Detailed guide to replacing the color wheel in a Samsung HL-R6168W w/photos! - Page 2

Got it!! After 3 hours of slowly digging out the fragments of the old connector, the new one went in like a snap. New color wheel is working great, and is so much quieter I probably would have changed it before failure if I had known.

An interesting point. My color wheel did not fragment like so many others. What I found is a piece of epoxy (that's what it looked like - like amber glue) that was about half an inch long in the color wheel enclosure. I'm guessing this had somehow impacted the color wheel until the berring (sp) went bad. It made all of the bad noises before failure that people have said except for the shattering.

Thanks to all for posting their experiences. On Monday the SS repair people come out to fix the light tunnel. I had to have the TV working in time for them.

Dave

[quote=GeekGirl;16890489]Has anyone who's replaced the color wheel done anything in the service menu besides adjusting the index delay?


Geek Girl, did you get an efficient way to adjust the color wheel? I have the same issues.

Sorry to necro this thread but I could use some help. Followed all the instructions, but the new color wheel doesn't seem to be spinning up. When I go to turn it on after I replaced it the lamp light flashes like normal, I hear the start sound but the tv doesn't come on. Then all three lights on the front (lamp, timer and stand by/heat) flash and nothing happens after that.

I checked the copper color wire and made sure the side with the contacts faced the internal contacts on the connector. Don't want to have to pay someone to come out and look at it for me.

Thanks.

Hey Doormat, I just last weekend replaced the color wheel in my HLR6768WX. I had the exact same problem you describe above. I went back in and examined my installation only to find I'd gotten the color wheel tilted just enough so that it was touching the entrance to the light tunnel. It couldn't spin up due to being stuck against that assembly. I loosend everything back up and repositioned. Got everything back together and luckily, everything worked. I DID have to adjust my index delay. Went from an original setting of 59 all the way to a new setting of 43. Seems large to me but hey, the picture looks great now. I also just today installed a new lamp. Now my picture looks as good as new again.

These Samsungs have a great picture. Too bad they're so prone to fail mechanically. This forum has saved me a lot of money. With this latest color wheel problem along with the light tunnel back then, I figure I've saved at LEAST a grand. I had to do the dreaded light tunnel replacement a couple years back. What a pain. I posted the procedure I used to replace the light tunnel in another thread back then. This thread was EXCELLENT in helping me through the color wheel replacement and re-indexing. MUCH thanks to the author of the article with all the pictures.

Thanks to this thread and other similar ones I was able to determine that the color wheel on my HLR-6768W had gone bad and needed to be replaced. I attempted to do the replacement myself but ran into a few problems, namely I was having difficulty removing the LE assembly from the unit. So I bit the bullet and called a local repairman to finish the job. Good thing I did, because he also had problems getting the LE assembly out and had to clear some additional wires out of the way in order to make more room. Anyway, the color wheel was replaced and I crossed my fingers that all was well.

Unfortunately that was not the case. Though the new color wheel seems to work fine as is super quiet, I immediately noticed the dreaded shadowing problem...in my case it's a 2-3 inch shadow all along the left side of the screen. I guess I wasn't totally surprised, because it sounds like others have experience the same issue after a color wheel replacement and ended up having to replace the light tunnel. But what I don't fully understand is - why does a shattered color wheel cause a problem with the light tunnel? Is it because fragments of the color wheel fly off and end up damaging the light tunnel? I definitely did not have any shadowing problem prior to the color wheel problem, so I know that the two problems are related.

I also read that Samsung has stepped up and has agreed to extend the warranty to include light tunnel replacements for some of these older models. Does anyone know if that would still apply to a nearly 5-year old HLR-6768W? And finally...during the first couple of years that I owned the set I ran into a similar shadowing problem and Samsung ended up replacing the entire LE...this was before they realized that the issue was solely with the light tunnel. If by chance Samsung is still extending the warranty for units such as mine, is the fact that they've already replaced my LE to address this problem going to raise a red flag?

Thanks again for all your help!

Bob

Hey my HL-R6168 started same issue as everyone else and I found this DLP TV Class Action Settlement which included ALL HL-P, HL-R and HL-S models related to light tunnel issues!

www dot samsung dot com/us/dlptvsettlement/

Settlement Notice:
www dot samsung dot com/us/dlptvsettlement/Class%20Action%20Settlement%20Notice.pdf

Settlement Agreement:
www dot samsung dot com/us/dlptvsettlement/settlement%20agreement.pdf

Claim Form:
www dot samsung dot com/us/dlptvsettlement/CLAIM%20FORM.pdf

I recently had the color wheel replaced by a technician. Subsequently, we turned it on and everything seemed fine (no picture issues). The next day my wife turns the TV on and she gets no picture. Just like the above, the TV does not turn and we get the same 16 flashes but I can hear the color wheel spinning up then shutting down then repeating about three times before all lights are blinking on the TV. Any ideas before I call back the tech?

Thanks

Ordered the part off of eBay and using this thread successfully changed the color wheel on my HL-R7178WX screen. Two ginormous thumbs up on this thread.

My set had of late started emitting a humming noise consistent with high speed rotational vibrations. The screen never looked wrong, and knowing the DLP fairly well I concluded it the only thing that could be making such a noise was the color wheel, the sound was far too "vibrant" to be a fan. Finally one day - no sound, but no nothing. Set would cycle a few times and then all the lights on the power switch would blink.

So, I got the wheel, and using these directions, replaced it successfully. I was worried about the color wheel mount in that loose rubber surround - that's a design flaw of the first order. The first time I turned it on, I thought it didn't work - it was SO QUIET. I had forgotten how quiet it was supposed to be. But the picture came up, and no shadows. I haven't gone in to mess with the color timing - hard to tell if I have a problem, sometimes it looks like washed out color faces, but that's normally an SD source with questionable quality. HD images are perfect.

When I replaced the wheel, I noticed a piece of hardened plastic in the wheel well - the wheel itself was intact, but this detached plastic looked to be part of what balanced the wheel. I figure it broke off, which unbalanced the wheel, which simply wore the motor down over time. The wheel spun fairly freely when out, but with a noticeable grind - the new wheel did NOT spin very freely, but was smooth and made no noise.

Again, this thread was an enormous help, thanks to the OP for a great guide that got my TV fixed for $100...

A big thumbs up to the OP - this thread was fantastic! I have an HL-R5668 (56"), and these directions were far more applicable than anything else online. My symptoms: loud hum when I started up the TV, and it would shut off about 5-10 seconds after I shut the TV off. Since it shut off that quickly, I assumed it was the color wheel and not the fan (I'm glad it wasn't the ballast).

The only difference was since the 56" is a bit more compact than the 61", I had to pull out the A/V Jack section on the left as well in order to get the light engine out. I found that I definitely wanted to completely disconnect the light engine - I carried it into another room and set it on a desk to do the delicate color wheel removal. No sign of damage, but once I put the new one in and put it back together, the set is as good as new.

The tip that helped me most? To take pictures every step of the way - if I ever doubted myself on a connection, I had pictures to show exact orientation, location, etc.

It was a bit tricky, but if you're handy and the directions don't look overwhelming, you're probably in good shape.

Thanks for the instructions! They worked, but I've had a problem since I replaced the color wheel:

My TV image will "pulse" at random intervals. On average, about once every 30 seconds the screen will become brighter for one flicker, then return to normal. This never occurred with the old color wheel, but with the image problems occurring at random intervals, I don't think it's a simple bad color wheel issue, and it's not the violent flickering I've seen in some videos. Any ideas before I tear everything apart and send the new part back? Thanks.

I'm not experiencing any picture issues, but I do hear a buzzing/vibration noise that seems to rise and fall. After a while last night, the noise went away. Was this the same noise you all were hearing when your color wheel went out?

I had the same experience. I first removed the whole assembly from the TV. This is a simple matter of disconnecting a few more connectors. It gives you the ability to work with proper light and access it from all sides. I highly recommend everyone do this from the get-go, as it is easier and safer.

As to the fragments of the connector, I studied it very carefully with bright light and magnification. It simply pulls out straight, but in my case the wires pulled out and the connector fragmented. I wound up picking it apart with dental tools and fine needle-nose pliers. It took a while but I finally got it out. Whew!

Just replaced my color wheel using these directions in about an hour. I also recommend removing the entire LE and performing the swap at a table where there is good light. I was successful in removing the tiny white clip with a very small flat head screwdriver by prying up from the short sides where the plastic is stronger. Thanks Again!

Thank you for the informative tutorial and photos,armed with this information I am now able to completely remove the light engine in just a matter of minutes! Upon removal of the color wheel my suspicions were confirmed,it had self destructed. The ballast was also testing bad using a method I found elsewhere,I was not pleased with this method so I decided to experiment a little before purchasing a part that i did not need. After reading that the wheel needs to spin up completely to 9000 rpm before sending 5v to fire the ballast I figured why not remove all the remaining glass from the wheel thus allowing it to spin balanced. The outcome was as I had hoped and the ballast fired the lamp! The set (which I was given by a friend) is now working though only in black and white....I'll update when the new wheel arrives and I get it installed:)
Edited by Al Vickers - 7/25/12 at 7:25pm

Thanks Yu
that's very difficult task
but very helpful