🤔 that one is an Acer DSV0817 and under of it it says mercury lamp inside, so maybe i could just swap the lamp on that nec vt660 with that one, but i’d like to not break that lamp if possible xD... what do you think? 🤔)
They look like they are different types. the VT660 is using a DC lamp but the Acer has an AC lamp. If you put an AC lamp into a DC ballast it will blow the lamp up. You can sort of get away with using a DC lamp in an AC ballast but they dont typically work well. Normally I say knockoff or cheap lamps are terrible but in this case, due to the age, I would see if you can find a cheap bulb on ebay and use that. I even looked around to see if I had any old ones but I dont have anything that will fit unfortunately.
Hello again. I am working on another projector ballast and thought I would jump on here and see if you might lead me in the right direction. I have a Promethean pm25 that started flickering after I replaced the bulb with a new one. I am guessing the ballast is going out on this thing and I was hoping you might be able to tell me what I need to check on the ballast for this problem. Thanks in advance.
@@FixitFrank I have it apart. The ballast is a 58115201dg. I did check the resistance across the bulb and it is open. I have had some issues with bulbs I've purchased before but it was an issue of working or not working only.
The bulb should read open. These are arc lamps. No filament. That is why they have a ballast. The ballast manages the arc inside the bulb. If your bulb had any resistance that would be very bad for the ballast.
@@FixitFrank Thanks for replying and the information. I had to take a break from this repair but I plan on tackling it this weekend. This is my golf simulator projector and is a short throw. I had replaced the bulb with an OEM but it started the flikering when I did this. I was thinking the ballast could be weak and going out but I really wanted to check it. Is the ballast one of those parts that either works or doesn't or can it go out slowly? And, should I follow this video's instructions to test it? I really hate to bother you but your knowledge goes unmatched with projectors.
You say its an OEM bulb but as far as I know Promethean doesn't sell those anymore. It might be using an OEM bare bulb such as Osram but that sort of makes me suspicious of the glass on the front. Make sure the glass on the bulb has a proper IR block coating. It should be a reddish/blue/purplish when you look at it from an angle. If you bought it from amazon or ebay or if it was less than $100 I would be highly suspicious of it. If the glass has a greenish or clear look to the glass, that is your problem. It allows infrared radiation into the optical area and it confuses the color wheel making the colors flicker. Check the bulb and make sure the glass on the front looks the same as the old bulb. A low quality lamp can cause so many annoying problems. I know these work well www.purelandsupply.com/sanyo-projector-lamp_prm25.html but I can't speak for other companies.
Hi! I just bought a broken jvc x30, seller thouht it could be the ballast. The first lamp started to flicker at around 1300h and was replaced, the second lamp failed after around 1300h too so he put the old lamp back with no success. I bought it for almost nothing hoping to be able to repair it. Now i have taken the ballast out but cant find any obvious fault on it. I have ordered a new lamp, maybe I should have started with that! I tried to measure the diodes on the board and two of them showed short circuit on the outer legs when mounted on the bord, but when I desoldered them they show no short circuit. Any suggestions? Thanks Anders
That sounds about right. Those outer legs of the diode are connected together to act as one diode. I'd put it back together and try a new lamp. If the new lamp works, clean out the fans and air ducts of any heavy dust build up. Make sure the lamp has a Philips bulb or even an OEM from JVC(a little pricey). I know JVC rates these at 3,000 hours but I also know the lamp they use has gone through 3 or 4 versions since it was released because it can't really run 3,000 hours... That little metal piece in the intake of the lamp is supposed to direct the air towards the center of the arc tube. It should be on a slight angle depending on where the lamp was from.
@@FixitFrank I must admit, I had removed the powersupply and not the ballast. Now i have taken a look at the ballast but the two mosfets seemed ok. There were one 16 legged transistor that I didnt know how to diagnose, so i left it untested. I saw one repair where an octocoupler had failed along with a resistor. My resistor is fine, but how do I test an octocoupler? Wish I had some local place to send my ballast for a repair. I also tried a new lamp, though it was a cheap one from ebay, just to see if it worked. But its still as dead as before.
Hi Anders, Usually you can check the diode side with a diode test on a DMM. I like to remove the optocouplers and put them in a breadboard to test them for real. I would be surprised though if it were bad. A useful quick-dirty test is to measure each of the 3 couplers and compare them. They should all measure about the same resistance. One will be reversed on the PCB. There should be 2 or 3 on the ballast control Input. One is for reporting the lamp on/off , the other 2 are for actual lamp power on and the other is for dim/bright. Do you have the HV at the ballast input? I would start checking voltages and find a service manual. There are so many possible causes it can get your head spinning. When the old lamps failed, did they explode or merely stop lighitng?
my question is can we only dictect the bad mosfet with digital meter.. because i do use the manual meter. though whenever i fix the mosfet by changing it.. the projector will come on but later blow off..i mean d ballast..because there is still some fault that i haven't ditect that is hiden.. pls shed more light to this .i want to understand if some mosfet don't show damages with manual meter etc
also, I had to check, but you can use analog meters no problem. As long as you have a diode test option, the meter itself does not matter. You can also use resistance. From Gate to Source, it should be around 10K. Gate to drain should be low resistance one way only. if you reverse the probes and the resistance is still low, that is a sign of a failed mosfet. You should at least read the blocking diode inside. I think it will be .1-.2v voltage drop. I would recommend one of these. They can be purchased for less than this price if you shop around and buy one without the case will save some money. I use for testing parts and it really makes it easier. You can use it to match your own mosfets by reading the values. www.ebay.com/itm/LCR-T4-Mega428-Backlit-Component-Tester-ESR-Meter-Kit-LCD-Display-With-Case-DIY/303381231393
@@FixitFrank yea...that's what i do too..i use the analog meter by checking the resistance.. but mostly when i replace the mosfet with a good one from another same ballast..it will work for some time nd then the owner of the projector would just call back that this projector did same thing again.. and when that happens..it affect the power fuse .even probably some mosfet in the power pack goes damage too... and one tin again.. even before i replace the mosfet..i do check the operating voltage and wattage. so i do make sure i use a higher wattage equivalent to the one their..just to make sure its efficient is %100.. but still, it will work nd work. but after some days..it goes off again.. i will check the balance as u have proposed to see if im the one getting it wrong.
Hi. I have a nec ve282xg projector. It's indicate status light red blinking 6 times, I tried with new lamp and ballast. But still same problem. Pls help me to identity the problem
Hello Mohammed, Are any other LED's flashing? Also, have you checked to see if the color wheel is spinning up? Lastly, is the door switch being closed when the cover is attached? The 6 flashes really is telling you that "something" is preventing the lamp from lighting. Usually that is a bad lamp. Sometimes it can be the color wheel or ballast.
Great vid Frank! Now I know my Mosfet is dead. It’s nailed to the heat sink. Do you have any suggestion how to replace that one? Or is it better finding a new board? Cheers!
Hello! I would get a new module. If the FET on the heatsink is bad, then you may have other problems on the control board for the ballast. Repairing ballasts is kind of a last resort. I always rather replace them so that I know for sure the unit is OK. Having matched value FETS is important for longevity. Meaning if one is bad, you want to replace both on the same circuit. However there is always chance. What model projector is it out of?
FixitFrank thank you for the advice! It’s from a Benq w1070. “pt vip 03 mid” 240 version Had green power led and red lamp led. Lamp gave no light and projector turns itself off again. Then I started troubleshooting and came across your channel.
@@ivolver3854 As luck would have it, I have a w1070 that Im working on. I will check some values and let you know. A few things to check, 380vdc to the ballast from the power supply needs to be there, Color wheel should spin up first. Usual startup is Fans, colorwheel, ballast and then lamp. See if you are getting 380 at the ballast. If your house voltage is 120, and you read 150-170 (if its 220 at the outlet, then 300ish ) at the ballast, then its a main power supply issue.
FixitFrank Thank you, great help! I just measured 387v at the ballast. So that’s good news. Now it must be the ballast board or do you think it could be the lamp unit itself? I checked the bulb visually and it looks good to me. I’m in EUROPE. The ballast board has a sticker with a QR and the nr. “240” on it. Any suggestions what or where to buy from or NOT to buy considering the ballast board. Cheers!
@@ivolver3854 That is very good news! The power supply sounds OK. How are you checking the mosfet? I would buy a ballast via eBay or Alibaba but I would rule out the rest. Lamps are always my first go-to. They are the easiest to buy,change and return if needed. Be sure your lamp uses a real bulb. It should be Osram or Philips. If its not, then I would not trust it. Also the lens on the lamp needs the proper IR block coating. It should be a hue of red/blue that is more visible from an angle. IF the lens is green or clear, that is no good.
Hello! They are had to find for sure. Are you able to post a picture if the old ballast? I may have one. I scrapped an hd8300 that should have the same ballast.
Hallo Frank! I started opening the black box here. I suppose the one in the middle is the board controlling the ballast, and it should be hidden under the metal hood where the two white wires are going to from the lamp, shouldn't it? imgur.com/a/zkWLT3E
Now it has to be said that I rely on what customer service told me on the phone here, i.e. it could be the lamp or the ballast. Symptoms were image goes darker and darker, gets a little lighter, darker again, to nothing at all. I initially thought it was dust so I opened it and simply rinsed it with a can of CRC dust off. Once it was on again I could see a whole movie, but then darkness again. Hope you guess more from it.
Those pictures are perfect! Thank you! I would try a new lamp first if I had the projector in front of me. The fact that the lamp lights at all, makes me less suspicious of the ballast. It still may be an issue but in my experience, a bad ballast tends to not light at all. However, I have, on very very rare occasions seen ballasts act like you describe. Like I said. Very very rare. I would try a new lamp and make sure it has the proper bulb and lens coating. Many cheap lamps on amazon tend to use knock off components. You need a BL-FP280F lamp www.purelandsupply.com/bl-fp280f-optoma-projector-lamp.html This is what it should look like. The bulb needs to be an Osram 280W bulb and make sure the lens on the front has the proper blue/red coating. Otherwise your color wheel will suffer from IR flooding and create a new issue. If you put a new lamp in and the problem persists, let me know. I am pretty sure I have that ballast around. The part # you want to look for is the 75.8K01G001A or 74173B00DG on that white sticker.
Thank you for your time and help Frank!! I bought a new bulb and mounted it in the old frame. By the way, you mention the glass in front of the bulb should have a blue tint, but neither the one installed by customer service as a replacement after 3-4 years of use, some 3 years ago, nor the one I now bought as “original for the HD83” has any glass in front. It’s an empty “bowl” with a stem in the middle that goes actually beyond the border of the reflection dome. I thought then that that was the problem, but when the new one came in, I had to think that the glass in the frame does the job. imgur.com/a/chqtTXa imgur.com/a/qDluuLG Anyway I mounted everything back but I managed not to take a picture of where a cord goes to. imgur.com/a/QvK2Vxn You see it comes from that little circuit board attached to the plate that covers the guts of the HD83. There are to pins available on the larger board. The one seems to be labeled “temperature sensor”, the other one, “fw_update”. I tried temperature sensor as you see on the picture. I could switch the projector on and see the source attached, but I couldn’t make it switch off. At last I had to open the lid that gives access to the lamp frame and then the projector switched off (and I got orange led steady on and blinking red power led, i.e. lamp fail, according to producer, of course) Can you help, again?
342/5000 Hey! I am debugging my benq w1300 which has similar if not the same ballast. Have changed all 4 moss grease when two had other values. But still do not want to light the lamp. Can I in some way check if the lamp is broken or ballast? How many volts should ballast give on output? Have tested with two cheap new bulp lamps. Thanks in advance
Hi Mattias, You are unable to measure the output as it is high frequency AC. The startup pulses are anywhere from 5KV up to 20KV. That will likely destroy your meter. However, you can verify other parts and take the output voltage out of the equation. Your DC input should be 380Vdc to the ballast. That should be at 380 when the projector tries to start. It may only be 150 or 300V in standby(150 in the USA, 300V if your line voltage is 220-240). If you have the 380vdc and the Mosfets are new, then you may have a bad control circuit. That is the small PCB standing up on the board. I would recommend verifying the DC power to the ballast. Once you confirm the 380vdc, I would then look at replacing the ballast. There is a number like PT VIP 03, or 58115201 on a little sticker. Really any 230-240 or 250W ballast will work. If you are in the states, send me an email. I have a lot of used but good ballasts around.
@@FixitFrank Thank you so much for your reply. Unfortunately, I'm in another part of the world, Europe Sweden. But I have 375vdc DC input directly when I plug in the power cord. Failed to measure while I can start it. Just changed t2 t3 t4 t5, not the one on the "heat shield" It all started with the lamp "exploded / cracked" and the lamp inductor lit, I changed the lamp but the same problem. Saw your video and looked up mosfets. Found burn marks on two of them and they had other values when I measured them. It seems that steel wire that is wrapped around the dc input cable has short-circuited against one mosfet. Looks like planned to be factory failure to shorten the life span maybe. Then vibration tones have slowly worn through the housing (benq w1300)
Hi Timi, See if the light blink in any pattern. Such as 2-4 flashes before a pause and then it will repeat. Here are a few causes I have seen in the past. 1. Old lamp exploded and piece of glass got stuck in the lamp turbine fan. Removing the glass fixed the issue. Gently pushing the fan with a cotton swab was enough to get the glass out. 2. Fan Status wire not responding properly. The RPM wire on a fan may not be sending the proper signal when it goes to turn on. I have seen the power supply fan cause this, but it can be any fan. 3. Axial fan is jammed. One of the normal type of fans may be stuck. What is the history of the projector? When did the issue start?
@@FixitFrank hello thaks for the info. I managed to get it to turn on. The problem was at the color wheel, the black tape on the wheel for syncing was missing so i put a little black tape and it turned on. But now i have another problem. It stays on just about 30seconds then turns off. No warning. However the lamp light just flashes once then stays off. The power light flashes several times until i cam turn it back on. What should i do?
I would double check all of your connections. Also be sure the tape is in the proper spot and proper size. If it is too large or small(the tape square) it can confuse the color wheel sensor.
@@FixitFrank double checked all the connections. They are good. The tape is 90% the same size, i think i placed it in the same spot but i don't know that for sure. Does it matter? When it turns off the power led blinks awkward, it dims down but not all the way. When it does this i hear a very subtle ticking sound. Could it be the voltage regulator or another thin on the power supply? Or on the ballast board? How do i check them?
@@3ikeru The tape position is important. That sets the index mark for the the colors. It needs to be in the same place as the old sticker or you colors will be wrong. However, if its not spinning that makes no difference. I doubt the ballast is an issue. I suspect your color wheel is actually bad. The ticking noise may be the wheel trying to spin and not being able to. I would verify the wheel is spinning/not spinning first. Bypass the door switch with the lamp removed and you should see the wheel spin 3 times before getting a lamp light. If it never spins, then it is bad and that is the cause. Heat that causes the sticker to fail can also damage the magnet and windings leading to this situation.
Hi, My optoma HD20 : power led flash green 5 time->power led turn to orange . Sometime flash green 6 time ->power led turn to orange(Temp LED & Lamp LED flash orange 1 time quickly ). Could you help me ?thanks Last weekend, When I watching movies ,my optoma HD20 power board exploded suddenly. (LNK364PN was burned out),Then I replace new power board but it still not work. I test all MOSFET that in Ballast, All MOSFET is work good. Then I test ballast voltage when I press start bottom.(My ballast look like same as this video) Input : 380VDC Output with lamp: 0~10 VDC , 0~14 VAC Output without load : 0~10 VDC , 0~14 VAC Is my ballast broken? Sorry my poor English . Thanks you very much.
Hello, Your english is very good. I also had LNK364 explode on my HD20. I replaced power board and it was OK. 380V is good on input. Please check low voltage into mainboard. Also check ballast control wires. Lamp_on is low signal(5v=off, 3.2-on). If Lamp_on signal OK, ballast is bad. I think control IC on ballast failed. I will check my HD20 for you next week. Here is the service manual, but it has no schematic. The LED code you suggest do not appear in the service manual. This is why i ask about low voltage into mainboard. Voltage regulator on Mainboard may be shorted preventing ballast turn on. There are many possible causes right now. We will find the root cause. Also, please do not measure ballast output. Ignition voltage can be 20KV @10ma AC 20khz. Running voltage is only 80-120v on average. I will wait to hear from you. Thank you for watching my videos!
@@FixitFrank Hi Frank, I am sorry for the late reply. I checked my motherboard power IN . (stand by: orange light) +5V =>5V +12V=>0V PFC=>0V Then I checked ballast control wires (Is J20 socket ?) Connected ballast board -pin1:0V -pin2(GND) -pin3:0V -pin4:0.03V -pin5:0.06V Disconnected ballast board -pin1:0V -pin2(GND) -pin3:0V -pin4:0.33V -pin5:0.37V Thanks your help
Hey so my meter maybe only read the mosfets one way? Idk it's a crappy meter but it reads 1200-1500 one way and overload the other. The bottom 2 can be read each way and your right one way reads higher but the top 2 mosfets only read one way. All source to drains read in 500 range and all gate to drains read like 1200
i'd need to see what you meter is like but from what you're describing, it sounds fairly "okay". If they were bad, I'd expect about 0 ohms between gate/drain and/or source/drain. make sure you test the pairs that are connected to each other. one pair is for ignition, the other pair is for 'run'. Your meter might be the Achilles heel though. you want something with a decent diode test or ohm test with enough power to trigger the mosfet. that said, if none of them are reading 0 ohms or close to 0 ohms(while installed) they are likely okay. if you get 0 ohms source to drain with them out, you likely turned it on with the meter voltage. Whats your symptoms?
@@FixitFrank the dpl status blinks green. Eventually stopping. And you can turn the unit on. It starts the bulb and as soon as bulb gets to full brightness the unit shuts off. I suspected bad ballast being reason it kicks off as soon as full brightness is reached. There is a faint smell of burnt from the transformer on ballast. I need my magnifying glass to check solder joints on it haven't done that yet but meter is showing all good so far on ballist. The bulb has continuity and customer has recipts from replacing it about 6 months ago. So I wasn't suspecting bulb. You can take bulb out and turn unit on and it seems to stay on until you turn it off. I left it 5 minutes on before turning off. Upon pulling bulb and turning it off when it powers down with bulb out then you get red status. So kind of confused which route I shall go. I will probably buy a new bulb and test it just to make sure but if the new bulb doesn't fix it them im kind of stuck on what it could be. Psu board looks amazing. The color wheel spins and stuff. It's a Mitsubishi 73842
ahh, the good ol RPTV. Check the filter caps in the low voltage supply. Big known issue in that chassis. do you have an email I can contact you on? You can delete it afterwards. I do have some other idea.
I don't have one unfortunately. So I don't expect to be able to do that. According to the manual, you should probably call vivitek support. I'm guessing you hold some buttons down or something to do a hard reset.
Ahh. Gotcha. I did find a reset for a different model but it is a Qumi. Try unplugging the power cord, then hold in right arrow on the keypad. While continuing to hold the arrow key, plug it back in. If the LEDs flash, it might have reset.
Well while this is cool, and I’d love to just be as I once was, and replace the damage piece in my projector, I was a t3ch for 20 yrs, and I’m a DVET,now mostly bedridden. Miss fixing building cars, doing electrical repairs and electronics..but my $1500.. 4k projector just died after running the bulb too long ,I couldn’t get anyone to take it down from the ceiling,guess it got to hot after bulb failed ..I swapped the bulb, now it simply comes on and then turns off after about 1-2 mins, the bulb replacement light just blinks still..for some of us it’s easier to save and buy a new projector instead of fixing it..when you can’t anymore..I know a repair shop will charge 3 to 400 bucks to replace what your doing for free, lol..shame as I don’t trust small repair,computer,tv stores ,I’ve since seen too many rip ppl off..I once many yrs back had a guy come to my house tell me it was 200 to fix my old school DLP 500lb tv, when I asked him to show me what he was going to repair, he wouldn’t saying well if I show you what stops you from telling me no your doing it yourself,? lol I would of let him simply because the $200 bucks was worth the warranty for it to work for a yr at least..yet he was a scammer , I hate small repair techs who won’t show you what’s fails ,and let you watch if your doing it in your own home, maybe he thought I’d be upset seeing how easy the repair was, or maybe it didn’t help that I was wearing my double master tech work shirt after getting home from working all day..anyone who repairs anything should always be willing to show the customer how it’s done or let them watch if they ask, why not, as long as they aren’t getting in the way, ???
If the old bulb exploded or burst, you probably have glass in tbe blower fan(temp led will also blink). Or if the picture flickers the colors before it shuts down, it's possibly the new lamp. Cheap lamps from Amazon or Jasper tend to use junk Infrared blocking filter lenses. They flood the color wheel sensor with infrared light causing it to shut down. If it's an OEM bulb, then something else is going on. I hope it's just a cheap lamp problem. I don't mind sharing what I know but I can also see the side of the gatekeepers. It costs time and money to run a repair biz, and if you give away all your secrets you can't put food on the table and someone might hurt themselves or ruin their equipment and blame you since you showed them. I think finding that balance and knowing who can benefit from your knowledge and who can't. Some folks are all left handed screwdrivers you know?
Как у вас все просто ремонтируется и диагностируется. Можно подумать со стороны что любой овощь отремонтирует . Это постановочное видео и это хреново. На самом деле если сдохнет силовой транзистор в этом балласт, то в цепях управления происходит Сталинград. И выносит микросхему драйвера, транзисторы сборки и кучу рассыпухи на плате драйвера osram. Если сдохнет мостовой ключ, то Сталинград в его цепях управления. Ещё 2 драйвера, и транзисторы сборки. И это если микроконтроллера не сдохнет. Я при ремонте менял по 20-30позиций в этих схемах. Зачем морочить зрителям голову?
Иногда это невозможно исправить. Я видел, как многие водители умирали без возможности восстановления. Мое видео предлагает варианты, а не обещает. да, удача - это то, что помогает. Я хотел бы большего.
Any way you could message me? I have a few unique things going on; and I believe you could help me get mine back in action simply. I just need a max of 4 questions answered. And I have faith. Please help me FixitFrank!
Dumb Question of the day: Will my multimeter shock me or it trying to measure 400ish DV Volts?? Is there any other way to test the heat sensor by spec’d ohms, and possibly other ways to determine the ballast’s status w/o blowing up or having to follow the chipboard mosfet 3 pins? When I check continuity either color lead can be reversed at any time… I understand the diode test, but not how you confirmed the mosfets. Wouldn’t the test leads essentially be interchangeable b/c the only importance is on each pins readings w one another? I don’t get the backwards. I have a feeling the answers right in front of me; so someone please point it out; and Thank You!!
