2007 Mitsubishi WD-XX73X and XX831 Owner's Thread - Page 309

What, when it is off? It's not unusual for "specs" to be incorrect. What size? 32"?
Put a accurate current meter on it and report back.

I have better things to do with my time including caring four our 2 year old son who is battling Leukemia. We installed a geothermal HVAC system to save energy so if my TV uses more energy, no big deal. According to the internet specs, it does not. The biggest benefit is it works.

We purchased or Mitsubishi WD-73831 in early 2007. We have had the Optical Engine replaced under the extended warranty offered by Mits due to problems and have replaced the lamp once ourselves, about six months ago. Today, the TV refused to turn on (no reaction at all to remote) until we pushed the system reset button. Then it worked as normal after the blinking green light stopped. Then we turned it off and when we went to turn it back on, it once again required a system reset (followed by lots of green blinking lights) to turn back on. Once it on it seems to look, work and respond fine but I know this is NOT a good sign.

Any ideas?

Sounds like Lamp time, Amazon has the best price that I know of, Try River Valley, I've bought almost all My lamps from them and they also forwarded a note about a certain screen that needs to be removed as causes lamp failure, A word of caution though, You need plastic gloves to handle a bare lamp, As You don't want any bare fingers leaving anything on them as that could create a hot spot which can also burn a lamp out and as You'd know, They aren't cheap.

Lamp for the 73831 TV

It hasn't even been six months since our last lamp change. Our first lasted over two years.

I disagree. Sounds as some other issue. Power supply for starters or some type of system corruption.

1. What power mode is the set in? Fast Pwr. On or Low Pwr.? Put it is Low Power (no need for fast unless you are using TVGOS).
2. Pwr. off the set, unplug it for 5-10 minutes and try it gain.
3. Which reset procedure are you using (there are 4 or 5 different types of resets)?
4. Has the firmware even been flashed (updated)? If not, that might be worth a try.

It is in low power mode (and always has been, as far as a I know). We've tried pulling the plug. Didn't seem to have any effect. We're doing the front panel reset (using a paper clip to push reset button). We've never updated our firmware, how do we do that? Also, is there a way (I know there is, but can't find it) to check the current lamp hours? We haven't had any fading/dimming of the picture, though my husband does like to watch it in "brilliant," which slightly makes my eyes bleed.

When You replaced the lamp, Did You handle the bare lamp while wearing plastic gloves?

These lamps get really hot, oil from ones skin can I've been told do damage to the lamp. If You did use plastic gloves while doing this, Please forgive Me as I only know what I've done.

Watching the TV in Brilliant all the time is a good way to cut Your lamps life.

Yes. I wore gloves. And I'm always resetting the TV to "natural" ... It's my husband who moves it every time he watches football. He thinks it makes it look "more real."

Again, "shorten lamp life" is a relative term ... From two years to six months? Is that really possible? And with no noticeable dimming of the picture?

Well If It's not the lamp, Call a repair shop and have a pro look at It, As the only user serviceable item in these TVs is the lamp and that's the only advice I can give now. As My TV has not had any problems outside of sometimes needing a lamp to be replaced. Good Luck.

1. Unlike some DLP's that had a two level lamp output setting, Mits does not. No matter how the set is adjusted, the lamp output is the same.
2. How long has the set been unplugged between restarts?
3. How long does the set take to power up? 10 or 60 seconds? The default setting is Fast Pwr. On which takes 10 seconds.
3. That system reset is just when the set 'locks up', nothing else. You need to do a "Initialize".
4. The Service menu procedure has been posted dozens of times. It's; Menu, then 2470. Do NOT hit enter when "Initialize" is highlighted!! The Lamp hours is at the bottom left.

Take a look at these 'Archived' threads from 2005. Not all applies and there have been changes in two years (05 to 07), but much is still prevalent;
http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/...d.php?t=581146
http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/...5&page=1&pp=30

Current threads;
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1256432
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...highlight=lens

Note the 1st & 3rd attachment. The 3rd last entry in the "Reset" Guide is what you want to try. It will reset everything including all your channels, so you will have to do a re-scan and re-setup all your user settings with all inputs.

Did a front panel system reset (holding format and input button and screen said "initializing ..."). Reset all stations, inputs, etc. (including turning to "low power" mode). Left TV on, seemed to work fine, turned it off and, about an hour later, tried to turn it back on (just to see) and TV wouldn't turn on normally, but did come on with a second push of the power button (no reset) needed. So maybe it did something, I just don't know what?

Also checked menu and looks like software version is v33 008.01 and total lamp time is 8189. Don't know what it was before lamp replacement in April.

If TV is running and it's turned off and quickly turned back on (within 5 minutes, I'd say) it will come on as normal.

Does that info help anyone else out there diagnose? BTW, not that it probably matters, but this did just happen out of the blue. Working fine one night, next morning wouldn't turn on without system reset. All lights on front have been green. No yellow or red lights at all, just the fast blink green (on "timer") when resetting. No lights at all--no response, period--when it won't turn out with pushing reset.

Are you powering it up from the remote or the front panel? Might be a bad button.
Your firmware is the original firmware. 8200 hours is good. Write it down somewhere and the date for reference.

When it doesn't power up, then how do you power it up? By holding both buttons?

One guys says no the lamp can't be It and yet I've had that happen to Me and replacing the lamp fixed that, Replacing a lamp is prudent and if nothing else You then have a spare in case the old lamp were to die. Resetting won't do the job forever.

Try another lamp, but it would be odd if a six month old lamp went south.
Report back.

Our WD-65831 is sitting on our living room floor, it had many well documented issues. We replaced it with a Panasonic TC-P65S2 a few weeks ago as we had given up on the Mitsubishi but sent one last e-mail to mdeaservice asking them to replace the TV. They followed up in a few days with a phone call and asked us to send all receipts and service documents. We refused as we had previously sent them and said we are throwing it away and are done with Mitsubishi.

Much to our surprise they called again today which is a week after their first follow up. They offered us a WD-65838 for $500 which we gladly accepted.

There is hope. My e-mail was titled "Please forward to Yashi Moriyama". The TV had three service calls with the thermal sensor reseated once and a two light engines replaced. It had two replacement bulbs and I had to clean the light engine myself, there were bleeding whites showing evidence that the light engine needed to be cleaned or replaced again.

Especially videobruce and the others before who pioneered this lens cleaning. I have a WD-65831 purchased in 2006. I have replaced the bulb before but in the past year my picture quality started to degrade. I decided to try the lens cleaning and reset all of my settings back to my original tweaks - also garnered from people on these threads - and its amazing. The picture appears to be as good as it was when I purchased it. I also have a 2 year old 55" LG LCD and 2 - 1 year old 55" Sony LCDs and this Mits picture at 65" is most times the more favorable picture to watch. I was waiting for some spectacular 65" sets to come along that would make me change out the 65831 but nothing has blown me away yet. Maybe next year! Until then, THANK YOU ALL AGAIN.

BTW - my inside lens had what looked like splashed droplets of some oily-resin like substance (I would have said it looked like sweat beads) and a slight fog on it, but the exposed lenses were clear.

If you read read through my thread regarding the 4x3 cropped issue (the 2nd link, six posts back), writing a letter to the President/CEO of a company can get results

Mine today went out on a bulb that was replaced in Aug. No warning nothing. the TV just turned itself off, and now it wont come back up. Tried to replace the bulb with another brand new one with no results. The bulb light flashes with the power button lit green.

1. Look through my threads posted above for fault codes.
2. Post back.
3. My first guess would be the ballast assuming it wasn't a bad lamp.

If it shuts off, try the following to get an error code which will help troubleshooting. Note that this will only be useful if the set turns itself off, not if you turn it off.

[GREMLIN Exorcism] I would also unplug it from the AC outlet. Let it cool down for 5+ minutes and reseat the lamp (pull it out and carefully place it back, ensuring it's fully seated). Then plug it back in the AC outlet, wait about 3 minutes and then try powering it back on. (Worked for me, that and disabling the frustrating TV Guide On Screen that made me lose a lot of hair before giving up on it).

I am a newly registered user, and I apologize if I am not doing this post in the right place. Anyway, I have had a WD-65831 since Dec 2006. Had to replace lamp in Mar 09. My Tv for the last 6 months has been "fuzzy" and is not sharp. Too white and the blacks are very dull. I gathered from reading posts here that it could be the light engine. I had a service tech come out, and he said that it was the light engine. To make a long story short, Mits agreed to provide the light engine free of cost ( after pleading with them,a new lamp as well, since mine appears dark, but I am not sure I need a new lamp, the picture is sometimes OK ), which was nice of them. However, I have to pay for the install which is $250.00 ( I paid $65 in addition for the first service call ).

My question to the "professors" here is: When the service tech installs the new optical engine, should he also be calibrating the picture?? Also, how can I ensure he is putting in the new unit that Mits sent him, or should I just trust him? Any other tips before he comes out??

Thank you for your time. I think everyone here is very helpful and absolutely wonderful!!

nima91344; surely sounds as a classic case of a need for a lens cleaning;
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...highlight=lens

LE replacements are rebuilt. I did a thread on that also;
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=926204

I believe they only 'marry' it to the electronics of the set, no adjustments are done AFAIK.
BTW, welcome to the forums.

Thanks, videobruce. I have seen your lens cleaning procedure before, however, it was a little daunting to attempt, and especially since Mits agreed to provide the engine free. I would have definitely attempted it if it was my last resort.

Also, from your response, I understand no adjustments are needed, but is the service tech obligated to do a picture calibration using any discs as part of the service?

Obviously, there is no need to try to do it yourself.
Absolutely not. With this or any other set. "Calibration" is strictly a 'pay' service and never from the manufacture.

"Factory defaults" is as far as they will go.

Thank You, this clears it up for me.

PS; welcome to the forums.

Lamp just went out on my 57831. Its the 2nd lamp I have been through and this one was used for some time on our showroom so I am not complaining about lamp life.

I recently cleaned the lens (again), and I had to take the screen apart to get a dead spider out from between the screen layers. How he got in there, I do not know! But I think there were 1 billion screws!

I have read through this thread before and found lots of good info. I am curious how many people have had luck getting Mits to provide some kind of compensation for these poorly designed sets? I have seen a few posts of people who have gotten good discounts on newer models, or a straight replacement, etc. I am going to email MDEA and see what their initial response to me is. It has been nearly 5 years. I went through a light engine replacement early before they realized the thermistor issue. Another light engine was replaced the first time the "halo" effect came up. Since then, I have cleaned the lens 3 times.

I understand that you have to change the oil in your car. You have to change the belts. You have to change the tires. But with TVs, should we be expected to have to tear the thing apart every 4 months to clean a lens that has no reason to be getting dirty in the first place? I mean really!?

I am going to buy another bulb and use this thing until it is dead, but I would like some idea of what to expect from Mits on the issue if I pursue it. My gut says they will tell me I am SOL.

On the other hand, after moving my Loewe 38" 16:9 CRT to the living room and sitting closer, I am reminded how great that thing looks!

There are sets much more poorly designed that this one from other manufactures. Due to the contamination of the iris assembly, I really don't think Mits figured it would be a problem. I can't really 'blast' them if they would allow some type of compensation.
I would be better if you sent a letter instead of a common e-mail. I believe it sends a stronger message than a simple anyone can do e-mail. Have you seen this?;
http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/...d.php?t=593005

Hi all! I am hoping for a little help with my WD-65831, that I got nearly 4 years ago now. The set is used quite a bit, so I just needed my 3rd replacement lamp (always osram or philips - I replace them myself, but I am always really careful). But, it's not taking care of things this time.

When it went bad this time, the TV turned on - made a weird clicking noise - then audio, but no video. I replaced the lamp, and it worked for a couple of days, but then did the same thing; clicking, then audio but no video.

I took out the new lamp - it now has a weird fog/cloud in the middle of the lens.

So, here we go:
1) Does it sound like I need a ballast, a lamp, or both? (I'm leaning towards both.)
2) Could the ballast have been causing lamps to fail prematurely?
3) Finally, anyone have a link to get a ballast cheap (or cheaper than $112 on Ebay for a used one)?

Thank you so much!