Well, the dreaded Flashing Red Light....finally caught up with me.
Watching a movie today and suddenly the screen went black, looked at my IN72 and gasp!...indicator light flashes three times...pause...three times...and so on. I unplugged the power cord and waited 20 mins...then tried it again. Image came on but appeared unstable...then screen went black again...three flashing red lights...pause...more flashing red lights. 600 hours on bulb, IN72 is just shy of 5mos. old, and shipped with 2.7 frimware (I did the 3.0 update). So I called Infocus tech support and was instructed to "remove the lamp assembly and shake it a few times". Then try running in High Power Mode. I told the tech I feel it's probably the 1w fuse issue that others have reported. I spoke with another rep who was very helpful and after my describing the problem he issued an RMA.

Before I go to the trouble to ship the IN72 back, I thought I'd give the High Power Mode a try. Well...guess what? After being on for just a minute...the screen went blank then I heard a "whoosh" sound and turned my head just in time to see smoke and flames billowing out the exhaust port. Now, I gotta asked, is this a blown bulb? Don't mean to be dramatic, but I didn't realize it could create such a hazard. ( I'm 6 inches below drop-ceiling. Hell, I'm glad I was home when this happened...a good reason not to leave home even for a minute with your pj running. As I type this, I'm running an exhaust fan to clear the smoke/odor outta my finished basement. So now does this look like a lamp job or a pj replacement? Lamp warranty expired.
Advice welcomed!

lamp

fuse you'll get nothing no lights, nothing. it's not the fuse.

it's probably lamp. or power.

I thought the lamp warranty was 6 months?

3 months i'm pretty sure.

I remember reading somewhere that Infocus had doubled the lamp warranty from 3mos to 6mos. The product page on the Infocus website still says 90days, however, if you go through the support links to Lamp Warranty it does say 6mos for the IN72 (sorry I'm not allowed to post URL since I'm a new member here). Hopefully it is 6mos and you're still covered!!

i remember that. not sure.

I remember reading somewhere that Infocus had doubled the lamp warranty from 3mos to 6mos. The product page on the Infocus website still says 90days, however, if you go through the support links to Lamp Warranty it does say 6mos for the IN72 (sorry I'm not allowed to post URL since I'm a new member here). Hopefully it is 6mos and you're still covered!!

Hey dslatlast, thanks for the info on the 6mos lamp warranty,
Found it here:
http://www.infocus.com/Support/Warranty/LampWarranty.aspx

sgibson

lamp

fuse you'll get nothing no lights, nothing. it's not the fuse.

it's probably lamp. or power.

billymac,
Thanks for the feedback. I had no idea the lamp failure would be that dramatic. :eek:
Hell, I mean it was smoking and sparking bigtime. I thought about grabbin. my camera for a shot, but my first concern was to unplug it and get the smoke out.

That sucks. Mine is working great I'll wait until that happens.

My IN72 documentation indicates it's a 6-month bulb warranty.

OMG! :eek:

This is the first I have ever heard of "Smoke and Flames". How many people can say they've had this happen or heard of it? And I have been concerned with just the amount of heat my 4805 puts off. My 4805 is shelf mounted about 1" below my Cedar ceiling. I also will leave my PJ running Unattended for 1/2 hour or a hour quite frequently because They say turning the machine off and on is hardest on the bulb.

My set up is so perfect but I'm thinking I should lower the shelf/PJ a few inches.
About how many inches would you say the flames were coming out and for how long? I'm putting a fire extinguisher next to my couch.

R.

OMG! :eek:

This is the first I have ever heard of "Smoke and Flames". How many people can say they've had this happen or heard of it? And I have been concerned with just the amount of heat my 4805 puts off. My 4805 is shelf mounted about 1" below my Cedar ceiling. I also will leave my PJ running Unattended for 1/2 hour or a hour quite frequently because They say turning the machine off and on is hardest on the bulb.

My set up is so perfect but I'm thinking I should lower the shelf/PJ a few inches.
About how many inches would you say the flames were coming out and for how long? I'm putting a fire extinguisher next to my couch.

R.

I don't mean to sound like an alarmist, but smoke\flames(sparks?) shot out the exhaust port, until I pulled the power cable. Took me about 3-4secs once I got over my initial shock and raced for the plug. It was a startling sight, I wish I'd snapped a pic for Infocus, but was more concerned about the electrical problem. The odor is still pretty strong around the IN72-smells like burnt phenolic board. I will be in touch with Infocus on this issue on Monday. If it turns out to be just a lamp then I apologize for causing a stir. However, I think it is more than that -possibly a power supply issue.
I'll keep the forum posted on the outcome.

.... I will be in touch with Infocus on this issue on Monday. If it turns out to be just a lamp then I apologize for causing a stir. However, I think it is more than that -possibly a power supply issue.
I'll keep the forum posted on the outcome.


RMA is on it's way to Louisville, KY today. (One month left on my bulb warranty... whew that was close!) Anyhow, I'm curious as to what the exact problem was that generated lots of smoke/sparks. Does Service Center provide customers with repair details?

Thanks again to dslatlast for the headsup on the IN72 6mos lamp warranty,
http://www.infocus.com/Support/Warranty/LampWarranty.aspx

RMA is on it's way to Louisville, KY today. (One month left on my bulb warranty... whew that was close!) Anyhow, I'm curious as to what the exact problem was that generated lots of smoke/sparks. Does Service Center provide customers with repair details?

Thanks again to dslatlast for the headsup on the IN72 6mos lamp warranty,
http://www.infocus.com/Support/Warranty/LampWarranty.aspx

Update :D
Got a call from Dave Burger of Infocus today. He mentioned that he saw my
post here on avsforums and said he will redirect my IN72 from the Infocus
Repair Center in Louisville, KY to Infocus' Wilson, OR center, so that he
can take a close look at this smoke/sparking problem. Dave said he will will provide feedback to me on this issue. He made a generous exchange offer (Brand-new IN72 for my original IN72). I have to go on record as saying ,IMO, Infocus is outstanding when it comes to customer service, satisfaction. The fact that they monitor avsforums for user feedback (and have done so for a number of years...evidenced by Bob William's valuable presence) and input in this forum speaks of their committment to customer satisfaction. Any problems that I have encountered with Infocus have always been resolved to my satisfaction. I don't know of many other manufacturers I can say that about. I've been a member here for nearly 5 years ( my first X1) and owe a great deal to my fellow members and sponsers of this fine forum. Hell, I couldn't have attained my dream of owning my own Home Theater without your expert advice and help! So I'll give a big "Hats off" to avsforums members, sponsers and in particular,Infocus .

regards,
sgibson

Thanks for the Update sgibson. & it's good to hear things are working out for you.

R.

IN72 exchange is a small price to pay to quelch a possible major design flaw with potential dangerous consequences. Can you say massive recall?

I don't mean to sound like an alarmist, but smoke\flames(sparks?) shot out the exhaust port, until I pulled the power cable. Took me about 3-4secs once I got over my initial shock and raced for the plug. It was a startling sight, I wish I'd snapped a pic for Infocus, but was more concerned about the electrical problem. The odor is still pretty strong around the IN72-smells like burnt phenolic board. I will be in touch with Infocus on this issue on Monday. If it turns out to be just a lamp then I apologize for causing a stir. However, I think it is more than that -possibly a power supply issue.
I'll keep the forum posted on the outcome.


Um.. This is exactly what just happened to mine! I didn't see any flames, but the smoke, sparks, and burnt phenolic board smell happened. I heard this cracking sound and that's what made me look up to see what was going on. Everything happened like you said in the first post. I tried to power on the projector after 30 min. and it just made this cracking sound... almost like a buzz. There was only 1400 hours on the bulb... not the 3000 hrs that was expected. I took out the bulb and mirror like coating was flaking all over. The bad part is my projector just past it's 1 year date by 10 days!

I thought it was the bulb also... and I'm not buying a bulb now when I can get a new projector for a $100 more. If you find out what was wrong with the projector... let me know. Bob Williams, if you are reading this and know that it's more than just a bulb issue or know what I should do with my In72... please PM me! Thanks

Bob works for Planar now not Infocus. Even when he did work at Infocus it was in design not in repair.

Well I guess he knew what was about to hit :)

Same. My IN72 just belched out a plume of smoke just a few hours ago. No flames, sparks, or little gremlins though. Essentially the same as what nate described. Has anyone else experienced any similiar problems? Also, is this just a bulb issue or... ? Thanks guys...

Any other reports of this issue, I was thinking about buying one of these :eek:

Interesting read.

Last time my X1a blew a Lamp it literally Blew up.

It was probably as loud as an M70 firecracker and scarred the heck out of me :)

Belched out a good poof of smoke and that was it, I have noticed several X1, X1a, 4805 and In72 units on ebay [ all use the same lamp ] with damaged color wheels and now I know why. Apparently when the Lamp explodes like mine did it can break the small lens on the Lamp housing and send parts of it through the color wheel damaging it.

That didnt happen to me but after all the ones Ive seen on ebay Im counting my lucky stars.

Anyway, glad to hear infocus is taking care of you as from what Ive seen their customer service has been rather poor in the past.