I feel like there is a noticebale "green push" with the new engine that wasn't there before. Why would that be? Isn't the calibration linked to the fw, not the engine? Or is it all inter-related?

Your User Name said:
I had the high-pitched whine coming from my color wheel and had the optical engine replaced.That's really too bad, since your PQ is now screwed up. All the repairman had to do to correct the noise from the color wheel was replace the color wheel assembly. That part costs $102, vs. over a thousand for the whole light engine. :(

Two days ago the authorized Samsung repairman was out for the second time in a month. If you've been following above, the first was to fix the color wheel's high pitched noise. They accomplished this by replacing the entire optical engine. Shortly after this I started having trouble turning the unit on and often would get the dreaded three blinking lights. So back the repairman came, this time to replace the optical engina again AND the power supply. We tested it. Turning the set on and off several times. Success! No high pitched whine and the set seemed to be turning on and off normally. Well, twenty four hours later, I'm back to the same problem. The set doesn't want to turn on normally and I often end up with the three blinking lights. I have had two power supplies and three optical engines in this thing and still I have this problem. Am I just unlucky? Is there another issue that could be causing this that the repairman doesn't seem to realize? Any help is much appreciated.

Originally posted by Your User Name:
Am I just unlucky?

Yes. :(

Is there another issue that could be causing this that the repairman doesn't seem to realize?

Probably not unless there are major problems with power failures in your area and you haven't noticed. :rolleyes:

Ask Samsung if it's time to replace the set.

Well the repairman is contacting Samsung to see what they want to do next, but he thinks they will want to try another power supply, bringing the tally to:

- 3 Optical engines
- 3 Power supplies

Originally posted by Your User Name:
Well the repairman is contacting Samsung to see what they want to do next, but he thinks they will want to try another power supply, bringing the tally to:

- 3 Optical engines
- 3 Power supplies
If their next attempt doesn't work I would want to talk to Samsung myself. If it does work I would want to talk to them about extending the warranty from the date of the first "good" repair.

Originally posted by htwaits
If their next attempt doesn't work I would want to talk to Samsung myself. If it does work I would want to talk to them about extending the warranty from the date of the first "good" repair.

Excellent point about extending the warranty. Thanks!

Originally posted by Your User Name:
Excellent point about extending the warranty. Thanks!
They have already spent more on your set than you have so I assume they want to make you into a happy customer. I'd be surprised if they weren't responsive to that suggestion. If the first level doesn't have the power move up the "food chain". Good luck.

It's in the repairman's interest to keep replacing things in your set. It's in Samsung's interest to stop the bleeding.

As for extending the warranty, please tell me how that goes.

But a warranty extension would be of no consequnce in my case, although my set was replaced with a newer model (an HLN507, wonderful service from Samsung!) 'cause I bought the extended warranty (Repairmaster) offered by TV Authority.

The way the Repairmaster warranty works is that it covers years 2 through 5, overlapping any 3-month extension granted by Samsung. For three months I could've used either warranty, I suppose, but I chose to use Samsung's.

Well, I just voted "yes" on the three blinking lights syndrome poll & it
looks like I'm one of many...

It started having the problem very seldom (once weekly) in April
but got more frequent in early May. Called Samsung & got the number
for a local authorized repair shop. The technician tells me since it's an
intermittent problem he'll have to bring it to the shop. A week later I drop
by the shop & I'm told the tech (there are a few) is not present & that
he would call me in the next couple of days.

By the second week (no call from tech yet) I call & I'm told tech is not
present again. Girl can't tell me the status w/ tv either. Next day I drop
by shop & tech tells me tv is being tested (turned on) for a couple of days
make sure it's working fine. After notifying him the problem was starting it,
he turns it off for a minute & turns it back on no problem. I inquired about
what was the problem & he tells me "there were some internal
adjustments made" & something about a voltage or power regulator.

I'll know in the next few weeks if it was fixed correctly & STARTING UP
LIKE A $3.5K TV SHOULD. What I already know is where not to take it
if it isn't. I'll post results.

Originally posted by Lakesidex
Wow I just saw this. Sorry so late.

My problem was recurring until I figured it out.

I think there is a short somewhere.

When I push in a component cable the TV shorts out. Then a single green lamp light blinks.

With 1 set of component cables plugged in, either component 2 or 3, my HLN61 would not start. Again, just a single green lamp light blinking.

Try turning on the TV with no component cables.

If that dosn't work I would power up the tv, press in the red component cable then pull it out a couple of times.

I don't know if this is wise advise but since I had no real warranty I didn't have much to lose.

Good luck!

Thank you very much!! But the problem still exist!The TV has nothing connected,but the green lamp light blinking,nothing displayed!!

HLN5065 returned today from shop. Driver + helper hook it up.
It starts up no problem. Fine. After they leave I change the electric plug
from wall to UPS. Fails to start & the three lights come on.... change back
to wall outlet & it fails too. Also notice minute scratch I missed when
it was delivered. Mad as hell now. Called Samsung twice (after 6PM)
& phone person insisted in transferring call to original rep that handled my
service call, but, he's gone for the day.

Needless to say, the dlp is not leaving the house again. Gone for 2 weeks
+ 4 days & it's working exactly the same. Service tech will have to drive
next time; one that's experienced too. Will keep reporting.

I used two different service shops, and they both made the 20-mile trek to my house, every time.

I must vote YES on the 3 blinking lights as well. Have had HLN437W 18 days and it started 9 days ago. Had service tech out today. He's had no knowledge of the set. Said he would have to contact Samsung about the unit and order parts etc. could be 2-3 weeks. Since it is still under a 30 day return from Circuit City its going back. Not sure if I will take a same unit replacement since store offered 3 other units they would replace it with, two of which are having same problems through other threads I've read here, A Sony unit & a Panasonic Unit. They also would use a Samsung HLP4663W unit. I am not sure if any of the 3 would be worth the chance and if it wouldn't be better to go back to a CRT TV.

Here's the latest. Called Samsung to see if they could set me up
w/ another shop, the rep says "give them another chance". I call the shop
to set a HOME repair appointment. Begrudgingly they accept after I said
"Ok, I'll call Samsung & have them send somebody else if you can't".

Then they failed to show up...

Called to see what happened & girl says "sorry I forgot to input it into
the system". Called Samsung again. Rep is not happy with the
service either so she puts me on hold & calls up the shop. Later I'm told
Samsung will ship a part (called "DMD" ?) to shop & shop will set
appointment. Tech shows up this time. Replaces part, aligns picture &
leaves. Fairly friendly guy as well but...

Later that day while flipping channels I change the aspect to 4:3 mode.
I comment to my wife the side edges of the picture looked a little bent;
like wide on top & bottom and narrower in the middle. I get a ruler &
sure enough; it's almost 2/16th's of an inch narrower in the middle. Also,
when watching CNBC I noticed a slight incline to the left. I switch to
ZOOM 1 & yes...the ticker is dipping a full 2/16th's by the time it's leaving
on the left edge. Again, that was in Zoom 1 mode.

Now I'm considering either having the shop try aligning it again... or
bring an ISF tech & having it calibrated as well. Anyone have an idea
how much that would cost me???

PS. Can't complain about Samsung customer service. They have been
very helpful & always courteous but it seems to me like waiting for all this
new hdtv technology to get the bugs out would have been a much
better choice.

Originally posted by chan chan
...I change the aspect to 4:3 mode. I comment to my wife the side edges of the picture looked a little bent; like wide on top & bottom and narrower in the middle. I get a ruler & sure enough; it's almost 2/16th's of an inch narrower in the middle.I believe all Sammy DLPs have this problem; at least the two I have had (a HLM507W and a HLN507W) have had the problem -- both to the same degree as you describe. I've commented on it elsewhere, where I called it "pincushion distortion."

well, i got my 50" sammy last week and yes, i've had this blinking light problem 4-5 times now. after it happened tonight i decided to search online to see if others have the problem. goddamn, i guess so... onto customer support tomorrow. god this sucks. you would think for a $3500 tv it would at least come on less than a week after you have bought it.

Purchased the 43" from Circuit City in May. 2 weeks later the 3 blinky lights started. Samsung came out and replaced the board - did nothing. CC swaped out for another TV - did nothing. At this point I am returning the TV and going to Tweeter. They [Tweeter] claim this has been fixed with the new HLN467W model. Has anyone tried the 46" and experienced this issue?

I have the HLN617 and just started experiencing this problem yesterday. This is very upsetting but so far Samsung seems willing to help.

Samsung (Steve Panosian) also officially acknowledged it as a design issue that they hadn't solved long ago. You'd think they would have figured it out by now though.

I've gotten used to both this and the rainbows. When I say "used" to them, I don't mean I just put up with it, I actually don't notice either as much any more.

Originally posted by Syzygy
I've commented on it elsewhere, where I called it "pincushion distortion."

well add the new HLP5063 model to that list. Mine just started doing this as well. I made another thread about it before I saw this. I'm getting it replaced tomorrow cause I'm fed up with this crap.

How about this one... I have a HLN467W. After shutdown, about every second or third time, the cooling fan keeps running and I can't turn the set back on unless I disconnect it from the power and let it reset. Anybody else have that problem?

bump

gshelley61,

I don't recall hearing of that problem before. Sounds like its time for a service call, or exchange, if you're still within that timeframe.

OK, thanks... I've already started the service process with Samsung.

Purchased HLP5063 thru powerbuy 5 weeks ago. 3 weeks later, 3 blinking lights started and finally cannot turn it on anymore. In manual, it is due to defective lamp. I'm waiting for local repair survice, Samsung designated.
Does anybody know what cause this? It seems an old problem from HLM.
Thanks.

I just had the same thing happen to my HLP5063 which I purchased at Sound Track in Denver. Unfortunately they do not have any in stock and have about 70 on back order. I am now contemplating on replacing with the JVC D-ILA instead. They are suppose to be getting the JVC's and more HLP's this week. I tried unplugging it a few times and finally the last time I tried after letting sit unplugged for 24hrs it booted up. It has worked fine the last couple of days. I am wondering if this maybe an issue with early builds using some older parts from the HLN's. You would think since this was a known issue with HLN's they would have it fixed prior to HLP production.

I bought my HLM437W from tweeter in November of 2002. It has worked great until last weekend. I am home watch the RedSox game in HD with the family and the TV goes black. Then the 3 blinking lights!!!!! I looked at the manual and it said it was the light. Started looking for a replacement online, first place I call had it for 199.99 but it was back ordered. Two other sites had it in stock for 357.00 and 401.00. Having a hard time putting that kind of money on my credit card if it is not even going to fix the problem.

I think I will try reseating the lamp I took out and see what happens. After reseating the lamp, has anyone not received the 3 blinking lights again?

Originally posted by Panic 66
... You would think since this was a known issue with HLN's they would have it fixed prior to HLP production. Especially since it's a known issue with HLM's too!

Grr, my HLN567W went belly up about a week ago, not starting up reliably. Then it got worse and I got the 3 lights. I think my lamp is intact and it's just the ballast, the local service tech agrees.

New assembly coming next week, hopefully it will fix it. *crosses fingers*

Add my HL-P5063 to the list....

It happened once a few weeks ago, but unplugging it fixed the problem. Now nothing will fix it. Is there a thread (or maybe somewhere in this thread) that says how to reseat the bulb? I might have missed it.

I have a HLN507W1 and had the same three blinking lights problem for the second time just a week ago. I've had the set since March and the bulb was replaced at the 250 hour mark. It was mentioned somewhere on this forum that Samsung had redesigned the ballast/bulb assembly. Sure enough, when the Samsung service guy came last week, he disassembled the entire rear of the set and replaced the entire DLP engine. It provides a more intense "kick" to the bulb to get it started, especially as it ages. Only time will tell. The bulb definitely starts up faster than it ever did before.

Directions for replacing the bulb are in the owner's manual. Reseating it means following the same steps with the existing bulb. That can help it the problem is a connection loosened in shipping.

Three blinking lights is usually solved by replacing bulb and ballast, at least on the HLP. The ballast provides the extra kick epo mentions. Replacing the light engine isn't necessary unless something else is wrong, but epos is an HLN, and that may explain the difference.

Last week, I got the 3 blinking lights on my 3 week old 46" HLP. Since I knew I'd be able to take it back to CC for an exchange, I wasn't too worried. Hearing my wife talk about how this doesn't seem like a $3k tv was almost more annoying. Took it back to CC friday night and got a new one. So far, so good but after reading all these posts I must admit to feeling some buyer's remorse. Love the picture through my Media Center PC though.

Another one bites the dust....make that 2 more. My first HLP4663 bit the dust at just over 2 weeks old....second one at start up. Third one is ok after about 2 hours of use. I made multiple trips to CC lugging this piece of crap tv back and forth yesterday. I broke down and bought the extended service - thanks for taking another hard earned $400, Samsung. I also had CC deliver the last tv ($43 more) so they can come and replace this one when it breaks. My wife also thinks I'm a moron for buying this DLP, unfortunately it's the only one that'll fit in my 44" wide spot (other than 44" LG). Just venting about my little saga. Peace

I've had my 507W-1 for about three months. I ran into the three blinking lights problem for the first time last night. Upon powering up, it sounded like the set's color wheel, or cooling fan would attempt to run, but I would hear it go off. It did this about 3 or 4 times followed by the the three blinking lights. I unplugged it 3 times, waiting as long as 8 hours to plug it back in and restart, with no luck. I removed and replaced the lamp, which upon inspection looked fine. It powered up with no problems after that. I turned it off, and was able to turn it back on with no problems. This TV has had lip synch problems, so I was going to call Samsung anyway. A local service shop called me an hour later asking about the specifics. I'm not sure they are up to speed on this set. They say they'll have the parts sometime next week. I asked for a new ballast, and the 2 board lip synch fix for the W-1. I got the feeling I knew more about these problems than they did.

We'll see. I hope this isn't a saga.

I had 3 blinking lights last weekend on my HLN437W. The set is 11 months old. I don't know how many hours are on the bulb, maybe 2500. I called for service thru my Circuit City protection plan. I think my call was outsourced to India. They said the earliest appointment is this Friday and I will be called between 7-9am for scheduling. I tried all the previous suggestion's about unplugging and waiting up to 8 hours, re-seating the bulb etc with no results. No picture, no sound. If the bulb goes out why would I also loose sound? Anyhow hoping for an easy fix on Friday.

Wow. Sometimes it sucks to be on the bleeding edge. However, a third generation product should have the bugs worked out. Most of these issues have been around since the HLM. As much as I love the picture of the set, I must say Samsung's QC is abominable. If the problem is as widespread as it seems, they should be contacting everyone to recall/replace the ballast/bulb. Seems like they do that for every service call and most people are ok after that.
I'd like to know how everyone's story progresses.
As for me, my second HLP is doing fine after two weeks. Hope it still is after a lot longer than 11 months!

Here's my story (which I think I told part of earlier in the thread):

I had problems with the color wheel making noise and called Samsung and they had their local service guys come out and fix it. Well, they didn't just replace the color wheel, they replaced most the interior of the set, including thr optical engine. Note that before this service I never had any issues with the three blinking lights. But, soon after this service, the set had trouble powering up. Must be a bad optical engine, thought Samsung. So back came the tech to replace the optical engine again. It worked for about a month with no problems and then *poof* same problem. Back they came to replace the optical engine. I am now on my fourth optical engine and still have the same problem. Yesterday I called Samsung and told them enough of this, it obviously isn't the optical engine; no one's luck is THAT bad. I told them I want to start over; I want a new set. Now I am waiting for word which they say will come no later than tomorrow.

Does anyone have a trick to get the set to fire up in the meantime? Is removing and reinstallling the lamp the best bet?

ETA: BTW, I have a HLN507w.

ETA2: I pulled the lamp out and reinstalled it and the set fired right up. I STILL want a new set.

Originally posted by stretch522
Wow. Sometimes it sucks to be on the bleeding edge. However, a third generation product should have the bugs worked out. Most of these issues have been around since the HLM. As much as I love the picture of the set, I must say Samsung's QC is abominable. If the problem is as widespread as it seems, they should be contacting everyone to recall/replace the ballast/bulb. Seems like they do that for every service call and most people are ok after that.
I'd like to know how everyone's story progresses.
As for me, my second HLP is doing fine after two weeks. Hope it still is after a lot longer than 11 months!

If you don't have a picture, why do you need sound?? :rolleyes: :D

Originally posted by ProudDaddy
Another one bites the dust....make that 2 more. My first HLP4663 bit the dust at just over 2 weeks old....second one at start up. Third one is ok after about 2 hours of use. I made multiple trips to CC lugging this piece of crap tv back and forth yesterday. I broke down and bought the extended service - thanks for taking another hard earned $400, Samsung. I also had CC deliver the last tv ($43 more) so they can come and replace this one when it breaks. My wife also thinks I'm a moron for buying this DLP, unfortunately it's the only one that'll fit in my 44" wide spot (other than 44" LG). Just venting about my little saga. Peace

Why do you keep getting a new one?!!? Isn't it obvious that there's a problem with these sets in general? I had one and got a replacement from CC and then I called Samsung. They came 2 days after I called with a new DLP engine and the problems' resolved as well as a much better PQ, performance.

Here's my thread on it:

http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=12174

FYI...another user on AVSForum EricScott after exchanging several private messages with me also had his DLP engine replaced, here's his experience. Again, I highly recommend this to EVERYONE who has a Samsung 63 series.


The PQ is definitely better - just brighter and crisper overall. Discovery HD looked better than it ever has.

Overall I am thrilled with the upgrade and couldn't be more pleased or impressed with Samsung's technical support.

Thanks again for the suggestion.

Eric

Add my set to the list. I got HLP5063 on 8/5. Its a 6/2004 model. It started developing the 3 blinking lights problem about a month later. I was able to turn it on after several tries. It just happened again today. I call CC. They are sending someone out to look at it next Thursday. I can no longer recommand this set to my friends now. very disappointing..

Lesson to be learned (which I have preached many times in this forum): At least try to insist on them replacing only the parts that are broken. If you have a good optical engine, why replace it? It is a little tougher labor wise, but it should be made up by being much less expense in parts.

You risk geometry issues and bad mirrors besides what you experienced.

Originally posted by Your User Name:
Well, they didn't just replace the color wheel, they replaced most the interior of the set, including thr optical engine. Note that before this service I never had any issues with the three blinking lights.

Originally posted by Your User Name:
Here's my story (which I think I told part of earlier in the thread):

I had problems with the color wheel making noise and called Samsung and they had their local service guys come out and fix it. Well, they didn't just replace the color wheel, they replaced most the interior of the set, including thr optical engine. Note that before this service I never had any issues with the three blinking lights. But, soon after this service, the set had trouble powering up. Must be a bad optical engine, thought Samsung. So back came the tech to replace the optical engine again. It worked for about a month with no problems and then *poof* same problem. Back they came to replace the optical engine. I am now on my fourth optical engine and still have the same problem. Yesterday I called Samsung and told them enough of this, it obviously isn't the optical engine; no one's luck is THAT bad. I told them I want to start over; I want a new set. Now I am waiting for word which they say will come no later than tomorrow.

Does anyone have a trick to get the set to fire up in the meantime? Is removing and reinstallling the lamp the best bet?

ETA: BTW, I have a HLN507w.

ETA2: I pulled the lamp out and reinstalled it and the set fired right up. I STILL want a new set.

UPDATE: Samsung is replacing my HLN507w with an HLP5063w. Within the next two weeks a delivery person will swap out the sets free of charge. I am very happy with this result.

Interesting username, Your User Name:.

Thanks for the update YUN.
MY HLP has a whiney color-wheel. I just passed the 30-day mark so I am not returning it. My wife would probably insist on a different tv anyway. She really wants something we can hang on the wall. I run my Windows MCE through the Sammy and I think it's the best one for MCE.
It kind of seems like this one may not be as sharp or bright as my first one, but it may just be me being over-analytical after my experience with my first one. The family isn't complaining and DVD's still look awesome. I have the extended warranty, so I figure I'll just wait to get the innards swapped until I either get 3BL or something else goes wrong.

Originally posted by stretch522
MY HLP has a whiney color-wheel.

:eek: Oh no, that's what started all this for me in the first place. :fingers crossed:

That whiny color wheel may start sounding like a buzz saw before too long; mine did. When it was making its noise, you could hear it all over the house. Turned out to be a bad bearing.

Here's my long story. Bought a HLN467W a little more that a year ago. Problem occurs sporatically, but tends to cluster. Most of the time, I could get the set on with repeated (sometimes) power cycling, but in July the set was dead for consecutive days. Called for Warranty repair.

As soon as tech arrives, the unit powers up. I fought with him over the phone, but he was in the "I can't reproduce the problem" mode. I refuse to let him take the unit away.

Almost Three weeks ago, the lamp will not fire, no matter how much power cycling, lamp reseating, Leaving it unplugged for hours/days, voodoo doll stabbing, chanting, or other superstitious attemps. Call Samsung, referencing the earlier "unresolved" ticket. Seems to be a question of when the warranty started/stopped. I pointed out that the problem was never fixed before, plus registering online was supposed to extend my warranty by three months. It was not a contentious call, but the phone rep said he'd need to escalate.

After several other phone exchanges and waiting, we finally get a tech scheduled after about 16 days from initial attempt (we insist on a different service company). Still checking periodically to see if the unit will fire, it will not. The night before the tech is scheduled, I check again, three lights it is. I elect to leave them blinking.

Tech arrives, powers on the unit, the lamp fires immediately. 100% correlation of tech-touching and success!! This time we insist on the tech taking the boat anchor to the shop for further diagnosis.

It was returned yesterday, and they claim they replaced the lamp and ballast. Set seems to be working so far, but my sample size is low on attempts.

A few summary points:

1. Notice the unit power cycles itself twice before going xmas tree. That tells me that Samsung was aware of intermittent success at shipping time (or at least at firmware time). Why else build logic into the machine to power on, check lamp, if not successful, powercycle? Perhaps if they let us configure the retry parameter to 10, rather than 2, the unit works more frequently. (The remaining restarts are manual). The guy who wrote the firmware probably came from Microsoft (" I dunno what's wrong, let's just program the tv to reboot and hope that works").

2. I don't believe any of the "fixes" in this thread are any more effective that waiving a rabbit's foot above the unit before restarting, including reseating or waiting for $x amount of time before attempting to power back. My wife thought jamming the unit helped, which is why the tech's were successful at restarting. Perhaps my left cross was not precise enough at the target area.

3. 50 bucks says my TV fails again sometime before the MTBF of the lamp. 100 bucks says that when it does, the technician can power it on with one attempt.

4. If there is a definitive fix (which I doubt), it hasn't been articulated to the field organization successfully. I like the TV a lot; the service has been pleasant and helpful, but not necessarily effective. If anyone has access to a definitive root-cause statement (not rumors), I'd love to see it. Not necessarily doubting the previous posts, I'd just like to see more replicability before I buy into "problem resolved".

I never thought I'd be posting in this thread (at least I hoped not) but here I am. I just got the three blinking lights on my HLN-5065 today and I'm terribly dissapointed. I have identified many of the problems members on AVS have mentioned but the overall picture quality and size won me over so having this problem crop up just isn't helping.

I have bought this TV from PC Richards with the extended 4 (5?) year warranty. Does anyone know if they cover the light bulb costs? Or if the service contractor is from Samsung? I'd rather have a Samsung technician fiddling with my TV than a PC Richard (though the name under which service is conducted may not matter, it might just all be the same thing anyway).

In addition, the set has been increasing in fan noise. When we first got it, it was a slight whisper. Now it is a droning hum and can easily be heard at lower volumes. ARG!

Those of you who have had service done, how is it faring ever since?

AFAIK, all service is provided by local independent service shops who have a contract with Samsung. Some techs are knowledgable, while some are doofuses.

Even when Samsung graciously replaced my HLM507 (which had been bought remotely from TV Authority) with an HLN507, they never sent out any of their own employees.

As to whether Samsung guarantees the lamp, I don't really know. My service tech thought the lamp would be covered because there's no language in the warranty specifically excluding it, but I haven't had to test his theory yet. TV Authority told me it wouldn't be covered, but maybe that's only what Samsumg has instructed them to say, in an attempt to keep customers from actually reading the warranty.

I have a 4-year extension (to 5 years) from Warrantech, and they claim to cover whatever Samsung would have covered. We'll see about the lamp, won't we?

Mista_Eng, maybe that droning hum is coming from the color wheel. If so, it may get a lot worse; the intermittent noise from my color wheel eventually sounded like a buzz saw that sometimes could be heard throughout the house — before it was replaced (bad bearing).

Hi folks,
Add another victim to the list. HLM437W, purchased 11/02 before the power buy from the first shipment our local Tweeter received. Never a problem before now.

A few days ago the slow turn on symptom started happening. Intermittent at first but becoming more frequent and lasting longer. We placed a service call under our Tweeter extended warranty and they're due tomorrow.

This morning, 3 blinking lights and no TV. Hard reset didn't help. Followed up with a second call to clue the service folks in. The woman who took the call said, "Probably a lamp problem" as soon as I said "3 blinking lights", so hopefully the tech will come prepared.

Of course she also said, "You're in Middletown Connecticut-Massachussetts, right?" LOL. Anyone know the way to Connecticut-Massachussetts? ;-)

I've had the 3 blinking lights several times with a HLN617.

My 1st unit lasted about a day before the lamp broke (producing the blinking lights) and circuit city replaced it.

My 2nd unit has had it a few times. The circuit city repair guy reseated the lamp and got it going the 1st time. However, after that it would intermittantly fail to start up. Most of the time if I kept turning if off and on it would eventually work...sometimes not. The repair guy came out again after a couple of months and reseated it but this time it wouldn't come on for him so he placed the bulb. Since then, it has worked fine.

Jay

Originally posted by gambit99
I've had the 3 blinking lights several times with a HLN617.

My 1st unit lasted about a day before the lamp broke (producing the blinking lights) and circuit city replaced it.

My 2nd unit has had it a few times. The circuit city repair guy reseated the lamp and got it going the 1st time. However, after that it would intermittantly fail to start up. Most of the time if I kept turning if off and on it would eventually work...sometimes not. The repair guy came out again after a couple of months and reseated it but this time it wouldn't come on for him so he placed the bulb. Since then, it has worked fine.

Jay

You probably need to call samsung and have them replace the ballast also.

The first day I had the Samsung HL-P6163W it would restart itself every twenty minutes or so. After that, the television wouldn't turn on somtimes. I would get the blinking lights, and I would have to unplug and plug it back in, and sometimes this did the trick. Sometimes not. To make a long story short, between this, rainbows, and numerous other problems with the picture quality of this television, I exchanged it for the JVC HD-61Z575 and I could not be happier.

I have had the issue with the blinking lights. It seems a unplu and plug back in fixes it. However Samsung indicated it was the lamp and they did say they would replace it. My set is 4 months old and it started doing things about 30 days ago.

Doug Deacon,

Sorry to hear about your sets malfunction. Please keep us posted about your repair experience.

Do you have any idea how many hours you have on your 437?

Update from my 10/21 3BL post:
Bernie, the tech from Tweeter showed up Friday as scheduled. He had to order a new lamp, since our HLM437W is among the oldest out there and all the lamps he had with him were for newer HLM's or newer models.

He called his parts person, who said there was nothing in the computer, but she took the time to physically run back and check the shelves. VOILA! She found one. Bernie made sure she put our service call # on it and asked her to overnight it. She did, so it arrived Sat. morning. Superb service.

Bernie showed up again on Monday, as scheduled, and replaced the lamp. That fixed the problem. If it hadn't he said he'd have to replace the ballast but it seems we're okay. Our old lamp had about 2700 hours on it and we reset the lamp timer in the SM.

I can't say enough good things about Tweeter's service. This is the second time Bernie's come out. The first trip was just an annual cleaning under the contract. They show up on time or call if they're going to be late. He knows what he's doing, and he knows we've tweaked the SM picture controls and takes care not to mess anything up. Good people to deal with all around.

P.S. There's a TSB for those of you experiencing lip-synch issues with the speakers in the HLM/HLN sets. No cost repair if you call them about it.

Doug Deacon,

Glad to hear that you are back in business with a new lamp!

I was wondering..what is involved with the annual cleaning and can it be done by the customer? I have a BB contract. Wonder if it is covered under the new agreement. Mine is only about 1100 hours and purchased it in Feb.

Originally posted by duffin
Here is more communication directly from Samsung's DLP TV management on the lamp.

Our lamp suppliers will raise the q/c procedures on both the lamp and power supply (ballast).



Are these lamps based on the same priciple as the Xenon lights on my car? If so they should last ALONG time. I just bought a HLP4663W and noticed the light coming out the back does have a distinct blueish hue to it. Im a huge fan of Xenon lights so I think thats kinda neat.. :)

BTW Guys... I hate to say it, but much like the JVC 30K issues, it seems like getting a unit that has been IN PRODUCTION for a while seems to be a very odd way to get around alot of the problems with these. By this I mean purchasing a unit that has had light to moderate demo use, which my 4663 had a few store hours on it (got it for 2200 bucks) and it has been working FLAWLESSLY through several unplug/replug cycles when I was first moving it around the living room, several hours of continuous use, and I even have it set as my wake up timer. I will post something here at the slightest hint of a problem, though I must admit this unit is probably just passing through as Ill probably sell it soon. I dont typically keep display devices too long, unless I find one that is spectacular.

Bump

Watch out for the extended warranties. My 4-year warranty provided by "Repair Master" does not cover lamp replacement. Samsung replaced my first lamp at 65 hours. This lamp is at 1-1/2 years old and I can't get the set to operate so that I can read the lamp hours on the service menu. I'll bet the hours are well under 8000 though. Interesting that an extended warranty does not address the most common failure mode on the DLP TV set. Incidentally, my set is a late model HLM617WX/XAA with the Farjouda and DNIE circuitry. I have been extremely pleased with this set except for two lamp failures in less than 1-1/2 years. RepairMaster is not associated with Samsung.

I just found this thread. I have a HLM507 that is just under 2 years old. The lamp started to take a long time to fire up and last week i got the notorious 3 blinking lights. Called Samsung who refered me to the local service company. They replaced the Lamp. Took less than 5 minutes. The set works fine although the color wheel is starting to whine louder, so I expect that will fail before to long.

My issue is the lamp only had 4129 hours on it. The last 100 were because when I finally got it on last friday, I never turned it off so that we didn't have the weekend with out it. All the advertisements say 8000 hours. The technician claimed 6-8000 hours, is more likely.

I have complained via email to Samsung. I knew I would have to pay for a new lamp but I expected it 2 years from now. It was $480 for the lamp, travel, labor, taxes etc. I'll let you know their response.

Based, on the earlier posts, I'm not sure if I'm lucky that my lamp lasted as long as it did, or you all are in for a disappointment in a few months or years.

Out of curiosity, How many of you have a higher lamp usage than 4000 hours?

Jimleo,

I've only got around 900 hours on our 23 month old HLM507W, but from reading about other folks experience here, I've decided that if I get 4000 hours from the original lamp, I'll be happy with that. In fact, I'll be happy with 3000 hours. I would say that you did quite well getting the 4000 hours you got. You may want to keep a spare lamp on hand. The lamps can be purchased from www.samsungparts.com , then you can install it yourself next time.

Regarding the color wheel, I'm planning on ordering a service manual for our set. I'll expect to replace the color wheel at 4000 - 5000 hours too.

Thanks for Info. If I hadn't been so busy last week I would have searched on this and realized it was the lamp. My uninformed thought was when the Lamp went it would burn out like a PC projector does. Since this sometimes worked sometimes didn't I thought it was more serious.

Anyway, I emailed a complaint to Samsung since it was out of warranty. They directed me to the 800 number. The individual who answered took the info and said she would send it to a supervisor to review. We'll see if I get partial credit. I'll let everyone know.

Originally posted by Syzygy
AFAIK, all service is provided by local independent service shops who have a contract with Samsung. Some techs are knowledgable, while some are doofuses.

Even when Samsung graciously replaced my HLM507 (which had been bought remotely from TV Authority) with an HLN507, they never sent out any of their own employees.

As to whether Samsung guarantees the lamp, I don't really know. My service tech thought the lamp would be covered because there's no language in the warranty specifically excluding it, but I haven't had to test his theory yet. TV Authority told me it wouldn't be covered, but maybe that's only what Samsumg has instructed them to say, in an attempt to keep customers from actually reading the warranty.

I have a 4-year extension (to 5 years) from Warrantech, and they claim to cover whatever Samsung would have covered. We'll see about the lamp, won't we?

Mista_Eng, maybe that droning hum is coming from the color wheel. If so, it may get a lot worse; the intermittent noise from my color wheel eventually sounded like a buzz saw that sometimes could be heard throughout the house — before it was replaced (bad bearing). From the other posts I have read, I am left to conclude that it is probably the color wheel. Thanks for your input, I will have to now work on picking up the phone and dealing with the dealers.

I haven't seen the three blinking lights problem crop up again since the single incident but just the fact that it happened on what I would consider a sizeable investment is discontenting. We'll see...

I too have the three lights blinking problem and after three times with sound and no picture it shuts down. I have tried the hard start and it continues to do the same. Unfortunately I did not buy a service contract (big mistake). Does anyone recommend a place where I can buy a replacement lamp? Should I shop price or quality or does it matter? How soon will I be able to get one? Hopefully this will cure the problem.
Thanks

Originally posted by GRIVERA
I too have the three lights blinking problem and after three times with sound and no picture it shuts down. I have tried the hard start and it continues to do the same. Unfortunately I did not buy a service contract (big mistake). Does anyone recommend a place where I can buy a replacement lamp? Should I shop price or quality or does it matter? How soon will I be able to get one? Hopefully this will cure the problem.
Thanks

I posted elsewhere about an extra lamp I have.

If your model is an HLN437W, I bought a spare lamp which I tested for 2 days and later when the set failed, Samsung replaced it with an HLP4663W and this uses a different lamp.

If you are interested, the price will be right....post here.

Originally posted by GRIVERA
I too have the three lights blinking problem and after three times with sound and no picture it shuts down. Thanks

If your lamp is working, then it is not a lamp problem. There is a micro-switch that is turned on when the lamp access panel is removed, and it will cause the three light blinking problem. Verify that the lamp access panel is screwed down completely. Also make sure that the lamp access panel is holding the micro-switch open when it is in place. This switch will prevent the DLP from coming on.

GRIVERA,

You should find your lamp at www.samsungparts.com . It may or may not be in stock, but they should eventually be able to supply it.

You might try calling Samsung and ask them to repair your set under warranty. You have nothing to lose by asking.

Per my post on this thread of 11-03-04 12:01 AM: I obtained a new lamp from Samsung's parts distributor and replaced it myself. Upon powering up and entering the service menu, the failed lamp had logged 4011 hours since installation.

Good news! I removed the lamp, reinstalled it, and resecured the access panel. It now works. The lamp powers up on the second try. Is this signs of lamp going out or the switch not working properly?
Thanks

Originally posted by GRIVERA
.....Is this a sign of the lamp going out or the switch not working properly?

I have been told that the lamp either works or doesn't work. I would guess you have a problem with the switch. Anybody have other ideas?

this is sad. samsung can't fix this dumb problem and it's been like two years??

Well, last night I had my first experience with the 3 blinking lights problem....

I hit power.....and found that it then turned off (didn't know this was the case). And, then hit power again and it came on fine.

So far it has been fine....in fact one strange thing is the melody tone when turning on has returned.

The melody tone for turning on had stopped working about 4 months ago, but basically as long as the melody tone for turning off was working...I wasn't too concerned. Plus when I previously called about the melody tone not working, service dismissed it as not a problem they care to do anything about and ended the call.

At that time the reverse was the issue, it played to tone turning on, but didn't play the tone turning off....later figured out on my own that it doesn't play the turn off tone if you set the TV volume to 0....so I leave it on 1.

Hopefully this means my TV will now work flawless until I reach 8000 hours (and replace the lamp) :D

Don't know if I should buy a new lamp or not....for the time change I peaked at the service menu (since entering the service menu resets the clock....) and see that I'm averaging about 200 hours per month right now. Maybe I should've gotten the 5 year extended warranty...I only got 3 years...so at this rate the bulb will wear out after the 3 year mark....

Because, otherwise, I'm thinking that I need to buy another TV. Because the first thought was what will I do for watching TV while waiting for service..... My old TV worked flawlessly for the 21 years after I got it (actually my dad got it ;) and I got it when he moved overseas....actually I traded him my 14" )....it was kind of still working when I tossed it....the flyback was starting to arc.

The Dreamer.

For anyone who has followed my Samsung escapades, I just received my HLP4663 after having waited 2.5 months with no television while my HLN507 was at the service company. I have had the 4663 for 5 whole days and tonight it started the 3 blinking lights stuff. I tried re-seating the lamp to no avail. Tomorrow it goes back to Circuit City.

Here is my summary of time with Samsung DLP televisions:

May 30, 2004: Purchased HLN507W

Aug 27, 2004: Service company removed HLN507W for board swap

Nov 15, 2004: Finally received new HLP4663

Nov 19, 2004: Unrecoverable 3 blinking lights problem

All told 5.5 months since original purchase, two DLP televisions, and slightly less than 3 months of actually being able to watch television. When the Samsung works I love the picture quality, and the form factor is perfect for my space. Oh well, we will see how set number three goes I guess. I advise Samsung purchasers to get extended warranty :eek:



Also, to The Dreamer who mentioned the turn on melody disappearing, I have discovered the following:

If the volume on the set is all the way turned down (not muted just turned down to zero) the turn on melody does not play, but the turn off melody does. Try for yourself and see if that explains the vanishing and re-appearing melody.

Originally posted by Gacer
Also, to The Dreamer who mentioned the turn on melody disappearing, I have discovered the following:

If the volume on the set is all the way turned down (not muted just turned down to zero) the turn on melody does not play, but the turn off melody does. Try for yourself and see if that explains the vanishing and re-appearing melody.

That's the other way around...the turn off melody doesn't play if the volume is turned all the way down.

And, I posted this discovery in a different thread (I also reported the discovery back to Samsung and Sears....neither cared about it, because when I had called service about no melody off tone, they just dismissed it as a problem they don't care about.)

So I always leave my volume at '1' (or higher). But, what happened as the turn on melody disappeared a few months back...but since the turn off melody continued to work....I just lived with it....

It only became annoying recently when I started using my DVI input (since I have audio hooked up along with the VGA input....so there'll be a faint sound associated with VGA). I might have to break down and get a component video switcher....because the main reason I'm using the VGA input now...is because all my component inputs are in use (and my OTA HDTV box supports VGA out)....and if I get one that has digital audio switching....it'll solve why I have the audio from my OTA HDTV box connected to the TV.

The Dreamer.

Originally posted by TheDreamer
That's the other way around...the turn off melody doesn't play if the volume is turned all the way down. ........ The Dreamer.

I lost the On / Off melody after a service call. Turned out the technician failed to get the ribbon cable connecting the audio / video board to the main board on the correct pins. Samsung HLN5065WX.

I bought a Samsung HLN-5065W in June and have had the 3 blinking lights problem . It started about a month after I brought it home and has happened 3 or 4 times since. It happened to me again this morning. I guess it is time to call and have it fixed. Other than having this problem I love this tv.

Anyone else think all this is damn ridiculus?!?! As I previously posted, I returned my first HLP4663 after 3 weeks when it got the 3BL problem. Now, two months later, my second set is acting up. Every few days while I'm watching it the lamp will sometimes shut off. Then I have to power it off and power it back on. I hear the lamp try to restart and it kicks in the second time. I cannot believe the shoddy workmanship of these tvs. For $3k these sets should turn on every time - flawlessly.
Anyone know what the grounds are for a class-action suit?

I also voted too soon. Just got it the day before Thanksgiving. Isn't that the way it always happens? The first service center assigned by Samsung is 5 minutes from my house....until I found out that they will no longer do Samsung service. Called Samsung back and they are looking for another center. Told on the phone that the next closest is 68 miles aways. I wonder how long this is going to take. I told them I know how to change a bulb but they said they wanted a tech to look at it.

Mine is a HLN4365 purchased in Feb with about 1500 hours on the bulb. Tried the unplug thing and didn't work.

I have a Sammy HLN507W that has been in service since Nov. 03. Shortly after I bought it, I read in AVS about all the problems people were having with lamp failures. So, I called Samsung parts, told them the model of the tv & was shipped a BP96-00224C (Phillips) lamp. I have not needed this spare lamp as of yet, but after going back to the Samsungparts.com site, I see that they list the Toshiba "A" lamp as well as the Phillips "C" lamp as a replacement for my set. How do I know which lamp I need short of removing the old one to see? Or does it even matter ? Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

SteveRR, look on the lower left side of your set. There should be a small sticker with the lamp ID on it.

Thanks, Pine59, sure enough it is the "C" Phillips, which is what I have on the shelf. By the way, are the widespread failures usually just the lamp or do they commonly include ballast problems as well?

my 2 month-old 4663W had the blinking lights intermittently but it would always come on after finally "rebooting" a couple times. Today it wouldn't come on at all. I may try removing/reseating the lamp. Service call in to Samsung. :mad:

Luckily, I just so happened to have a Sony KWF42WE655 LCD projector that I won a in poker tournament sitting in my living room to tide me over until mine is fixed !

my problem went away after I pulled out/reseated the lamp. It definitely wasn't burnt out when I looked at it.

Others might want to try it first.

Well. I jinxed myself. I had the 3 Blinkies for the first time tonight. I read the thread earlier in the day and considered myself lucky.

Had the set for about 9-1/2 months. October 2003 date of manufacture.

Turned the set on when I came back home at about 9PM. Set tried to fire up. Clicked off and then the 3 Blinking lights. The went off. Tried the set again about 10 minutes later. Turned on ok and has been on since then. We'll see if this occurs again over the next few days. Will probably place a call to Samsung.

Also, ironic since I just received the request from CC for an extended warranty. Will have to think about that as well.

RWS.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Randy_Sh
.........Also, ironic since I just received the request from CC for an extended warranty. Will have to think about that as well. RWS./QUOTE]

I suggest you purchase the extended warranty. I wish I had for my 13 month old HLN5065WX, because I have replaced the color wheel, the main board, and the audio / video circuit boards. I based my decision not to purchase the extended warranty on my previous experiences with CRT based TV's, but the DLP is a totally different beast.

I also had my set for 9 months and it happened. I called Samsung and told them to just send a lamp and I can put it in myself. Not they have to have a tech check it. the repair center assinged to me called to say they were coming out. I asked if they would bring out a spare lamp and they said they had none,. But they came anyway. And guess What? They said the lamp was burned out. aghhhhhhh. So now they have to go back and order it. So I sit and wait. Does this make any sense?

Originally posted by jtirak
....... So now they have to go back and order it. So I sit and wait. Does this make any sense?

No it does not make sense, but I guess that's how it goes these days of no customer service.

Vote change from no to yes. Got the 3BL this AM on my 2-year old HLM437. It's been taking multiple attempts to start recently, so I figure the bulb was failing. I did get the set to start ater unplugging it and trying to start it several times. Time to order a new bulb I guess.

-Kevin

I have a 61" (HLM617W) purchased in Jan '03 and I experienced the 3 blinking lights problem for the first time on Friday night. I unplugged the set, turned it back on and it worked the rest of the night. The next morning I powered on my set and the picture came on for 2-3 seconds and then went black. The sound stayed on for another 2-3 seconds and then the 3 lights started blinking again. I've unplugged and powered up several times since and get the same problem.

Since the picture does come on for 2-3 seconds each time, is this the lamp going out or is it another problem? In my simple mind, once a bulb burns out, it's out for good.

Thanks

HLP6163
I got mine in September and got the 3bl last week. Just bought an extended warranty from tv authority.

There sure is a lot of confusion about the lamps used in RPT.

Toshiba
Philips
Osram

Has anyone seen an “Osram”? (it’s in the service menu)

An endless stream of part numbers and mis-information.

I recently replaced the lamp in my Samsung HLN-5065WX/XAA,
after only 1300hr in 18mo
I will soon post my experience, along with 30 pictures of lamps, connectors and ballast.
Info on start voltage, 3 blinking lights.

Look for a new thread “Cooking the perfect HID lamp” (you “will” understand this).

I need to get my posts beyond 5 and learn the best way to post pictures.

Gary -

Where did you get all the info on lamps, ballast, etc.
I am very interested in seeing this. My set is an HLM617WX/XAA (April 2003)and I am on my third lamp (64 hrs, 4100 hrs, ___ ).

i had a tech over yesterday for my 3bl problem. he put a new light engine in and so far so good. while i don't like having problems on a $3000 tv, i must say samsung has good customer service.

Originally posted by Jimleo
...

Anyway, I emailed a complaint to Samsung since it was out of warranty. They directed me to the 800 number. The individual who answered took the info and said she would send it to a supervisor to review. We'll see if I get partial credit. I'll let everyone know.


Well several weeks later, I received a letter from Samsung refusing my complaint. So even though my Lamp burned out after only 4000 hours, since the set was out of warranty, it is my tough luck.

Based on my experience and some of the posts here, I would warn everyone to not be surprised if they are in for the expense of a new lamp much sooner than they planned.

Mine went in 1200 hours but within the warrenty. I also purchased an extened warrenty from Best Buy that includes the lamp for when it is out of Sammy warrenty.

Mine went in 1200 hours but within the warrenty. I also purchased an extened warrenty from Best Buy that includes the lamp for when it is out of Sammy warrenty.

Pretty disappointing. I've had my 507W for 7 months now. On occasion if I turn the TV back on after only being off for less than an hour, I get the 3 blinking problem. I usually comeback in an hour and the TV works again. Not tonight. It's been half a day and I'm lost without my HDTV. I called Samsung and I'm awaiting for service reply. This is the second issue I've had. They had to replace the tv computer board when I first got the tv because I couldn't change the timer.

I love the HDTV picture but would have to highly recommend taking in account the bulb problems when comparing to plasma. Everyone tells me plasma tv phosphorus dies after 10-20 years. At this rate the Samsung DLP will cost me more than the plasma after 10 years and with a lot more headaches.

I have the C.C. extended warranty. Is it faster to go through C.C. or will they simply send me to Samsung after 7 months?

Just a quick update. Called C.C. and they never called me back. I also called Samsung and they had a tech out the very next day. Tech changed out ballast and bulb. Said 7 month old bulb was probably okay but had bad luck previously when only changing out ballast. Took maybe half an hour and my pride and joy was back and running. I didn't notice any real difference in viewing performance with the new bulb. My DLP does turn on much quicker now especially if I run the tv hot (watch for 3+ hours), turn tv off and then turn back on within 10 minutes of being turned off. Before it would take 20-40 seconds to get light again or not at all (3BL). I had to wait an 1 hour before thing would start up again. Now it fires right on up. I'd say Samsung put in a bunch of bad ballast.

If you are still under Samsung warranty and you ever turn your tv off and can not getting it on again (3BL) without waiting more than 10 minutes call Samsung to fix before it's too late. They know they had bad ballast installed on many of the models and this type of performance should never be acceptable and you don't want to pay for their shotty workmanship.

One additional note, it's been 4 days and C.C. was suppose to call back by 48 hours. Not happened yet. This gives me great trepidation. I see all these stories of weeks and months with a dead tv. I have the 4 year extended warranty from C.C. and I wonder if this is the type of response I'll have after my 1 year Samsung Warranty runs out. Wish Samsung had provided me the extended warranty instead.

12/11/04 Set arrives
12/12/04 3 blinking lights. Audio & no video then shuts off
12/15/04 Tech comes to check it out and orders new lamp
12/20/04 Tech comes and replaces new lamp. Still 3 blinking lights
12/22/04 Tech orders complete unit w/lamp, ballast, & light engine
01/07/05am Tech comes and replaces the complete. Everything is perfect
01/07/05pm CHECK THE FAN NO. (1) 2 3 pops up & shuts off.
WHAT'S A PERSON TO DO????????????????????

grizzly,

If you bought the set from a B&M with a 30 day return policy, I would suggest exchanging it tonight for a new set.

I too am dealing with the drama of the 3 blinking lights on the Samsung HLN4365W. Luckily I got the Best Buy PSP. Unfortunately this will be the 3rd time they've come to my house to replace the bulb - I don't believe it is the bulb at this point -- but they insist on replacing the bulb. The problem started after 19 months. After a few hours of use, sometimes the set powers down and the 3 LEDs on the front blink simultaneously. If I power cycle the set and wait 5-10 min, it works fine - for a while.

I'm going to search through this thread, lots of entries... maybe I can find a solution. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

--- 2/15/05 update ---
HLN4365W is pronounced dead with the 3BL problem. No one could fix it. Best Buy PSP is replacing it with a HLP5063W.

My HLM507W with upgraded HLN electronics had been taking a long time to power on for the past week. This morning I experienced the 3 light problem when the set would not power on (exact scenario covered in another thread with posts dated 1/4/05-1/12/05 from other Jan 03 PowerBuy purchasers).

For reference, my set was purchased 1/13/03 and exhibited the 3 light failure on 1/12/05 (almost 2 years to the day). In any case, I removed the bulb, verified the manufacturer, and ordered a replacement that will arrive on Friday.

Hopefully, replacing the bulb will resolve the issue as detailed in other threads. For reference, I did not look at the hours in the Service Menu prior to the bulb failure. I will amend my post if the hours are viewed (and not reset) once the bulb is replaced on Friday.

***Added on 1/13: Bulb fixed 3 light issue. Failure ocurred with 1964 hours (or less than 25% of Samsung's bulb lifetime) in 2 years of use.

I finally contacted Samsung regarding the issue that I posted previously. I've only had the 3BL issue once, but have now noticed what I perceive to be slower start up times. Also, I do notice a whine when the set is running. This comes and goes and is doesn't occur often.

Samsung forwarded the called to a local repair center. Can't come out for about 2 weeks. We'll see what they say when they come out. Have about another month before my Samsung warranty expires and I would need to use the extended warranty from CC. I will be purchasing it. Have the p-work on my desk.

Oh what fun...gotta love the HD picture though...football looks awesome...

It is really interesting how these things are hitting a bunch of us at the same time. Jeff's story is just like mine, and today I am dead. I ordered a new bulb this a.m. so we will see.



Originally posted by jeffmcclan
My HLM507W with upgraded HLN electronics had been taking a long time to power on for the past week. This morning I experienced the 3 light problem when the set would not power on (exact scenario covered in another thread with posts dated 1/4/05-1/12/05 from other Jan 03 PowerBuy purchasers).

For reference, my set was purchased 1/13/03 and exhibited the 3 light failure on 1/12/05 (almost 2 years to the day). In any case, I removed the bulb, verified the manufacturer, and ordered a replacement that will arrive on Friday.

Hopefully, replacing the bulb will resolve the issue as detailed in other threads. For reference, I did not look at the hours in the Service Menu prior to the bulb failure. I will amend my post if the hours are viewed (and not reset) once the bulb is replaced on Friday.

***Added on 1/13: Bulb fixed 3 light issue. Failure ocurred with 1964 hours (or less than 25% of Samsung's bulb lifetime) in 2 years of use.

Yep, I'm another Power Buy HLM507W guy whose lamp just went out. About 2700 hours on the lamp.

But I'm still having problems, of a different kind. Now the picture comes up, but after a few minutes goes into crazy red patterns and refuses the power off button. Then goes blank.

Got a tech coming in on Monday, but it'll be expensive since I'm out of warranty ...

Any ideas? I'm thinking heat related. Where can I get a shop manual? I must be using the wrong search terms, couldn't find anything ...

Originally posted by poppa
........Got a tech coming in on Monday, but it'll be expensive since I'm out of warranty ...Any ideas?

Warranty or no warranty, call Samsung anyway. It can't hurt, and you may find that they will cover your problem or at least help reduce the $$$$$'s. Samsung covered my color wheel, main and av board replacement out of warranty.

Well new lamp fixed by problem. Service menu showed old one died at 3900 hours.

I guess I should keep one of these babys in stock. Where are folks getting the best deal on these? I paid ~200 from www.samsungparts.com.



Originally posted by gamecock
It is really interesting how these things are hitting a bunch of us at the same time. Jeff's story is just like mine, and today I am dead. I ordered a new bulb this a.m. so we will see.

gamecock,

www.samsungparts.com has the best deal on lamps that I am aware of.

Add me to the list, I have had the problem once every few weeks or so for the past six months on my HLN567W, never bothered me that much, TV usually started on 2nd or 3rd attempt, but i recently called service anyway since my warranty is running out. Tech came out yesterday, seemed v knowledgable about problem, put in new lamp and new color wheel. Said they have a newer improved color wheel they are using now. No problems since, but only time will tell since it was so intermittent anyway!

Add me to the list.

My time-line:

7/13/03 - Purchased HLN507W from CC.
6/8/04 (about) - Got 3bl, called CC.
6/19/04 - CC Tech came out, said I needed a bulb. Ordered it.
6/29/04 - Bulb came in, CC tech replaced it.
1/25/04 - 3bl again. Called CC, will be TWO WEEKS before they can even look at it. Yes, the MONDAY AFTER THE SUPER BOWL!! Of course the folks in India had little sympathy for that fact. I expect at least 10-14 days for the parts to come in, and another week for installation like it was last June. Note, this time my problem is a bit different. The TV will actually come on, picture and all, for about 3 seconds before going to 3bl and stopping.


My thoughts:

- CC protection plan sucks. It is better than nothing, but expect a MINIMUM of 4 weeks until you get your set fixed. Plus the customer service is abysmal. Communication will all people along the way was very difficult (Apparently Matt, John, and Bob are common names in India. Who knew?). By the way, if someone can give me a Circuit City Protection Plan phone number that will connect me to a native English speaking person physically in the United States I will give you $50.00. Just send me a private message.

- For a problem that is supposed to be "rare" (e.g. <1%) there are several people that experience the problem multiple times after multiple repairs in a short time span. Many of these people get different sets completely and still get the 3bl very soon after. This means one of two things. Either the problem is MUCH more common than Samsung would like to admit, or there is another factor involved. Perhaps the TV is uber sensitive to the AC power source. Of course many people here, myself included, have a high $$ surge protector that is supposed to "smooth" this out, so who knows. Just an observation.

- Seriously, what would take to get a class action suit going? I am not a fan of suing my problems away, but this is simply false advertising. I purchased my TV taking the 8000 hour MTBF in to consideration for the costs to maintain the TV. I would not have bought it knowing that the MTBF is closer to 1600 hours. Perhaps the bulbs themselves are actually "OK" but the end result is the same: after 1000 - 1600 hours (on a good day) the $3k TV stops working. Not good at all.

Folks:

Wanted to pass along the info on my Service Call performed this afternoon. Quick background - HLN437W, purchased about 1 year ago from CC, 3BL one time and color wheel whine.

Local Tech arrived with another gentlemen from Samsung Corporate, I believe.

Turned on the set, listened to it start up and said, "Hear that, it's the color wheel." Asked me a few other questions, and began to take the set apart. Tech was knowledgable. I tried to get a feel from the Tech on how many of these they were doing...pretty elusive though.

Anyway, brought in the parts, replaced the color wheel and the lamp. Only 1641 hours on it. Tech said that the color wheel may have caused the initial 3BL issue if the color wheel gets hung up, set won't turn on. Took the old lamp with them (bummer, no spare) and let me keep the color wheel.

We got the set hooked back up and on. Sounded much quieter, no whine. PQ looked good, have the take a longer look than the 10 minutes it was on. No noticable ill effects.

Gave me some screen cleaner and went on their way. Overall happy with the Service. We'll see how it goes....guess I will send in for the CC warranty. Might give the Local Tech a call to see what their rates are though as a backup...

***Follow-up. Samsung called today at about 6PM to inquire on how my Service experience was. Thought it was a nice touch...

Guys, you might be interested in my experiences with the 3 blinking lights problem, resolved very fast and professionally by Samsung. My HLN507WX was 14 months into its 15 month extendeed waranty when the problen first happened. It happened only 3 times, after which the set powered up every time I tried. (Super Bowl Sunday, coming up yet). I called Smasung in NJ on Fri., explained the problem and they set up an appointment for the very next Monday, very fast. The tech who came was from Samsung Co., in a company truck from somewhere in Queens. ( I'm on LI). He arrived on time as promised, and came prepared with a new ballast and lamp and replaced both, free of charge, with no questions asked. He was extremely competent, kenw of the issue and said the problem was the ballast and bulb, and changed both even though the set fired up for him with no problem. Took him about 30 minutes for the whole job. After he was finished, he went into the service menu, checked all the settings asked me for my preferences for some and reset the lamp clock. He had obviously done this before, although he did not say how many times. It looked like he could have done it with his eyes closed. Overall, this was one of the best service experiences I have ever had, maybe even the best.
I hope everyone else is as lucky as I was and I would definitely try for a Samsung company tech, if possible. BTW, I had 2445 hrs. on the lamp.

I'm with you. I'm really starting to feel screwed. Had to take my first HLP-4663 back after three weeks because of 3BL back in August '04. My second one occasionally goes black. Sound stays on, but the display shuts off. I just power it off and wait a minute, then tuurn it back on. It happens about once a week. I'm going to call for service soon, but I've been a little nervous because it sounds like some people have worse problems afterwards. The PQ is great and I don't want it to get messed up. Plus, I went with the extended plan from CC too. Can you just call Samsung directly while it's still under warrany or do you have to go through CC?



Originally posted by bscardin


- For a problem that is supposed to be "rare" (e.g. <1%) there are several people that experience the problem multiple times after multiple repairs in a short time span. Many of these people get different sets completely and still get the 3bl very soon after. This means one of two things. Either the problem is MUCH more common than Samsung would like to admit, or there is another factor involved. Perhaps the TV is uber sensitive to the AC power source. Of course many people here, myself included, have a high $$ surge protector that is supposed to "smooth" this out, so who knows. Just an observation.

- Seriously, what would take to get a class action suit going? I am not a fan of suing my problems away, but this is simply false advertising. I purchased my TV taking the 8000 hour MTBF in to consideration for the costs to maintain the TV. I would not have bought it knowing that the MTBF is closer to 1600 hours. Perhaps the bulbs themselves are actually "OK" but the end result is the same: after 1000 - 1600 hours (on a good day) the $3k TV stops working. Not good at all.

Ok, here it is for posterity - I finally got around to checking and resetting my bulb hours. The replacement bulb for my HLN-5065W has about 100 hours now, which means the old bulb had burned for around 3400 hours before going dark. I never contacted Samsung or my dealer for service as I was out of warranty. For the record, 3400 hours = 19 months of viewing in my case.

-Corey

Well my repair guy called today and told me that He replaced the color wheel on a TV the same model and same chassis as mine and figured that it is the ballast that is making the noise because the noise did not go away after replacing the color wheel. so he is going to bring a new ballast and color wheel, he also says the new color wheels there getting the rpm of the color wheel are a lot slower then the Original color wheel, and that is why it is not as loud. Anybody read any of this info in any other thread?

Does the color wheel that you got replaced say fdb or air on it ?

stretch522,

I have the exact same problem as you but my set is HLN437W1, picture goes dark, sound stays on, do not have the 3BL. Turn off the set for a minute, turn back on and the picture is fine. This happens very intermittently. My buddy has the same set as yours and he had it happen to him a couple times too. My local repair tech is getting with Samsung's folks to figure out what to do. Since the 3BL isn't happening, he doesn't want to change out anything until he knows for sure what is going on. Since the outage is so damn infrequent, it could be a blip inside the circuit boards and turning off the TV resets whatever is causing the problem????
I'll keep you all posted.............

Repair shop just called concerning my picture outage. They are going to replace the digital board on my HLN437W1 (see comments above) on Friday, 3/18/05. Hope that works, last time picture went out was one time on Saturday (never have the 3BL issue), turned off set, turned back on in about 30 seconds and no problems since. If the fix doesn't work, I may try to work a swap with Samsung for one of the newest sets with the HD2+ (74 series) chip and pay the difference.

I've had my hln5065w for almost 2 years. It was serviced twice within the first year. The first time with 3 flashing lights. The tech replaced the ballast and lamp. The second time the picture became distorted. The tech replaced the misc digital board.

Everything has worked fine since, but last week the set turned itself off and has refused to come back on -- 3 blinking lights.

For the first I've very purchased anything -- I wish I'd bought the extended warrantee. Extended warrantees are normally a huge profit center -- but they must be losing their butts on these Samsungs.

Anyway, I've ordered parts from samsung and tried replacing the lamp and ballast, but it still has the same symptom when I try to turn it on:

1) set makes a click sound

2) there is a "scrunch" sound like something is trying to start and can't

3) short delay and then there is a high pitched whine

4) set resets and goes through the above 2 more times and then 3BL


I'm wondering if it's the color wheel since an earlier post mentioned that a tech said the TV wouldn't turn on if the color wheel is stuck. I took out the lamp and watched as I tried to start the tv -- the color wheel never moved, but I don't if that is normal or not.

I guess it's time to call a tech -- I just hope he doesn't say the dlp engine has to be replaced -- that's listed as $1500 on samsungparts.com.

My one year warranty is up this month. Thankfully no 3BL problem, the digital board replacement in March did the trick and I haven't had a picture outage since, and I haven't had any lip synch issues for at least six months. I do have a four year warranty from the retailer who sold us the Sammy so we are set for a while if anything else happens. Hope everything works out for you, maybe you can get an aftermarket warranty from someone on the net?

Originally posted by twalkman I've had my hln5065w for almost 2 years...........

Two years or not, I would give Samsung Customer Service a call. Try to negotiate a repair. My color wheel went north after the warranty, and Samsung replaced it and two of the circuit boards at no cost to me.

Randy_Sh,

Just out of curiosity, how long did it take the CC warranty people (city advantage?) to solve your problem? granted I'm in TX, but perhaps timing will be similar.

After 10 months my HLP5063W just presented me with the 3BL...

I have the extended warranty, but since it's still under manufacturers warranty, I think I'd rather deal with Samsung (actually Intec Labs). I just called Samsung and set up ythe work, but Intec Labs is closed until Monday...

Eric

After on year, my HLN437W started having the intermittant 3 blinking light problem. I was always able to get the TV started when it happened but figured I should get it checked. I called Samsung on a Saturday and they connected me to the service company in my area who sent someone out the very next day.

He replaced what looked like half my TV on one single board. He told me it was a whole new light engine (color wheel, bulb, fan, etc).

Since then, the TV has been working great but I noticed that the TV is much louder than before with regards to its fan noise.

The sound is very similar to an Xbox (for those of you who have one) which, in my opinion, sounds like a very loud computer fan.

When I shut the TV down, the noise goes away and I can hear the slight faint noise of the fan running which leads me to believe that what I am hearing is the new color wheel when the set is on.

The sound is not a screeching sound like others discussed but a low humming noise accompanied by a loud fan noise.

Have others here noticed this once the fix has been done or is it possible that I have another problem wheel?

I'm close to calling Samsung again but figured I'd ask the experts here!

Thanks

Originally posted by mpkelley20
........leads me to believe that what I am hearing is the new color wheel when the set is on..........Have others here noticed this once the fix has been done or is it possible that I have another problem wheel?

I have never noticed any noise since my cw was replaced. Some people can hear fan noise, but I hear nothing. The TV is quiet. I suggest you call Samsung.

Talked to tech support today and they are sending out another guy to replace my light engine for a second time in one week. After I described the problem, they immediately diagnosed it as a color wheel problem. I thought the new light engine last week would have fixed that probelm but I guess I was wrong. Hopefully this will fix the noise problem and I can get back to enjoying my TV! Hey, at least I am not getting the three blinking lights anymore!

I'm just now going through the 3bl problem on my HLM507w and read everything I can on the bulb issue yet never read anything on testing the bulb to be bad. So for those who didn't know a simple Ohm meter will tell you if the bulb went by checking for continuity across the 2 wires. I also found out there was 3 bulbs (I think that is all), the BP96-00224 A, C, and J. It was mentioned in 1 post that there was a brown plug and a black plug but didn't mention which casing was which. The "A" casing (original) came with a Toshiba bulb and the brown plug. The "C" unit came with a Philips and a black plug. The casings were identical so a simple philips and a pair of pliers had the plugs switched in a few minutes. The old lamp was denfinitly blue and the top of the filament glass (the center thing) looked like it was cristalized. The new unit was clear with no indication of "blue". Hope this helps someone, and thanks to all that make this a great site.

Steve

Originally posted by Hyprdrv
I'm just now going through the 3bl problem on my HLM507w and read everything I can on the bulb issue yet never read anything on testing the bulb to be bad. So for those who didn't know a simple Ohm meter will tell you if the bulb went by checking for continuity across the 2 wires. I also found out there was 3 bulbs (I think that is all), the BP96-00224 A, C, and J. It was mentioned in 1 post that there was a brown plug and a black plug but didn't mention which casing was which. The "A" casing (original) came with a Toshiba bulb and the brown plug. The "C" unit came with a Philips and a black plug. The casings were identical so a simple philips and a pair of pliers had the plugs switched in a few minutes. The old lamp was denfinitly blue and the top of the filament glass (the center thing) looked like it was cristalized. The new unit was clear with no indication of "blue". Hope this helps someone, and thanks to all that make this a great site.

Steve

These are arc lamps, you can't test with an Ohm meter.

You may be the first to report switching connectors and running with the "wrong" ballast. (Toshiba ballast with a Philips lamp).

Please keep us informed of your results as time goes by.

Check http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5625677
for ballast and connector pics.

Thanks

Ok, had a second light engine installed (second replacement) and everything was great for two weeks. Tonight I get home from work and the @$#^%*# TV won't turn on again. Same problem with the three blinking lights!!! Except this time, it won't turn on at all!!! Called Samsung and they told me my warranty had expired one week ago. After I stopped laughing my head off, the customer service rep realized that this was the same problem I've been having for over a month now and they have tried to fix it twice already. He graciously extended my warranty for 90 more days, however, being a holiday weekend, no one is around to come out and fix my TV.

I am starting to regret ever buying this TV. I have no confidence that Samsung will ever get this fixed. I should have stuck with a traditional tube TV!!!

Matt

So far so good. Its been a week since the third light engine replacement. The tech guy said something about changing the power supply as well as the engine which he had not done the two times before. I hope this was the final fix so I can go back to enjoying my TV.

Matt

Been following this thread since May when I had my digital board replaced without the 3BL problem. Things were fine until this past Sunday, picture went out again without 3BL, had to turn off the Sammy for 30 seconds then turn back on and picture came back. But that's it, despite the fact I think the DLP picture is superb, I'm done with Samsung. I have an extended warranty from my dealer which allows for replacement if I have a certain number of repairs. I'm going to take them up on it and exchange for a 46" DLP from Toshiba or Panasonic. I just bought a Toshiba 32 inch HD LCD a few weeks ago and I haven't had one problem. With the Sammy, it wasn't one day before I noticed the lip synch issue which so many have complained about. I never, repeat, never had one repair issue with any analog set (only Sony and Panny) I ever owned; in 13 months I have had a tech in at least four times for the Sammy. Maybe the new models will have less problems, but I don't really care. Mpkelley20, good luck, I hope your set is finally fixed. If not, get a different one from another company; regardless of whether or not Samsung has good customer service, constant repairs without an adequate fix indicate future problems will continue.

I'm adding my 2 cents as this forum has helped me out. My DLP seemed like it was trying to come on, but wouldn't. It would restart, the green light would flash, but never go steady on. Sometimes I would power it off and when I powered it back on it would not even make the blipping noise. I pulled the power out for over a minute as I had read that in this post, and then it came on. Is that indicative of a problem or the bulb beginning to go? From what you guys have said here it seems some of you have a new bulb waiting in the closet. $200 per bulb! Not an easy one to just buy and shelf!

dirtybird, I have had my Sammy DLP for 2 !/2 years, an original powerbuy HLM. My original lamp was replaced at 14 months when the entire light engine was replaced under warranty for a noisy color wheel. I ordered a replacement toshiba lamp at that time to have an extra on hand. A few weeks ago the set began having problems starting the lamp. It would try to start itself 2 or 3 times and would finally start on the third try most of the time.

After the set had exhibited this behavior about a dozen times over a week, we figured the lamp was headed for failure and pulled out the replacement lamp from storage. After putting in the new lamp, the one we've had for a 1 1/2 years, the set fired right up and has every time since. Sounds like it's time for a that new lamp. Yeah, it's definitely a blow to the wallet to have to order a new lamp and also order a replacement to have on hand.

Servo, appreciate the comeback. Now I know exactly what to do. Thanks.

New bulb is in, TV works again. Thank so much guys. Also for the samsungparts site as they did have it for $199.99 and shipped it very quickly.

Add me to the 3 blinking lights club :( Had the damn thing for only 6 months and its done this 3 or 4 times now. But I think this its it it wont come on at all now. Called Samsung Tech support and said that since I bought at a Sear's that I have to call them. I live in a town about the size of Mayberry so we don't have a "real" Sears we have one of those mom and pop independent stores that sells screwdrivers, fridges, and grills. I'm sure my experience with them will be just great. I can just see the tech now "DLP what...who..?"

Im done with samsung spent too much money on this turd to be told "not our problem call the place of purchase". Oh well, Im not gonna buy a 71 inch 1080p from samsung.

Anyway good luck to all you 3 blinkers and good night from Mayberry

Kevin

I have the HLN 467w set for a little over 2 yrs. 9/03 last November the color wheel went. This past year once in a blue moon the set would not fire up I would unplug it for awhile plug it back in everything was fine no big deal, but this past summer it started happening about every 3 weeks and would have to try several times to get it fired up. Did not get 3 blinking lights all the time sometimes only one. Tech from Tweeters came out said it could be several different things but ordered whole new light engine :) It also must have been a newer engine also because the part number was different than the original. So it's like a new set now. I may even put my tweeter repairman on my XMas card list. I have a 5yr warrantee for $350.On the downside is that it took 2 weeks to get tech out, waited about 10 days for part to come in then another 2 weeks for tech to come out again. Just glad my set was not totally dead. Oh by the way I love my Sammy

I have a hlm507w, had the 3bl problem last year, the bulb was bad, replaced it myself, didn't check the hours on it though. Now the set has a problem I haven't seen described here. After several minutes after power on the color goes to a primary green or purple for a couple of minutes, then the lamp goes out with the 3bl. At this time if you hit the power button on the set or remote the power won't go out, have to unplug. If I try changing the volume after the color starts to go it won't change either. No fan noise but I'm thinking the color wheel is losing sync, but the issue that the set seems "brain dead" after the color shift seems like it could be the logic card. Any thoughts? Thanks.

It's baaaaack! My HLN4365W lasted almost three years before I had the 3BL come back. The first time it happened my set was an hour old and of course Samsung took care of it. However, now it's back. :( I've got 5,124 hours on my lamp so I guess I can't complain too much. Especially since I have moved 3 times since I got the set. I hope a new lamp will fix it. From everything I've read here, it sounds like it will. I'll let you know what happens.

IMHO, three years and over 5,000 hours on the bulb is a pretty darned good innings. I replaced the bulb in my HLM507 after two years at 6,000 hours. If indeed it is the bulb I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised by the revitalised picture that you should get after you replace the bulb.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks everyone for the great info posted here. I had the 3BL's start over 3 months ago but blew it off the notion of a problem when the set started up fine after the second attempt to power on the unit. HLN5065WX purchased 3-04 from BB. Of course the extended warranty was purchased after he discounted several items to allow the cost of the warranty to be included with the tv. Needless to say, the 3BL's came back with a vengeance and now the set will not turn on. Contacted BB and they quickly set up a service call 2 days later. The tech noticed a slight whining noise when attempting to turn on the tv. Go figure, the tv cuts on only after sliding the tv away from the wall. Bulb usage almost 5,000 hours. He wasted no time and ordered the eng assembly ($1300 listed on packing slip) which arrived UPS directly to the house 2 days later. In the mean time the set will no longer turn on. The tech is now set to come out tomorrow. I just hope it doesn't start a long run of problems. At least BB has the 3 repeat problem and they replace. Other than this, the set has been worth the great picture and the complements from everyone about the HD picture it produces. Wish me luck!!

Woo hoo! My new lamp from samsungparts.com arrived yesterday, I put it in and my set fired right up! Hopefully I will be good to go for another 5,000 hours or so now. :)

dtownsammy: I'm sure you'll be in good shape with the new light engine. Good thing you got that extended warranty, huh?

I have the HLP5063wx manuf.july 04, the lights blinked and froze twice, two new lamps in 15months, do u think it could be a surge problem? I think i may have to buy the extend warr. just to cover myself

Update on service call: Service tech returned Friday and replaced the entire assembly engine which includes basically everything. (bulb, lamp, color wheel, ballast, fans, and DLP chip I would imagine) It took him just minutes to remove and install the one piece assembly. Now it runs quiet and of course no more 3BL's. In a sense it feels like a have a new TV. I will cross my fingers and hope it stays that way for some time now. At least before the extended warranty runs out 3 years from now. So for now I continue to support Samsung, BB and the great picutre the TV puts out. Good luck to all you out there with these issues.

I have a Samsung DLP HLN4365W for about 3 years. The lamp aging is about 5500 hours and lately the 3BL problem happens, but the weird thing is if I unplug the power and wait for about 7 or 8 hours or more ; turn the set on again then it works. I also tried to turn the set right back on after I turned it off and it work. as long as the cooling fan does not go off it is fine or else I have to wait for another 8 hours usually overnight till it work again. I did change a new lamp and a new ballaster but the problem remains. Does anyone have any ideas? Many thanks in advance.

I have a HLN467W with over 4,000 hours on the lamp. Last week when I turned off the set, it went almost black, but wouldn't turn off even though I kept pushing the power off button. After about 10 minutes, the screen turned white with horizontal bands running across the white screen. I hit the off button, and it turned off. I then waited about 10 minutes, and hit the power on button, but the set wouldn't turn on although the green center light and the top light were blinking. After about ten minutes, the screen became white with the bands across it. Again, the same thing happened when I tried to turn it off.

I got out the paperwork to call the service people in the morning and went to bed. The next day, I turned on the set to get the exact details to tell the technician and the thing came on and it had a picture. It has worked ever since.

Not sure if it's a warning sign of soon to come failure, but it's hard to bring out the repair people when the thing is working. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

Thanks,
Wes

I have an HLN 507W and yesterday it started misbehaving. The tv would lose all color except for green and them shuts itself off and gives me the 3 three blinking lights. I would have to turn off for about 5 minutes and when I turn back on it would return to normal. After 1 to 2 hours the tv would revert back to the same problem again, this has happened five times. Called City Advantage (Circuit City) and someone will call me tomorrow to make a house visit to fix my tv. Has anyone experienced this issue with the screen turning green then turning off. I will let everyone know how the visit went.

Update on service call: Service tech returned Friday and replaced the entire assembly engine which includes basically everything. (bulb, lamp, color wheel, ballast, fans, and DLP chip I would imagine) It took him just minutes to remove and install the one piece assembly. Now it runs quiet and of course no more 3BL's. In a sense it feels like a have a new TV. I will cross my fingers and hope it stays that way for some time now. At least before the extended warranty runs out 3 years from now. So for now I continue to support Samsung, BB and the great picutre the TV puts out. Good luck to all you out there with these issues.


Ok, I just posted about the 3 blinking light thing and wanted to know how you got a service tech to come out and how much it costs? Who did you call or email?

Here is my issue and it sounds like the same thing:

Samsung HLN4365w "sort of" broken - Please Help!

I've had this TV for a year now. Every once in a while it will not power on and will recycle itself 3x's trying to turn itself on. The 3 lights on the front blink indicating a bad bulb. I replaced the bulb and it is still doing this.

That said, when it does turn on (about 5 out of 10 times) it runs great as long as I do not turn it off. It seems like whatever starts the tv is not working. The power seems fine and the bulb is good. I can sometimes power it off, remove the bulb casing and slide it back in, turn the power on and it will turn on. It's strange but it's really frustrating now.

Thought I would share my recent experience. I took the Thursday and Friday off to watch the opening weekend of the NCAA backetball tournament. Sure enough, Tuesday of that week, 3bl. I get on SamsungParts.com and order lamp with next day delivery, because of the hour it didn't actually get shipped until Wednesday, so delivery on Thursday by 10 am. (Side note, my lamp original part ended in a C, new part is something else, somewhere along the line they replace the part number.) Games start at 11:00 or so, should work.

Get the lamp, first problem, screws don't line up quite right. They are ever so slightly lower by like a mm or less, just enough to cause me concern that I ordered the wrong part. Eventually got it good enough and put the cover back on. NO GO! By this time I have to get to the Bar, this will just have to wait.

After a few days and random phone calls I manage to track down the extended warranty details and call. More time goes by, finally someone comes to visit and decides it must be the ballast, takes pictures of the insides. 2 weeks later they finally return. This is like three weeks without HDTV, but now it is working. My daughter has since learned that she can watch movies on our laptop, but we have the TV back.

So note, first try the lamp, next try the ballast (I think it was actually cheeper than the lamp, not sure because I didn't pay for it.)

Have the three blinking light problem with 507. Have to do hard reset(unplug power for one min.) On powering up set will stay on for 1-3 min. before going dead and getting blinking lights. Samsung sent service tech to install new analog board, didn't help. :( Get new set this week.

tech should have replaced the ballast and lamp

Yz3,
Try taking out the lamp enclosure and reseating the lamp. If your balast was bad your tv would most likely shut off or not turn on at all. Another common issue is that the sensor on the lamp door cover gets affected by the dust in that area. The sensor is there to detect wheter the lamp cover door is on or not. If the lamp door is not on properly or if the sensor doesn't get pushed in it will give you the three light problem. If you look by your lamp door, there is a sensor that is pressed in when you put the cover on, clean out that sensor. That may fix your problem. Check out fixyourdlp website for lamp installation instructions. These guys have really put a lot of time and effort into helping people out with their TVs.

They have even created a lamp adapter to retrofit the new, and more reliable vented small lamp into the old big philips lamp enclosure... It works great for all the servicing we do. I've been posting everywhere and letting people know that they can purchase the new lamp for their old TVs. I know that they have started to sell them at the discount-merchant website. I don't know if anyone else carries them yet.

WARNING: Commercial POST (for the benefit of all Samsung Owners)

Just a FYI. Orig. Samsung Lamps (Philips) $129.99

We sell lamps for ALL Samsung DLP TVs, including the BP96-01472A as well as all the older models. We believe we have the best price on the market for ORIGINAL PHILIPS LAMPS. Don't buy generic LTI, APO, or aftermarket OSRAM lamps when you have have the original lamp for less!

Shipping is usually same day.

http://www.discount-merchant.com/Sa....htm&Click=1466

We also offer volume discounts to service centers or individuals for 2+ units.

For information on the HLM,HLN, HLP, HLR, etc older model TVs that use the "Big" Samsung Lamp, we have an adapter which will allow you to take advantage of the newer, revised, and more reliable lamp. For more information on this adapter, take a look at:

http://fixyourdlp.com/blog/?p=14

and

http://fixyourdlp.com/blog/?p=32

Ali Irani-Tehrani
Discount-Merchant.com
619-710-2637 x203

I have a Samsung DLP HLN4365W for about 3 years. The lamp aging is about 5500 hours and lately the 3BL problem happens, but the weird thing is if I unplug the power and wait for about 7 or 8 hours or more ; turn the set on again then it works. I also tried to turn the set right back on after I turned it off and it work. as long as the cooling fan does not go off it is fine or else I have to wait for another 8 hours usually overnight till it work again. I did change a new lamp and a new ballaster but the problem remains. Does anyone have any ideas? Many thanks in advance.


Sorry to ressurrect an old thread, but my HLN617W is having exactly the same problem, and I was wondering if anyone had any other experience like this. I've replaced the lamp, ballast, and color wheel (which was noisy, thought that would do it!). But the TV, once 'warmed up' for more than an hour, then turned off, won't start until it has sat off for 7+ hours. I've put too much into this set already, so I'm not looking to replace the digital board or the DMD engine board.

By the way, I've got a new-ish (~300 hours) ballast for sale, since it didn't fix the problem, so I put the original one back. Samsung part# BP47-00016A.

Worst part is, I've upgraded to the new LED model, and had already sold this unit (thinking I had fixed the problem by replacing the noisy color wheel!). Dangit!

Jeff

I'm going to re-resurrect an old thread. Just replaced color wheel because it was noisy. Getting the 3LB problem. For others with this problem, does the lamp come on initially, then turn off as the color wheel begins to spin? My lamp starts up fine, but turns off after a second or 2. Then the whole issue of color wheel spinning, tv resetting, then 3LB. Any ideas?

I'm going to re-resurrect an old thread. Just replaced color wheel because it was noisy. Getting the 3LB problem. For others with this problem, does the lamp come on initially, then turn off as the color wheel begins to spin? My lamp starts up fine, but turns off after a second or 2. Then the whole issue of color wheel spinning, tv resetting, then 3LB. Any ideas?

I had a similar problem with one of my bulbs. The picture would actually come on for a second or two but then switch off and then 3BL. That time a replacement bulb fixed the problem.

By the way, I recently had the entire light engine replaced because it was getting very loud. I extended my CC protection and it payed off big time. Now this TV is a secondary set in the basement so I am hoping the reduced usage will prevent further issues.

Here is my history with this set:

July 2003 - Purchased
Mid 2004 - First Bulb Replaced
Jan 2005 - Second Bulb Replaced
Mar 2007 - Third Bulb/Light Engine Failed, Entire Light Engine Replaced

8000 Hours my a$$.

wow

Excellent. Thank you for the help. I went ahead and ordered a new lamp. This time I made sure I could return it if the lamp wasn't the problem. For anyone still reading this thread, don't give up hope on your old sammy dlp's. I purchased an HLN 567WX in Feb of '04. I didn't have to replace the lamp until Jan of '07. I had a tech do it then because I was still under warranty, and he claimed that mine was the longest lasting bulb he had ever personally seen clocking in at 14746 hours. She was a good lamp. My current one crapped the bed at just over 3000 hours.

Hi All,

So, here is one I haven't been able to find. I have 2 blinking lights...

The middle green and bottom red. What happens is the TV comes on like normal, runs for about 30-45 seconds and then just shuts off to the above blinking lights. Anyone seen this?

Mongo

My HLM437W has the 3 blinking light problem more often that not. It was working fine a month ago, now won't usually start. BTW, this model is the very first un-updated HLM (original digital board).

I'm trying to figure out why the color wheel & lamp won't start. The TV tries to turn on three times, then 3BL. The normal sequence is that it starts spinning, then the lamp fires up. I found a HLN service manual online (looks close) which shows some, but not all, timing and power supply details.

When the single green light is flashing, but the CW won't start, all the power supplies are on except for the DMD board +/- 26V, which are at 0V. Also, pin 49 on IC104, called Mtr Reset, stays at 0V. It says that the CW motor won't start until it is +5V.

Does anyone know if the +/- 26V supplies come on after the Mtr Reset goes high, or do they have to be there before the color wheel spins? I don't find many details about the cable to the digital board. It looks like the digital board is supposed to signal the DMD board to start, and this signal puts Mtr Reset high. So I'm trying to at least figure out which board is the culprit! I'd like to repair the board if possible.

I'm new here, so if there is somewhere else I should also look for answers, please let me know. I'll post what I find, if anything.

Thanks,
David

My HLM437W has the 3 blinking light problem more often that not. It was working fine a month ago, now won't usually start. BTW, this model is the very first un-updated HLM (original digital board).

I'm trying to figure out why the color wheel & lamp won't start. The TV tries to turn on three times, then 3BL. The normal sequence is that it starts spinning, then the lamp fires up. I found a HLN service manual online (looks close) which shows some, but not all, timing and power supply details.

When the single green light is flashing, but the CW won't start, all the power supplies are on except for the DMD board +/- 26V, which are at 0V. Also, pin 49 on IC104, called Mtr Reset, stays at 0V. It says that the CW motor won't start until it is +5V.

Does anyone know if the +/- 26V supplies come on after the Mtr Reset goes high, or do they have to be there before the color wheel spins? I don't find many details about the cable to the digital board. It looks like the digital board is supposed to signal the DMD board to start, and this signal puts Mtr Reset high. So I'm trying to at least figure out which board is the culprit! I'd like to repair the board if possible.

I'm new here, so if there is somewhere else I should also look for answers, please let me know. I'll post what I find, if anything.

Thanks,
David

3BL on an HLM set usually indicates a lamp malfunction.

I forgot to mention that when the TV has turned on, a handful of times, it stays on, and I've left it on for a few hours a couple times. The lamp is new.

I think that one time when I disconnected the ballast, the CW started spinning. The service manual timing diagram clearly shows that Mtr Reset has to go to +5V before anything starts, and this isn't happening. I have hoped it would start up again so that I could check this and the +/-26V supplies, but it hasn't recently, even after trying for a couple hours.

Has anyone looked at the voltages to the color wheel sensor? It would help me if I could find the part number for the hall effect device on the sensor. The voltages look a little strange to me, but from everying I've been told, this isn't the problem because supposedly the CW will spin awhile with a bad sensor, so this is a long shot.

It would really help to have a complete flow chart, timing, and schematics!! I guess they figure that people are just going to swap boards.

Does anyone have a link to HLM service documents? The HLN I found online looks close enough so I didn't buy the HLM manual, but maybe there are slight differences or other info.

David

FWIW, I had this problem, too, and replacing the ballast fixed it completely. (HLP61)

I posted a while ago (2 years??) about replacing my bulb with a newer model Philip's "mini" bulb but not the ballast on my HLM507WX. Someone had noted this as a potential problem. The reason was the AA (Toshiba) ballast had a 3 wire mini connection vs the new BP ballast had a 5 wire mini plug. Both ballasts had a large identical 2 wire plug so this wasn't a direct replacement.
Since then I have replaced the color wheel do to noise and now have the following problem.

On startup everything goes well, I get a picture for about 20 seconds then the infamous 3bl's. I unplug and sit for 1 minute, then 10, then 2 days and the same thing happens. I took the bulb to a friends house with the same set and the lamp is fine, test ran for 1/2 hour. brought it back, installed it and same issues. There is no popping or any other noise that would indicate a short. I did read here something about a resistor but no mention of which or specific one.

Yes I'm leaning to the ballast, (I thought this was more for start-up of the lamp not keeping it running) but what else could be causing this problem? I haven't seen a list of possibles, power supply doesn't seem right. Any ideas and pointing to a service manual would be great.

Steve

I have a HLN467W with over 4,000 hours on the lamp. Last week when I turned off the set, it went almost black, but wouldn't turn off even though I kept pushing the power off button. After about 10 minutes, the screen turned white with horizontal bands running across the white screen. I hit the off button, and it turned off. I then waited about 10 minutes, and hit the power on button, but the set wouldn't turn on although the green center light and the top light were blinking. After about ten minutes, the screen became white with the bands across it. Again, the same thing happened when I tried to turn it off.

I got out the paperwork to call the service people in the morning and went to bed. The next day, I turned on the set to get the exact details to tell the technician and the thing came on and it had a picture. It has worked ever since.

Not sure if it's a warning sign of soon to come failure, but it's hard to bring out the repair people when the thing is working. Has anyone else had a similar problem?

Thanks,
Wes

I looked at the internal menu yesterday and after more than one year the lamp has 6,730 hours and it's still working. My Performance Quarantee is good until 10/01/2008 and except for the brief problem I had outlined above, I'm having no problem with my HLN467W. I had hoped something would happen so I could get a new wheel and lamp assembley, but it keeps on working.

Wes

The lamp in my HLN507W died (3 blinking leds) last week (after 7865h). The lamp was a BP96-00224A(T). My guy at my local TV shop didn't have the A (T) model in stock but had a BP96-00224J and was positive that it was compatible. The lamp looked identical but for the screws.

After installing the new lamp, the TV would turn on, image would come up but the TV would then auto-shutdown after 10 seconds, and go back to the 3 blinking leds.

Check with a Samsung shop who asked to me check the ballast by removing the lamp altogether and turning the TV on. If the ballast is making a small clickety sound, it is likely working fine. It was making that noise so I ordered a 00224A online, installed it and everything got back to normal. Returned the 224J model.

N.

I had the 3 blinking LED problem too. after re-setting/unplugging it for a few minutes - It would fire up for a for about 30 seconds. 7800 Hrs on the replacement bulb.

Today got the new bulb in - fired up for about a 1/2 hr and it shut down with the three LED thing. I don't have it hooked up to anything (ie no inputs), could that have caused an issue? Once when I fired it up - I heard a sound like a hard drive in overtime - and I got weird green tint on the screen - maybe a color wheel problem too

I was an early adopter to the DLP technology...

Left it unplugged all night. Fired it up this morning and it ran for 3 hrs until I shut it down. Tried to turn it back on - it chimes like it's coming on - but I don't hear the color wheel spin-up and the lamp doesn't come on. It just has the center LED blinking for 30 seconds - then switches to the 3 blinkers. What do I try next?

Wow, I just got this on my really screwed up HL-T5676S. "Brand new" 2007 model. I've had this POS for two months and it won't turn on now.

Try unplugging the set over night - and start it up in the morning... I'd leave it on 24/7 to avoid startup issues...

Try unplugging the set over night - and start it up in the morning... I'd leave it on 24/7 to avoid startup issues...

I left it unplugged for 8 hours and it still won't turn on.

Uh... leaving it on 24/7 to let the bulb burn out and DLP burn-in? This board really stretches for solutions... call Samsung and chew their ass out.

I checked the current draw on the HLN (hopefully better on the HL-T)

and it was 160 watts

I'll check my new HL-T 5087SAX tomorrow

I'm thinking of selling my old set to a friend for his his new bike shop in Sturbridge, MA for extreme videos etc... I just want to hook him up instead of trashing the HL-xxx.

My HLM437W has the 3 blinking light problem more often that not. It was working fine a month ago, now won't usually start. BTW, this model is the very first un-updated HLM (original digital board).

I'm trying to figure out why the color wheel & lamp won't start. The TV tries to turn on three times, then 3BL. The normal sequence is that it starts spinning, then the lamp fires up. I found a HLN service manual online (looks close) which shows some, but not all, timing and power supply details.

When the single green light is flashing, but the CW won't start, all the power supplies are on except for the DMD board +/- 26V, which are at 0V. Also, pin 49 on IC104, called Mtr Reset, stays at 0V. It says that the CW motor won't start until it is +5V.

Does anyone know if the +/- 26V supplies come on after the Mtr Reset goes high, or do they have to be there before the color wheel spins? I don't find many details about the cable to the digital board. It looks like the digital board is supposed to signal the DMD board to start, and this signal puts Mtr Reset high. So I'm trying to at least figure out which board is the culprit! I'd like to repair the board if possible.

I'm new here, so if there is somewhere else I should also look for answers, please let me know. I'll post what I find, if anything.

Thanks,
David

I am digging deep into my HLM437W with much the same symptoms: No +/-26V. Curiously, I can get mine to start by blowing warm air from a hair dryer on the area of the DAD1000 chip on the DMD board. Today I spent a couple of hours replacing some of the Electrolytic capacitors in that area. I cannot yet report any success.

Bulb replaced - no luck. I don't here the color wheel and the bulb doesn't fire up. Trys 3 times then 3 BLEDs.

What do I check next? color wheel?

I don't want to spend too much more on this... Just hate to give up on it

Maybe a board swap?

I have the service manual

Any suggestions?

Jeep.
What model bulb did you buy? I have a new Lamp Ballast I'll swap you for the New bulb if it's a samsung original part. I have both the BP47-00008a ballast (Philips) and the AA47-00008a (samsung) Ballast new in the box.
As I posted above, mine will come on for about 15secs then get the 3 blinking lights. Does the Service Manual say anything else to check? The color wheel I don't think would cause your problem. I have a brand new color wheel installed but mine was whining so I replaced it. I still have the old Color wheel if your interested in just trying it but I would think the service manual would have pointed to it as a possible problem. If you want to get in touch Email me at sdolan@scannersllc.com.

Steve

I bought BP96-00224J from Samsungparts.com

Do you want me to e-mail you the manual? It's in .pdf

That would be great!!
Thanks,
Steve

Today - tried turning it on.... (it's been unplugged for a few days) 1st time I've got it to fire up in a few weeks (normally the bulb doesn't fire up and no color wheel spin-up then 3 re-trys then 3 blinking LEDs

Fired right up for a few minutes... Then I saw the screen change colors and heard a weird spinning noise (like a hard drive in overdrive)

I un-plugged it then tried to fire it back up - back to the 3 F'in Blinking LEDs

Steve - did you get the jpegs I sent with the manual? It got bounced back on my end

Frank,
I got the "DLP2" file, sent an email to you, I should be able to handle a huge file. Could you please try sending the manual again?

Steve

I sent it again and two hours later - it was still sending (20Meg of pdf files)

I'll try to send it broken up in a bunch of e-mails

Steve - I sent the whole manual in five separate e-mails - let me know if you got the whole manual

Frank,
You are a saint!! Got them and will start to look through it today. Hopefully I'll be able to figre something out and will let you know.

Again Thanks!!
Steve

Steve - let me know how it works out... I plan on troubleshooting the HLN this weekend

Happy New Year!

I have isolated the problems with my HLM437w to the DMD board. I replaced a good number of capacitors, but that did not change anything. Then, during one of the times when I managed to get it running, I tapped around on the DMD board and found the IC near the bottom, just under IC 117, made the lamp flicker when I touched it. I re-heated its legs to try to chase away an intermittant chip connection, and have made things much more stable. I am now putting hours on it waiting for it to mess up again.

So my TV spotaneously turns off, and I get the 3 flashing lights.

Fun.

Well I'm back in business. Turns out it was the lamp I was using. I had upgraded to a BP lamp (square) and ballast over a year ago with no problems. Set worked fine and all was well. As I posted I then would turn the set on and about 20 seconds later the set would shut off and the 3 blinking lights were there. I tried the bulb on a friends newer set and it worked fine for about a 1/2 hour so I figured it couldn't be the bulb. After messing around for a few months another guy and I exchanged an AA bulb for a spare AA ballast I had and low and behold the set is up and running like new. We figured that the bulb was putting out either a higher or lower signal(?) and something was shutting the set off on a safety of some sort. Anyway now I got a spare TV!

Steve

This just started happening to me last night.

I previously had the shadow problem, and had my light engine replaced less than a year ago.

Now, just yesterday, the TV started spontaneously turning off after a minute (but looks fine), and I get the 3 flashing lights.

I unplugged it for 24 hours and still happens.

I have a hls-6187w. What's wrong? Help!

This just started happening to me last night.

I previously had the shadow problem, and had my light engine replaced less than a year ago.

Now, just yesterday, the TV started spontaneously turning off after a minute (but looks fine), and I get the 3 flashing lights.

I unplugged it for 24 hours and still happens.

I have a hls-6187w. What's wrong? Help!

It is your bulb. Happened to me also.

HLT5087 - I have three blinking light problems as well. The Tv turns on, the red standby light is on, then it switches to the green LED light, then the TV tries to turn on...then all three lights lit up

I have two samsung dlp tv's and both are doing the same thing they work for about an hour then turn off. I then let them sit for about five min then turn them on four another hour I have had samsung products before and been happy but this is to much if anyone has a suggestion on what it might be let me know. Oh I have a knew bulb in one of them but it turns off still I don't always get the blinking lights but here a static noise and the picture flickers then poof.:confused:

I have a two year old HLS4676S that spontaneously turned off today and then gave me the 3 blinking LEDs. What do I do now?

I ordered a new bulb and a new ballast. I replaced the bulb and she's working again! I'll hold on to the ballast just in case.

I have read through most of this thread (which is fantastic btw - great seeing so many people being helpful). unfortunately I now have information overload - as far as I can tell my issue could be:

I need a new Ballast
I need to grab a soldering iron and change a number of capacitors
I may need to change the Colour wheel
I might need a new engine
I might have a 'loose' lamp door lever
All of the above ;)


If anyone can help me troubleshoot I'd gladly roll my sleeves up and have a go.

The issue is:
TV works fine for long periods and then, out of the blue, colours will go 'funky' and it will turn itself off to standby.
Then, when I press a channel on my remote, one of two things happens :
a) picture comes back (everyone happy)
b) 3 cycle repeat complete with turn-off melody on each cycle and a whining sound (Please note NOT a very noisy sound as seems to be reported by the colour wheel issues) and then, inevitably, as night turns to day, the three blinking lights.

What I did when this first happened : Replaced the lamp.
What happened : Tv worked FINE for about 8 months and then the issue above happened again.

What I did then : Bought ANOTHER lamp
What happened: TV worked FINE for about 6 DAYS and then same issue happens.


Currently :
Now, its like a lottery, I turn it on some mornings and get the blinking lights straight away. I'll try again a few hours later and the tv works as normal for either a few hours or even a few days and then will randomly revert to the 3BL cycle again.

Please help - which area should I concentrate on? Please note also I have moved to the UAE so tv is out of warranty and also no real customer service to speak of so I'm on my own (apart from you guys :) )


Random question : If i unplug all the inputs (xbox,PC,Cable tv etc) turn it on (into standby mode), and wait for 10 minutes before turning it on - is there any technical reason why this might help me on start up at least? I just read it somewhere and its something I haven't tried.

if anyone can assist I would be so grateful - its the 'oh great it works' euphoria to every now and then 'oh no it doesn't' despair cycle thats killing me - I honestly think if it didn't work at ALL I'd be handling this better - insanity is beckoning.

All the best,
TOOTR

My HLN617w is giving me some trouble.
The original lamp lasted way longer then I thought it would (over 6000 hours).
I'm less then a year into my second lamp and when I turn on the TV I get audio but the lamp light blinks and the lamp don't light up and the fan don't start.
It will do this three times turning it self off between each try, after the third try I get the three blinking lights.
I tired leaving it unplugged for few hours and I just put in a new bulb and it does the same thing.

After researching I think the next move is to replace the ballast. (BP47-00016A)
Just looking for someone more knowledge then me to confirm this would be the next smart move before I spend more money.

Thanks.

*Updated 03/03: Put the new ballast in, now the fans go on but everything else is the same..

*03/06/09: Gave up on it, Ordered a nice PJ & 110" screen for less then what I paid for this 6 years ago.

I know this is an old thread but hoping someone who experienced my problem can help. My HLN617w died this weekend...it's about 6 years old now. The color wheel was replaced at about 3 years (I did the replacement myself) and I have the new aftermarket Phillips bulb that is a year old or less.

So, when I turn the TV on...I can hear the regular fans turn on (pretty quiet) then a spinning sound which I'm guessing is the color wheel. It seems like it's spinning up really weird though and ends in a weird high pitch noise for a second or two. It repeats the process trying to spin up a few times and then just ends with the 3BL. Top two green, bottom red. I left the set unplugged overnight when it first happened in hopes that it would startup the next morning but no luck. I know most of the 3BL problems are lamps so for the hell of it I tried throwing in my old original bulb which I kept as a spare...this made no difference. I think I have my original color wheel somewhere (going to look tonight)...it worked it just had the loud grinding noise. So the plan for tonight is to open it up, inspect the current color wheel...make sure it can move freely, nothing visably broke, etc...and maybe put the original one back in to test.

Has anyone had this same issue before? Would you agree that it's very likely the color wheel gone bad? I hope it's not anything more expensive like a board or something. If I have to dump $500+ into repairing it I'll likely just get a new TV (oh darn). :)

Today - tried turning it on.... (it's been unplugged for a few days) 1st time I've got it to fire up in a few weeks (normally the bulb doesn't fire up and no color wheel spin-up then 3 re-trys then 3 blinking LEDs

Fired right up for a few minutes... Then I saw the screen change colors and heard a weird spinning noise (like a hard drive in overdrive)

I un-plugged it then tried to fire it back up - back to the 3 F'in Blinking LEDs

Update: It was the color wheel that went bad. One of the sections had separated and was sticking out slightly..this caused it to hit the plastic housing on the bottom which created the unusual noise. I put my original grinding & loud but working color wheel back in and it worked so I'll just order a new one I guess.

Update: It was the color wheel that went bad. One of the sections had separated and was sticking out slightly..this caused it to hit the plastic housing on the bottom which created the unusual noise. I put my original grinding & loud but working color wheel back in and it worked so I'll just order a new one I guess.

The most problem Dlps have either the board got faulty or their bulb or color wheel. My system had the same problem blinking light and Tv was out. I had to spent 160$ too change the bulb.

Hello all, thought I'd post my experience so far with my DLP TV. I have the 50" Samsung, but they are all basically the same it seems like (related issues with all models).

Came home one day and found out my TV was making a very loud whining. Replaced the color wheel. While I was inside the TV I noticed the lamp had blown (broken glass inside the lamp). Replaced the lamp.

Turn on the TV and the lamp does not fire. The fan does spin up, but the color wheel does not spin. I hear a "click click click" noise which I assume is the ballast attempting to fire up the lamp.

I ordered a new ballast, hoping that this is the final piece that will fix my TV. Do you think that this is the problem? All of the wires and connections are in place and hooked up correctly.

Worst case is that it doesn't work, and that it's the DMB board (or the whole light engine). Right? If that is the case, I'm just going to return the parts and give up on the TV.

Thanks guys!

Yeah, ballast did not fix the TV. Issue is probably with the PSU or the Light Engine itself, and not worth fixing. Returning the parts and going to put the TV on craigslist to see if anyone else wants it.

Hi, I've been hit with the familiar '3 flashing lights' and have replaced the lamp & the ballast. I'm looking for suggestions on what the likely problem is and how much that part may cost, I'd rather ask on here before I call out a service tech. When turning on the TV I can hear the fan kick in and a green light to the left of the lamp(and behind a metal grate) lights up, but I get no signal.

Thanks in advance.