hello, I do not post much here because I have been really happy with my ae2000u set up from projector people. The picture is fantastic. It has been up for a few months without problems, until now. The bulb has maybe 100 hours on it, but I have not checked to make sure. I don't think it is a bulb problem, but I could be wrong as this is my first projector. The other day I was watching something and then the picture went black. The projector turned it self off and the lamp indicator started flashing. I thought great! the bulb popped without sound. I shut everything else down and called it a night in frustration. The next day my wife wanted to watch one of her programs and it fired up without problems , so the bulb is not blown if it still projects a picture, right? This morning I tried to fire it up again and then it would shut down after a few minutes of projecting a picture, just like the other night. What seems to be going on? It was perfectly fine up until a few days ago and nothing has changed in the room or setup. Please help thanks, John

Have you tried cleaning the filter? I don't own the unit you have but an awful lot of them overheat and shut down when the filter is dirty. Is it in a place that blocks airflow? They need to be able to get lots of cooling air. If these things don't help read the troubleshooting section in the manual or call PP. It's under warranty.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

I just cleaned the filter, because I thought it maybe that. The temp indicator light never came on though so I don't think the bulb was to hot. Actually, it couldn't have been like I said, I turned it on this morning and no more then 3min the picture went black. It is ceiling mounted without anything else around it to block air flow. I unplugged it and will power it up later today and hope this is just a fluke and goes away. It is frustrating because it is fairly new still. I was more worried about dust blobs then anything. I will call Projector people if this happens again. Now I get to hear the wife all weekend about how a flat panel wouldn't have gone out like this....... great!

I just cleaned the filter, because I thought it maybe that. The temp indicator light never came on though so I don't think the bulb was to hot. Actually, it couldn't have been like I said, I turned it on this morning and no more then 3min the picture went black. It is ceiling mounted without anything else around it to block air flow. I unplugged it and will power it up later today and hope this is just a fluke and goes away. It is frustrating because it is fairly new still. I was more worried about dust blobs then anything. I will call Projector people if this happens again. Now I get to hear the wife all weekend about how a flat panel wouldn't have gone out like this....... great!



if u end up taking it down from the ceiling, try running it sitting on a shelf right side up, see if it makes any difference.

edit-i deleted possible hdmi cable issues as they wouldnt cause a shutdown, afaik.

just some ideas.

Ok I may try that if nothing else seems to work. I do not know why a hdmi would shut it down though. The HDMI I use is a 1.3a Category 2 Certified CL2 Rated (In-Wall Installation) Cable (22AWG) from monoprice. It seems like a very good cable. I will keep changing out the HDMI in mind though.

has anyone ever had this happen before, and if so, what was the cause or fix? thanks, John

You may have an intermitant short (or open?) in the filament. That is not a good thing. But I assume that with only 100 hours the PJ is new enough that the bulb might still be under warranty. This sounds like the PJ will be taking a trip soon....

I don't see how changing the input cables will make much difference, but try every thing.

It is remotely possible that your bulb is not making good contact somewhere and as it heats up slightly it just opens up. Don't know that you can check that. I usually take the bulb out (without touching the bulb itself with your fingers--wear gloves) and reinstall it. If that doesn't help there isn't a whole lot else. It could be an electronic problem beyond the users ability to fix like a faulty power supply.

now im wondering, could the pj shut itself off if the hdmi/component cable stopped transmission of sources image?

if no signal present, my lcd flat panel shuts itself off. as to my panny pj, dont know, issue hasnt happened yet.

Can anyone say AX100U?
Does anyone think this could be happening again?

For those don't know, there was a problem with this model where the iris had a lubricant that would dried out due to heat. It would shut off the projector and the only way you power it back up is by turning off the power switch on the back of the projector. Heartland will fix it if it's under warranty. You just have to pay $40 to ship it in. Let's hope this isn't the case! I think there was a huge percentage that had to be returned. They even extended the warranty to 18 months just because of the problem.

well , I called projector people and they told me it sounds like a bulb problem and want me to purchase a new one because mine is out of the 90 day window. So even though it will project an image and then shut down after a few minutes of play, they say it is the bulb. Does this sound like a bulb issue? what are the odds of the new bulb going out again before the end of the year? I could deal with changing the bulb out every 1000 or so hours but not every few hundred. mine has less then 100.... I would never hear the end of it from my other half.

So even though it will project an image and then shut down after a few minutes of play, they say it is the bulb. Does this sound like a bulb issue? what are the odds of the new bulb going out again before the end of the year?Exact same thing happened on my JVC RS1 with 97 hours on the lamp. It's happened to others with RS1, VW50, VW60, etc. Mine was in warranty, but JVC and Sony have sent free lamps to others a few months out of warranty. Try calling Panasonic service to see if they think the lamp is the problem, and if they'll give you a free or discounted lamp.

--Dan

Thanks! I will try that tomorrow and see what they say.

To follow up on Drew300's post, you might want to look some of the threads regarding the Panny AX-100. A couple of them are "PT-AX-100 Problem?" and "PT-AX100 Iris Problem Poll." I'd give you the URLs rather than the titles, but unfortunately this is my first post and members can't embed URLs until after a few posts. Bottom line: Your problem sounds similar to that reported in these threads, and users reported it starting after anywhere from a few hours to a several hundred hours of use. My own AX-100 just started doing this repeatedly 3 days ago (230 hours on the lamp). Takes one power off reboot to get the lamp to stay on, but this may worsen over time. It's disappointing to hear that it's happening with the ae2000u, though of course the cause could be different. Hopefully it's not common and you'll be able to get it resolved.

well I am not sure what is happening to my projector. I will take a look at those threads and see if they came up with something to fix. I just looked at my bulb again and it looks new. It is still very glossy, no discoloration to it. The projector is as clean as a whistle. I just really do not think it is a bulb problem. I turned the projector back on and the picture looked great as it always has, brite, vibrant colors then it goes black after a minute of displaying a picture. I just don't get why porjector people insist it is a bulb problem. I tried to email panasonic and have not recieved anything back , so I don't know. maybe I will call projector people tomorrow and see if I can send them my projector for them to look at so they can see what it is doing. This is my first projector so I am not sure what a bad bulb looks like ( one that has not popped) but I assume it does not look like a new bulb. You should be able to tell the difference right? could this be just a bulb problem? anyone have any ideas on who I should contact. I have family coming in a few weeks and I really would like this up and running before they get here.

A company called Heartland (in Kansas, I think) seems to be the place where a lot of AVS members send their Pannys for repair. My Google search didn't yield a clear hit, but if you go through some of the ax-100 threads I mentioned in my previous post you might come across someone who posted a phone number for Heartland. Alternatively (maybe you've done this already), go to the Panasonic home page on the web and click the link for "Support". Once on that page, click the link for "service centers" and you'll then be asked to enter your model and zip code, and it should turn up a service center with a phone number than you can call. From my zip code (Seattle) it turned up a center in northern California (not Heartland).
Beyond that, I'm out of suggestions, but good luck.

I just looked at my bulb again and it looks new. It is still very glossy, no discoloration to it. The projector is as clean as a whistle. I just really do not think it is a bulb problem. I turned the projector back on and the picture looked great as it always has, brite, vibrant colors then it goes black after a minute of displaying a picture. I just don't get why porjector people insist it is a bulb problem.As I said before, that's EXACTLY the symptoms my RS1 had. The picture never dimmed, flickered, or looked wrong in any way. The pj would just shutdown after 1-1/2 hours, then 1 hour, then 45 minutes, and eventually after 3 minutes every time. So far, 8 hours on the new bulb and no shutdowns...

--Dan

Instable lamps can defiently cause shut downs. I have seen quite a few times now.

Bets of luck with it for sure.

well I spoke with panasonic today and they seem to think that it is an iris problem and not the bulb. So it will be off to heartland for service. Hopefully this will be squared away fast and I will be up and running again soon. My projector came out of the first batch from projector people back in november just incase anyone was wondering. I have been working on my theater so, The hours are very low. Anyhow, hopefully this problem does not happen to anyone else, and I am the only unlucky one. Thanks for all the comments. I will keep you updated when the projector returns.