Hey everyone. The past december I bought an HD80 on sale for $1500 canadian (it was on sale through an online provider, so cheap I had to!) anyway since then its been fine. But lately I am having a problem and now I cannot even use it. After turning it on, a minute later it goes off and the red lamp light comes on. Unplugging it and restarting it is the only way to power it on again but it just keeps doing the same thing. I have read that other people have had similar problems but could not find any solutions. My bulb only has 746 hrs on it and I heard people say the timer is slow so maybe 1000? Still the bulb has been in low mode since I got it so it should last longer. Could it be another issue. Should I open up the bulb door and wiggle it around to see if that will help lol? This really sucks and I remember this projector having a 2 year warranty and 1 year on bulb am I correct? Anyway any suggestions or help would be appreciated. Thanks, Josh

First thing I would try is a new lamp. If the lamp were weak, it would allow the projector to fire up but could not maintain the lamp and then shut down. I know what you're saying about the life, but lamp life is a crap shoot. Just because the specs say you should get x hours, doesn't mean you will. I've seen lamps get 1/2 their life, some go beyond their life, it's all over the place.

Try to reseat the bulb. If that doesn't work since you're still under warranty why not get a RMA and send it in?

Hope its the bulb. My 803 was doing that last year and it turned out to be a bad mainboard. It just started doing that again and I'm awaiting a new RMA for it now.

Hope you have better luck that I did!

Can someone explain to me the RMA procedure....I looked at it on the site but it looks confusing...what is the form for, shipping label? Thanks Josh

An RMA is the manufacturer giving you the okay to send your projector in for service and assigning it a reference number that the projector will be tied when it comes in. That number will will have all the pertinent information about the projector. Most manufacturers will refuse a return without it. Not sure why you found it confusing, just follow the instructions....

RMA Procedure
1. Fill out the RMA form entirely.
2. Provide proof of purchases w/RMA form
3. Upon receipt of your info, the RMA# will be assigned to you within one business day.
4. Label box w/RMA # assigned for shipping to Optoma for service
5.Track RMA progress via RMA status tracking

This is from Optoma's website under support. When you click on the RMA link, it will pull up the form. Print it, fill it out, send it in and wait for them to send you the RMA number, THEN you can send the projector in.

Sounds like the bulb lost it. Almost starting and then shuting off after 3 tries or more means the bulb gave up the ghost. Damn Phillips

You can still get lucky and have a bulb go for several thousand hours, so hang in there.

I just got an repair status cost form send in an email from optoma just now saying its the bulb that went and that its going to cost me $524.99...then they sent another attachment for credit card info...what the heck..theres supposed to be a 1 year warranty on this bulb and 2 years projector....and that bulb could be found cheaper somewhere else too...jeeze

Hi All,

Could you please help me to find a resolution to a similar issue with Optoma HD8000. After turning it on it goes off a few minutes later and the red lamp light comes on. Unplugging it and restarting it is the only way to power it on again but it just keeps doing the same thing. I thought that my bulb was bad even though it only had 800 hrs. Therefore, I changed the bulb got a new Philips bulb last week, similar to the original one. It worked find for a few days and then again the projector goes off and the red lamp light comes on. It cleaned the fans and grill with air duster but it still shutdown. Any advice or suggestion? overheating? mainboard?

Ludo

The lamp CANNOT be replaced with a "SIMILAR" one. It MUST be replaced the EXACT lamp specified by the mfr. A "SIMILAR" lamp can have different operating parameters and give you the same problems. My guess from what you're reporting is that your old lamp is too weak to maintain "fire" and the new "SIMILAR" does not meet the design specifications that your projector is looking for and it is detecting that as an error and shutting down.

When you replace the lamp with the correct one, then come back if you still have problems. But if you do, then you probably have projector problems that will require factory repair. But the only way to tell is to test with the CORRECT lamp.


Hi All,

Could you please help me to find a resolution to a similar issue with Optoma HD8000. After turning it on it goes off a few minutes later and the red lamp light comes on. Unplugging it and restarting it is the only way to power it on again but it just keeps doing the same thing. I thought that my bulb was bad even though it only had 800 hrs. Therefore, I changed the bulb got a new Philips bulb last week, similar to the original one. It worked find for a few days and then again the projector goes off and the red lamp light comes on. It cleaned the fans and grill with air duster but it still shutdown. Any advice or suggestion? overheating? mainboard?

Ludo

What i meant by "Similar" is that I bought the original bulb used by the manufacturer. It is a 300W Philips bulb.

Okay, as long as you bought the correct OEM lamp as specified by your particular make/model of projector, and nothing changes, then you have a problem with the projector. Do you have the manual? Which lamp is turning Red?