Samsung DMD board replacement - Page 11

When I said 'catastrophic' I was referring to the failure of the individual parts not whether or not the problem has reached epidemic proportions.

EliteData you are way out of line. I found this thread because I had a white dot on my Sammy (now two), and I wanted to find out how to fix it. It looks like this thread shows exactly how to do that. I am going to order the part, and try to fix this problem myself. I have not called Samsung yet, but I intend to do so first. I don't anticipate any help from them, based on comments here, from co-workers (with different issues with Samsung) and from your comments. What exactly is your role with Samsung?
If you read through this thread, you will see a common problem. We all bought an expensive TV, and now, a couple of years later, we are finding that a chip has failed. This is not a consumable part. How can you compare that to a cartridge on a printer? Can you go to Wal-mart and buy this chip? When I bought my TV, I researched a lot, and determined that if I bought the DLP, that I would have to replace the bulb in a few years, and I was fine with that. My bulb is still good, but the chip is not. Samsung has to step up and extend the warranty on this one part, as it is clearly a bad part. They in turn, will then go after the supplier of that part to recoup their additional warranty costs. That's how it works.
How about instead of criticizing people who are trying to get their TV fixed, why not offer some real advice on fixing the problem? Do you have any?
What would you consider a catastrophic amount of affected sets? Do you know the ratio of failed sets to sold sets? Or is it just not close enough yet?
Do you own one of these sets? If so, do you have the white dots yet? I'm guessing your opinions would be different if you did.

EliteData - I would agree that you are out of line here. In my dealings with Samsung, I found that you had to push your way through the myriad of CSC reps to get to a manager that would finally agree that they have heard of this problem but you're on your own. There have been enough folks that have had the failing chip that have called in and as you say, Samsung keeps track of all the issues yet, they don't want to acknowledge it initially. Why? So that the customer will either buy another set or go to a local repair shop and pay through the nose or buy the part and try it themselves. Either way, Samsung is not paying for the repair if they can help it. That's the way most large industries tend to handle situations such as this.

I too opted to buy a DLP set knowing that I would have to shell out for a replacement bulb after 2-3 yrs but there have been quite a few folks that have only gotten 800 hours or fewer out of the bulbs. That is not an acceptable time so Phillips or Samsung has extended warranty on purchased bulbs in some cases. In this case, the DLP chip is failing and I have read cases where shortly after replacing the chip the DMD board fails. These are not consumable items and if only affecting a handful of TV's then the manufacturer would be right to stand by the warranty. If you do your research as we all have, you would find that there are over 20 forums where this issue is discussed (and not by the same people) so the problem is much more widespread so the manufacturer should step up to the plate.

I am one of the lucky ones that happened to have my complaint go across the right persons desk at Samsung and got the part warranty extended to cover this. However, the local ASC tech tells me that the labor is based on the complexity of the repair. In my case they replaced the entire Light Engine Assembly which consisted in removing the back panel (about 9 screws), disconnecting 3 wires, removing another 2 screws, sliding the old assembly out, sliding the new one in, reconnecting the wires and screws, and finally putting the back panel back on for a total charge of $245. This entire process took less than 15 minutes. I would hate to see the bill for a truly complex job. And working for a global technology company, we don't charge our customers that kind of hourly rate for our Service Delivery Managers let alone the techs that go onsite.

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I think you misread it... I believe the phone call part was about the dying DLP chip. The lamp comments were separate.

I beg to differ with you on the cost of repairs being related to the purchase price. Ford dealers charge roughly $90/hr for labor, the local Audi dealer also charges roughly $90/hr for labor. I replaced the water pump in my wife's 96 Ford Escort wagon and in my 99 Audi A6 wagon. Both repairs came in just shy of $500. Obviously the Escort was much less expensive a purchase than the Audi yet the repair cost was almost identical.

I will agree that there is a degree of skill and experience that is being charged for in labor rates but even if the repair on the tv's was only replacing the DLP chip which should take approximately 90 minutes, that would be $133 per hour if the charge was $200 for performing this work. Obviously an experienced tech would be able to perform this work in less than 90 minutes. This does seem to be a bit of price gouging but I guess it could be argued that this is just what the market will bear (supply and demand).

Again if you do your research on the DLP issues (as an experienced ASC you are probably already aware of these issues), there are a host of problems associated with DLP sets and not just with the Samsung models ranging from light tunnel issues, shadows, bulb life, and the constellation effect caused by stuck mirrors. Several of which have resulted in suits against the manufacturer in order to force them to acknowledge a defect in their product. If the actual problem lies with a part that was provided to them by a vendor (as in the DLP chip) then the manufacturer is still responsible for their product as a whole and would have to go back to their vendor to offset their costs.

As for what caused the failure here with the DLP chip, it would seem to be a bad batch provided by TI. I've been told and read where Samsung would say that heat caused the problem but my set's back is approx. 10" from the wall and the house is kept at 78 yr round. Good air flow and moderate temp with low humidity so heat is not an issue with my set unless the fans in the tv quit working in which case the tv would not operate. And since Samsung will warranty the part (if you push hard enough), they are acknowledging the issue. There has also been a shortage of the chips several times this year which leads me to believe that this problem is more widespread than you think and Samsung would also be aware of that since, as you said previously, they keep records of that type of thing.

I think that our biggest gripe is that Samsung will start off with "we've never heard of this problem" when anyone calls in to report it and wants to ignore the issue completely by sticking to you're out of warranty. If they will extend warranty coverage for parts in some cases, we've got to ask as a group why aren't they acknowledging the problem to begin with and offering to cover the parts from the first call.

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After reading ALL the posts on this thread I have decided to replace the entire light engine assembly. Can anyone tell me whether or not I will then be faced with a realignment problem?
thanks to all who have shared there expertise on this "stars" issue

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EliteData, you are confusing the few people on this thread that are generally complaining about Samsung, and the others who just want to get their sets fixed. Many of us are truly competent in being able to follow some simple instructions to save some money. You can see by reading this thread that some have already done so. Do you have problems following instructions? Do pictures help for you? I unusually prefer to learn about a problem and fix it myself rather than trust some "professional" tech. Still not sure what you role with Samsung is. TV repairman?
I am having a hard time following your un-capitalized run-on sentences. What is the meaning of this sentence, it seems to be missing something:
"as a matter of fact, the quantity of these sets sold in the USA between 2006 and 2007 and the problems these sets are having in relation to this 300+ post thread, is that supposed to suddenly turn the issue into a "common" problem"
Are you saying that this is not a common problem? Have you done a Google search on this problem? Seems very common to me.
I have not heard anyone on this thread complain about how long it took to fix the problem themselves. Most of the people who have fixed the problem are happy that they did. I hope to soon be in that group too. Of course I will try Samsung first. If they do not help, then I will fix it myself, as stated previously.
Here's another quote from Mr. Elite, of course these sentences do not start with capital letters either, Why would they?:
"do you think fixing a 2001 BMW is cheap ?
fixing a 2001 Hyundai certainly is.
see the difference yet ?"
What is the repair? How can you compare the two. I would rather pay to fix the BMW if the problem was a broken wiper blade, rather than fixing the Hyundai's transmission. See the difference yet?
Your posts are clearly not aimed at helping anyone fix their problem, which is the intent of this thread. Why not find some other use of your time. Perhaps you could fix some of those DLP’s in your shop. Maybe you have so much free time to rant because you have no parts to install, because Samsung is out of them again.

I am a complete novice - do you have any advice regarding references on mannuals / repair guides? Also, if I do encounter a color sync adjustment issue, where can I find out how to do that.
Thanks a'bunch

I thought you said you read ALL of the posts?

You haven't mentioned what model you're working with, but there is an "Alignment & Adjustment.pdf" in with all of the service manual stuff that I have uploaded from my HLS5086W (here).

Index Delay adjustment is definitely covered in that document.

(The first page has a chart that tells you which procedures you should check based on the part you're replacing... although EliteData says most of them should be unnecessary.)

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to pezjunkie - I am sorry for the brevity. I am working on the HLS-4676SX/XAA version PA01. I did read that post and then noticed some comments in other posts that there were some slight differences between the models people were fixing and what they saw in the pdf doc. I may be getting in over my head, but I do need to try to minimize my repair expense and make a wise & informed decision at the same time.
Thanks for all your time in helping to inform those, including my self, who feel like we need a repair mannual for "dummies".

I think you shouldn't have any problems... especially if you're willing to drop the cash on a whole lighting engine assembly. (Which, honestly, isn't too bad if you get the core deposit back for returning the old engine.) It's just a few screws & cables and then the whole thing slides out.

As far as I can tell, those alignment/adjustment procedures are pretty standard across a bunch of different models.

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How is this done?

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hbpapa, may I ask why you have decided to change out the whole light engine as opposed to the chip? You and I have the same set and version, and the same problem. I am still leaning towards changing out the chip only.

hbpapa - I replaced the DLP chip on that exact model. I've had no TV repair experience at all, the instructiuons are easy to follow though the lay-out of your set is slightly different than the pictures. My advice... take it slow, keep track of all your parts (I put all the screws and such on the correcponding pictures laid out on the floor. If you run into any troubles email me and I'd be happy to assist if I can. Good Luck!

If anyone's looking for the DLP chip to DIY the repair. I've got one ordered from Samsungparts.com that I didn't take out of the box. I opted to take Samsung up on their part warranty so that I could have the bench warranty from the tech should something go terribly wrong.


Part # 4719-001981 Cost (including priority insured shipping) $166

If you want it shoot me an email at ntninja@comcast.net. Based on the description from Samsungparts.com, it supports the following models:

HLS4266W, HLS4666W, HLS4676S, HLS5086W, HLS5686W, HLS6186W, HLT4675S, HLT5075S, HLT5675S, Other TV

http://drop.io/HLS5086W

Get the alignment & adjustment.pdf

Between that doc and EliteData's guidance, you should be able to figure it out.

I didn't see a difference.
The model number of my TV is HLS4266WX/XAA version PB02.
Thanks for the help!

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I have a 46" unit that developed the white dot plague after 2 years. I was teetering on sinking the $160 in for a new chip when the lamp died. I've decided to just buy a new set rather than put any more time/money into this one.

As far as I know everything else on the unit is still usable. Anyone interested in purchasing this for parts or to repair themselves? If so message me at micaheddy@gmail.com

Moldel # HLS4676SX/XAA

If these are truly "throw away" TV's like someone here has implied, they should have cost less than half what they originally did. Quite a few of us here came from the era of the $500 RCA that was still working after 10-15 years. If having a $1000+ TV die after 2 years is normal, that's really sad.

Hey everyone,
i have a HLS4676 with the white dot problem
do i replace the DLP or the DMD?

thanks in advance