hey guys, today my projector started to randomly flash random colors. i believe it is flashing RGB. its a huge blow, i am college student who goes to school for audio and video... i have no money to fix this, i lost me receipt for best buy so i dont have the proof of purchase for the warranty.. now there is a weird black spot in the bottom of the screen almost as is if there was something inside it blocking, like a dust glob. could that dust glob be messing with the dlp chip, when i give it some tough love it stops flashing the colors for a few seconds, only to continue again. any ideas fellas?

hey guys, today my projector started to randomly flash random colors. i believe it is flashing RGB. its a huge blow, i am college student who goes to school for audio and video... i have no money to fix this, i lost me receipt for best buy so i dont have the proof of purchase for the warranty.. now there is a weird black spot in the bottom of the screen almost as is if there was something inside it blocking, like a dust glob. could that dust glob be messing with the dlp chip, when i give it some tough love it stops flashing the colors for a few seconds, only to continue again. any ideas fellas?

I would use your warranty with Optoma first before ever contacting BestBuy.

i did, they said there was nothing they could do without verifying warranty

Have you contacted Best Buy to see if they can give you a copy of your receipt?

yes, they told me they couldnt pull the record up, i have since gotten new cards for my bank account so that method of looking up the purchase was gone immediately. i tried everything, my phone number, my name. so i am SOL.

yes, they told me they couldnt pull the record up, i have since gotten new cards for my bank account so that method of looking up the purchase was gone immediately. i tried everything, my phone number, my name. so i am SOL.

Did you pay cash?

You should have a statement from any card used. I would then contact Best Buy corporate offices, not your local store, and ask them why the local store is unable and unwilling to recreate the purchase records for your PJ. With the date of the purchase on your statement, Optoma should be able to go ahead and help you as well.

Well, i will try the corporate office. but i closed the one account out that i bought the projector with. so i am out of luck fully on the warranty issue. i am going to plead my case to them. For now im just seeing if anyone has had this error. should i open it up, i open all types of things up that are expensive, but its part of my course. electric tech 101, plus i deal with these sorts of things on a larger scale, moving light color wheels.

I find it hard to believe that you can't locate the old credit card#. If you're still using the same CC company you can call them and they'll give you the old account number.

Well, i will try the corporate office. but i closed the one account out that i bought the projector with. so i am out of luck fully on the warranty issue. i am going to plead my case to them. For now im just seeing if anyone has had this error. should i open it up, i open all types of things up that are expensive, but its part of my course. electric tech 101, plus i deal with these sorts of things on a larger scale, moving light color wheels.

You are not out of luck even if you closed the account it was bought with. Did you throw out your statements? Call the card issuer, they can look it up.

The flashing colors typically means the color wheel or controller circuit is going bad.

Giving a PJ tough love is a bad idea.

No rewards card? Get one. :)

I am pretty sure they can pull up any and all invoices for me on the Rewards card number.

well guys, i opened up the projector and the flickering is coming from the lamp department. when it flickers, its the bulb area that is going haywire. the color wheel is spinning extremely fast like it supposed to (ok not extremely fast but you get the idea) Could it be the bulb. now its not doing it, it did it for a second after i put it back together but i dont know if its fixed. the bulb has 400 hours on it, it shouldnt be bad. but i am thinking if i buy another bulb that might fix the problem. but its clearly the bulb flickering.

No, the lamp will not cause your projector to flash random colors. You need to get it repaired.

No, the lamp will not cause your projector to flash random colors. You need to get it repaired.

Too late now. I think there was something he wasn't telling us that would preclude him from getting it repaired under warranty. Probably the "tough love" treatment. I can't think of any other reason to insist on trying to fix it himself and then just cracking it open after everything we said.

Just sad.

Yeah, the whole issue about the proof of purchase doesn't pass the smell test...or maybe that's just my shoes. Oh well - Frito Feet never killed anyone. :)

guys, i did what you told me to. this wasnt the first time i called them they simply would not honor they're warranty. i called bb corporate and everything. thats why i opened it up.

guys, i did what you told me to. this wasnt the first time i called them they simply would not honor they're warranty. i called bb corporate and everything. thats why i opened it up.
Although companies like bb can be difficult, i find it unlikely that your efforts would turnup nothing.
However, since you've already opened the thing up you might as well try to fix the correct thing. As stated, the only thing that would cause alternating colors, like you describe, would be the color wheel unit or the main board that drives the color wheel. I would think that if it were the circuit board, you'd notice other strange issues. Along with this, if your "tough love" involves anything physical, and that did fix it temporarily, it shows it is a physical moving part issue.
This leaves us with two choices, the color wheel sensor, or the color wheel itself. The color wheel has a black strip on the side of the motor, this is where a sensor is attached to the color wheel so that it can track when the black strip passes it. If the bearings in the color wheel are going bad then the motor may skip/spin unevenly every once in a while (or a lot depending on the severity). If the sensor is going bad, it would lead to the color wheel controller driving the motor incorrectly which may also lead to it falling out of sync. These are the parts i'd checkout.

guys, i did what you told me to. this wasnt the first time i called them they simply would not honor they're warranty. i called bb corporate and everything. thats why i opened it up.

No offence, but the whole thing smells to me. You lose a recipt, and happened to close the old account. Best buy cannot pull your recipt... etc... Sounds like the Titanic sequence before it sank.

Having worked at Best buy years ago, I know they can pull any purchase within the last 45 days.

Regardless, your projector is now a throwaway, especially after you opened it. Optoma will not touch it now.

guys your suspicions are as great as mine. i bought this legally, and i lost the receipt. but it was a while ago i am starting to think i paid cash. because i sold my vizio for 500 bucks to help buy it. the Tough Love part i should have clarified. i know not to hurt a projector, so my tough love consisted of taps to the top of the case. think of ace ventura 2 when he is in the rhino tapping the fan that went out (yes i made an ace ventura movie reference) but this warranty thing was out of my hands. i just don't have the proof that i purchased it. the projector is acting fine though! no problems. would a dust glob interfere with the color wheel at all or anything. lol quit giving me **** guys, i am not stupid, i wouldn't open a projector and void the warranty if i had a choice.:)

Did the PJ "fall off the back of a truck" so to speak?

nope. it started doing this a few days ago. every since i bought this, it has been mounter on my ceiling.

I think he's asking how you got it - it sounds like he's doubting the fact that you bought it at Best Buy...

guys your suspicions are as great as mine. ... lol quit giving me **** guys, i am not stupid, i wouldn't open a projector and void the warranty if i had a choice.:)

Where's the fun in that? :D:D

Sorry you didn't get in a war with Best Buy though. I had to bitch slap them around for about a month to get my 32" crt tv replaced on their wonderful warranty. Got my 32" Sony Trinitron out of that deal. The manager of the store takes the hit when you bring in expensive broken stuff so they will do everything they can to get out of taking it back.

Take a look on ebay for a broken HD65 and maybe cannibalize it for parts.

AND, next time you better lock up those receipts!

i bought it, with cash though is my conclusion. i dont steal, i am just bad with receipts and keeping records of important things :(

I bought it, with cash though is my conclusion.

I learned that lesson the hard way myself...

Does the menu screen by itself do the color flashing?

While you had it open did you try to vacuum the dark blotch?

yes the menu does it, and when there is nothing plugged into the av source (when its scanning for an input) but even when there is an image it does it. although i had it on for 6 hours after i put it back together and it did it only for a second then i had 6 good hours of use. i popped the cover off when it started doing it again at the end of the 6 hours before i turned it off, only when i took the cover off did the random flashes stop. could heat be a problem? where do i vacuum? i didnt see any dust globs between the color wheel and the area where the light transfers into the dlp chip and sealed optic area. the blotch used to be in the corner of the screen. now its on the top middle. not really in the way, but its there. ill take a pic at night tonight to give you a better idea

Please avoid vacuums, makes me cringe every time someone suggests vacuuming the inside of their electronics. Conventional vacuums can buildup a large static charge, that if near sensitive electronics (circuit boards) could very well damage any one of the circuits.
If you want to vacuum, buy an electronic vacuum, these don't have the same charge problem.
Canned air is preferred imo, as long as you avoid spraying out the liquid gas.

well you guys, how could the glob have gotten into the sealed optics. nvm the part about it shifting, if i was to put the projector back on its mount, back to the original screen size i had, the blob would be on the left hand side. now that the image is smaller it took up more of the screen, but hey if this is the only thing wrong, i cant complain

well you guys, how could the glob have gotten into the sealed optics. nvm the part about it shifting, if i was to put the projector back on its mount, back to the original screen size i had, the blob would be on the left hand side. now that the image is smaller it took up more of the screen, but hey if this is the only thing wrong, i cant complain
Can you give us a picture of this "blob"? It may not even be a blob, could possibly be a mirror shifted if its large enough.

sorry guys for the picture quality, its from an iphone. i dont have a digital camera

Please avoid vacuums, makes me cringe every time someone suggests vacuuming the inside of their electronics. Conventional vacuums can buildup a large static charge, that if near sensitive electronics (circuit boards) could very well damage any one of the circuits.
If you want to vacuum, buy an electronic vacuum, these don't have the same charge problem.
Canned air is preferred imo, as long as you avoid spraying out the liquid gas.

Any kind of air movement, in or out, creates static under the right conditions. A bulb syringe or other manual type device is what should be used. Compressed air is notorious for causing more damage than it fixes in the hands of most users.

Any kind of air movement, in or out, creates static under the right conditions. A bulb syringe or other manual type device is what should be used. Compressed air is notorious for causing more damage than it fixes in the hands of most users.
Of course, even rubbing your hand on it can create a static charge... but its the amount that matters, and vacuums create a lot more of it. And i agree, if the user mishandles canned air and sprays the liquid gas out, it can ruin the first surface mirrors and other optics. However, the available tools that could do the same job are often lacking in most peoples arsenal. Sometimes its use is out of necessity. But if you have a bulb air blower like those for cameras, i'd definitely recommend that over canned air, much safer.

well everyone things with the projector tookj another turn for the worse.. so its been over a week since my last post on this topic, my projector was running fine until today. last night i watched tv on it while working on a project. then i get up late this morning, finished working and tried to turn my projector on with no luck.. the red light doesnt even come on. ive tried more than one outlet there is a weird quiet clicking sound coming from what sounds like the PS area. can anyone tell me what just happened. i am about to throw this in the trash

It sounds like you need to get it repaired. :)

it will cost more than buying a new one

I never said it'd be cost effective...

haha yeah i know. well people on this forum, take it from me. dont use a projector as your only tv. well at least not an optoma projector!

haha yeah i know. well people on this forum, take it from me. dont use a projector as your only tv. well at least not an optoma projector!
Maybe just the hd65. I used my optoma hd70 as a tv and all is still well, though i upgraded to the hc3000. But it too is being used as my main display.

I don't think there's any problem with using it as a regular TV as long as you make sure you have a warranty on it. You can get a lot of usage out of it in a year...

Found the cause. The surge protector is to blame. My apple MacBook pros ps makes the same clicking sound and suddenly does not work. I called the company and they made me fill out a warranty. I told the lady what happened and she said that most likely they are going to replace it. LOL so much for warranty fixing the glob on the screen

So based on this:

Found the cause. The surge protector is to blame. My apple MacBook pros ps makes the same clicking sound and suddenly does not work. I called the company and they made me fill out a warranty. I told the lady what happened and she said that most likely they are going to replace it. LOL so much for warranty fixing the glob on the screen

I guess you'll be taking your Optoma bashing back?

haha yeah i know. well people on this forum, take it from me. dont use a projector as your only tv. well at least not an optoma projector!

Found the cause. The surge protector is to blame. My apple MacBook pros ps makes the same clicking sound and suddenly does not work. I called the company and they made me fill out a warranty. I told the lady what happened and she said that most likely they are going to replace it. LOL so much for warranty fixing the glob on the screen

In the future, anytime you need to perform diagnostics be sure to run signal cables directly to your PJ and not through a receiver and be sure to plug your PJ power cord directly into the wall and a separate circuit wall outlet as well to properly isolate the actual problem.

This message is for the benefit of anyone reading this post in the future.

^ Also, never pay cash for a projector and toss your receipt!

So based on this:

I guess you'll be taking your Optoma bashing back?

I'll second that motion!