Optoma RD50 Problems

I don't think both lights solid red is a good thing. The manual may have a section to compare what the 2 lights show to what the problem is. It may be worth a call to the Optoma help desk to see what they suggest.

My RD-50 has the dreaded light tunnel mirror problem, and I have removed the 4 main components of the TV, the power supply, lamp and ballast, the light engine (including the DMD and color wheel) and the main processor board from the set. The processor is pretty much a computer that outputs to the light engine. The cost to ship the set down to Optoma for repairs was more than I paid for the set, but Optoma doesn't have a local repair network (at least at the time last year).

When I get home, I'll look to see what I can find in the manual.

Did you replace the ballast along with the lamp? The solid red on the lamp says something is wrong wit the lamp, but as you says, the manual doesn't give much help. Was their quote for repairs including shipping to them? Or are you fortunate enough to live in the bay area? I'm not likely to ever repair this set. When it goes bad, I'll get a new TV. The quote to repair mine (new light engine and color calibration to standard) was like $1300. I can buy a new dlp for that. The picture is great, but I can't see spending that much money for repairs. In your case $550 sounds reasonable. But is somewhat of a crap shoot, unless the Optoma guy knows for sure. As I said earlier, there are only 4 main components, but without having spares (or a specific service manual) to test, I'm not sure there is a way to troubleshoot. There appears to be a serial connector (din) on the front panel, but I do not know what one would expect to see. I think hooked to a pc, (as a serial terminal) one would see the system boot and possibly go directly to the advanced menu settings. But without a factory service manual, I could be blowing wind.

I wish I was more help. These are great TVs, but the low volume production seems to make them difficult. Kind of like a high end Ferrari, great when running, but a nightmare when something goes wrong.

ps. I think the manual calls the LED red, but is closer to orange. I don't think there are 3 color LEDs in the set. My set's power LED looks orange.

Andy,

The ballast sits on top of the power supply. You get to it by removing the back panel. The power supply is on the right side and the ballast is a box about 1.5" tall, 3" long and 2" wide. I have no idea if the ballast would fix the problem. I seem to remember in some of the threads here, a Samsung user replaced it and solved a dead display. There is also a pretty good thread just on the RD-50 here, and may find some other hints.

When you do remove the back panel, you'll see pretty much everything in the TV. On the left is the main board assy (in the metal enclosure). In the center and to the right is the light engine assy (the DMD board is at the back of the assy), and on the right side is the power supply and ballast on top. Outside of the fans, speakers and mirrors, that is about all there is to the set. The main board is very simple to remove, 1 screw at the bottom right of the board, several electrical connections on the front, back and middle, and it slides right out. You do need to remove the front panel to get to some of the electrical connections. You'll see that small serial connector that I mentioned before. Although not likely, one of the many connections may be loose. You can check if you have the access panels removed. Remember there are live electrical connections if you have the TV plugged in. But on the bright side, there isn't a magnetron and 1000+ volt capacitors like in a CRT. (Just a little old school humor).

The Optoma tech I talked with last year said they do not sell the service manual, and do all repairs in house. I suspect the service manual is much more detailed for troubleshooting the problem you have.

Mark

Andy,

I think any good TV repair shop could do the work. As I said, the TV is broken down into subassemblies that all come out fairly straightforward. I do have some digital photos somewhere in one of my computers I can search and send to you or a local repair shop. Would the other user loan out the motherboard for testing? I'm always afraid about buying a board or switch and it not fixing the problem. I'm a little anal about it, I guess.

Hope you get it working, I know how you feel about HD withdrawl.

Mark

Miner or anyone who knows, If you are out there could you please help me locate a Ballast for a Optoma RD50? My RD50 has a good picture for about 3-5 seconds then the screen goes blank then after about 10-15 seconds I lose sounds and the set shuts down. I checked the lamp and it appears okay so from this thread it looks to be the ballast (I hope).

tkiggs,

I'm not sure if that would be the ballast. A forum member has been experiencing a similar problem with his, and was getting parts from TSC, who is the contracted service company from Optoma. Do a search for him (vpiccoli) and from the sounds of it, he may be able to provide some help.

When I called Optoma's support line I got TSC (about a year and a half ago). They can sell you the ballast, or any other parts you need. If you read the main RD50 thread, you may observe that TSC is not always accurate with their tech support.

Miner

Thanks Miner, I appreciate the help. How do I find TSC? I've looked for them via Google, but do not find them.

I am going through the same issue on my RD65 as ayoungrad noted at the start of the thread. TSC said it could be any of the four main parts (power supply, ballast, light engine or the main board.) I started with the ballast which made no change and I am waiting on the remaining parts to arrive and try them. I already spent $280 on a new bulb.

If you still need TSC contact info here they are;
Technical Service Corp.
725 Sycamore Drive, Milpitas CA 95035
Tel 408-383-3700 Fax 408-383-3711
Tel 888-942-2929

Ended up being the engine, which was the last thing that I replaced. Working on sending back all of the parts to TSC.

I've had my RD50 for a couple of Years. No problems. Yesterday I got "DMD Fan Failure TV is shutting down" The TV picture went blank and the LED blinks red. After a while I turned it back on and bo problem. Later it occurred again. Any thoughts?

Check the voltage at the plug for the fan if it is good; remove the fan and start searching for a replacement. Also I would suggest not running it w/o a working fan or your chip will probably fail, and as far as I know you can't get just the chip unless you know someone at TI that can get you one.

If there is no voltage you may have to replace your engine, which is costing me about $700 once I get my original one sent back. If you live in the north dallas area we could swap out fans on my failed unit before I ship it back on Monday.

Here is a pic (borrowed from another post) of the rear compartment; the DMD fan is located in the center above the power plug.

My RD50 has just started showning a dim, spotty dark green trapezoid, slightly narrower at the bottom than the top, with jaggy edges on the angled sides. LED lights all behave normally. I get no response to pressing any buttons.

Does anyone have any suggestions? (Besides returning it to Costco )

RD50 2.5 years old. Power and lamp both solid red. I contacted Optoma. I replaced lamp. Now I have power and lamp solid red again. Original problem not fixed by new lamp. It did drain my cash reserves. I am working on finding a Ballast. Any other suggestion? Startup is louder than usual. Sounds like a fan is going bad. Possible connection to two red lamps lit?

My engine is down on my DR50. Suggestions??????

How long should the engine last?

The engine for my RD65 lasted a little over a year. Same issues; started getting louder then went completly out. Ended up replacing my engine then two days later the power supply went out and I changed it too. $700 for the engine and $180 for the power supply and new cables. They cost more up front ($963 on the engine) then when you send back to old parts you get some money back. Still trying get my money back they have had the parts for a month and just now got a memo saying the credit is ready.

Fellas,

The engine should last forever. I say should because things can go wrong. Hotstuff I don't know if your engine is bad, or just a fan or ballast.

I'm out of pocket on a business trip but will try to add some more detail when I get back.

Miner

It is a confirmed engine failure. Is this something that I will be able to replace? I can build computers without a problem. I am not sure it is worth putting money into it. Anyone know of TI having problems with their 1st generation engine? It is ridiculous that the engine is down before I have even gone through one light bulb. I love the TV but............

Hotstuff,

How is it confirmed a bad engine?
From what I found when I was looking to repair my TV the TSC rep indicated the DMD board assy is not included in the light engine assy. The light engine is from the lamp point to the frenzel lens, but did not include the DMD board. This may have changed from a couple of years ago, though.

The engine, or DMD for that matter, should never go bad. At least it is designed for a long (possibly infinite) life. That being said, factors such as cold solder joints, faulty circuit card traces, marginal capacitors all affect the reliability.

Being an Optoma owner, I spend time on the Optoma thread, but occasionally browse mostly the Samsung threads as well. DMDs have failed, color wheel bearings go bad and light tunnels collapse as well. Samsung has a much better support capability than Optoma. Most if not all parts can be replaced at a shop (or at home), but the Optoma is very much a remove the entire light engine, DMD assy, pwr supply or processor board.

The RD 50 is a top notch TV, but at some point spending $750 for a replacement light engine or board and having an old TV is right on the fringe of 1/2 the cost of a new 45-50" LCD or Plasma. With new 50" DLPs starting at $1100, its hard to spend that much to fix it, in my opinion.

One other poster had problems with the light tunnel in his RD 65, and was able to get a replacement from the store he originally bought his from. Another customer's RD 50 went bad and scrapped the entire set. You may start looking for spare parts on e-bay.

Miner

Windhunde,

Do you have a photo of the problem? Where is this darkening? If it on one side of the picture, it sounds like a faulty light tunnel. Does it look like the attachment?

If not, it sounds more like a faulty DMD or light engine.

Miner,

The screen is too dark to show up in a photo, so I've attached a drawing of what it looks like... in reality, the green is a bit darker than I have it here.

Thanks for the help!

Dan

windhunde,

If that is how your entire screen looks, I have no clue, other than it doesn't look good. Have you tried powering down, letting it cool down for a minute, then pulling the plug for 15 mintues and restarting?

Miner

I've been having some trouble with my RD50H lately. After a while on, maybe 1/2 an hour, the picture will get a solarized look to it, then it will shut down with both LEDs turning red. I suspect it is a heat issue. I've checked the three fans I can get to, but in the sevice menu, under fans/thermal info it lists four of them. Can anybody tell me where all 4 of them are? I can find the one on the chip(back-center) one under the bulb assembly and one above the power supply. Is there one inside of the power supply? I've got lots of extra fans from computers, up to 120mm. I've also got external voltage supply to run them from, just not sure where to put them. Any advice appreciated.

peace.
unloaded

Hi All,

I don't want to cross-post, so here's a link to the problem I'm having with my RD50A. It sounds identical to the problem ayoungrad was having at the top of this thread. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love the help.

Thanks,
NGage