Shadow on left of Samsung DLP screen - Page 87

Just to let everyone know about my experience dealing with Samsung's Customer Service some more, I can tell you that that I have seldom talked to people who are more reprehensible than their support staff.

The person I talked to today refused to even look at the information on their website pertaining the Class Action Lawsuit and said she didn't care. She just told me that what I had on my TV is plain wear-and-tear and that I should be responsible for paying everything out of my pocket.

A defect that caused a class action lawsuit is NOT standard wear and tear. If a car were to have defective brakes that has caused thousands of people to get into accidents, you can't just say that the brakes are failing because of standard wear and tear. Manufacturers never want to acknowledge defects and this is the reason why we have things like Class Action Lawsuits to begin with but the length this customer service representative that I talked to on the phone today went makes want to vomit.

I wouldn't have been so angry if they even agreed to pay for the part but not the labor. All they have been trying to do however is to sweep this problem under the rug.

1-2 1st tier reps I talked to DENIED that an issue with light tunnel existed.
2-I have never gotten anything in the mail about the Class Action Lawsuit despite owning this TV.
3-The supervisors that I talked to were extremely unprofessional and attempted to lecture me about standard wear and tear and were downright demeaning to me.

I am sick to my stomach about their double standards too. I know that a lot of people on this forum or ecoustics.com have had their products repaired for free but let it be known that in majority of cases like mine, Samsung will outright refuse to do anything for you.

My Samsung DLP that was covered by the class action started the shadow in October 2011 but this week it grew to 15" of the screen so I started researching and found this thread. Then I found the class action and thought great Samsung will fix it...then I called and was told no....read some more and saw it expired October 2011. They completely refused to cover this piece of crap. I have a house full of Samsung appliances that I bought because they look good and when they work they do work good. Problem is they don't last. Has anyone had any luck contacting the lawyers that did the original class action and seeing if they are interested in doing another one? Does anyone have any ideas other than chunking this piece of crap out the window and buying another brand?

Wow.

Thank you, Manticor, for saving me the $400 they wanted to fix this. :I

I love you, avsforum.

Well got in AVS power buy back in July 05 and now just having a problem, so guess I am lucky considering some of the bad luck some have talked about on here.

My HLR6168w has about 1/2" slight dark area on left side and the edge of the area is like a blue line running down the screen. It is thickest mid screen and narrow on both ends. Would this be a light tunnel issue or some other? Maybe color wheel?

thanks for any ideas and help

note: I tried adjusting horizontal in service menu didn't help. If you push on side of console behind screen you can make the affected area smaller, which makes me think is some kind of alignment issue. Oh and the bulb has 8060hrs on it.

ttt

This appears to be the light tunnel shadow problem. It is exactly how mine looked when it happened to me. Good news is it's not hard or expensive to fix yourself. Just follow the instructions in this thread.

Thx, I already ordered replacement light tunnel from partstore.com. Wanting this set to last a few more years until OLED sets have been out 2 years and get one of those.

Looks like I have the problem on my hlt5087sax. Did anyone else have a problem with the hlt models? I called samsung and they said there is nothing they could do for me since it wasn't a model covered in the recall.

The attorney that handled the case is Robert Lax. You might try shooting him an email: rlax@lax-law.com.

As others have stated, the light tunnel is fairly easy to replace. Some even managed to fix it. Search the thread for instructions. I suspect heat is the issue, breaking down adhesive holding little light tunnel mirrors over time. Be sure Tv rear is well ventilated. I added fans for my new Mitsubishi 65" just in case. . I haven't bought anything Samsung since they forced the suit. I gave them every chance to remedy.

Also, you want to find the ECR phone number. Ecr is Executive Customer Relations or some such. It should be in the thread somewhere.

Good luck.

- Phil

Shadow Line Problem Resolved!

Hello group. Have to share my experience. A big thanks to Manitcor (post 2505) for his/her help. Had the dreaded 2 inch shadow bar on L. side of screen (HL61A750). Purchased in 2009. Of course calling Samsung was a waste of time. They said call a repair service, and have a happy life.

Saw Manitcor's post. Fixed the problem myself in about 20 minutes. Just took off the lower back side of the set, several screws, came off easily. (Don't get scared, its easy) And behind the panel just to the right of the (silver ribbon), are two adjustment screws in black plastic. (ribs on sides so you can grab and turn.) Have to have a small hand to get to them. Now to find them, use a flashlite from the left to look behind the little panel just to the right of the Silver Ribbon. They are behind that panel, and no, you don't have to remove that little panel.

Anyway, we (spouse and I) we able to turn both screws in various directions while set was on. (It was safe for us, no shocks). However use your own discretion, it just takes longer to unplug set and check to see if you turned screws the right way. We kept the set on and turned the screws (black plastic, about 1/2 inch wide with ribs)., to the right and the left. When you turn them, the " infamous black lines increase or decrease from the Left and from the bottom, depending on which way you turn each screw.
Anyway, turned them and got rid of the Left Black Shadow line. Be aware, they are sensitive, so turn slowly and have someone watch as you are turning them. The black plastic screws are right behind the orange area highlighted in Manitcor's post (2505). You can reach in behind this area with your left hand and find the screws. Just turn them until you see the black shadow line disappear. Very easy. Then just fastened the back lower panel back on and finished. TV just as beautiful as new. Have heard stories of how tech's show up and make a few turn/adjustments in a few minutes.... this is how they do it. Good Luck to all, and thanks to the AVS forum.

That did the trick! Thanks for all the help.

This thread was HiJacked by HLT owners on trying to fix LED DLP issues with Light Tunnels, that is why I quit checking this thread. It was too confusing to follow.


Yes it is a simple fix, and I did give some light into this on the HL750 main threads.

For all intents and purposes, please understand LED DLP based displays are different than Bulb Color Wheel DLP displays.

Another HL-R6168W 2005 AVS Forum PowerBuy TV started developing the shadow on the left side. Just replaced the first bulb. Disappointed but not bad for a 7 year old TV. Will check out the post to replace the light tunnel. AVS Forum Rocks!!!

I just replaced the lamp in my HL-R5678W about a week ago after owning the TV since July of 2006. I checked and the old lamp had 9411 hours on it! I had noticed the 1-2" shadow on the left side of the screen for a few months but it really wasn't that bothersome and I kind of assumed that when I eventually replaced my lamp it would be corrected too. When that didn't happen I started doing some research on the problem and found out more than I ever wanted to know about light tunnels, class action lawsuits, and poor Samsung customer service.

I found the http://www.samsung.com/us/dlptvsettlement/ page and from that learned about the October 2011 cutoff for repair reparations. It is kind of funny that when you call the toll free number they have listed on that page the recording describes a completely different power cycling problem with their TVs which I assume was also the subject of a class action suit.

Based on further searches I found this appears to be the correct light tunnel replacement part for my TV: http://www.samsungparts.com/Products/Parts_and_Accessories/PID-BP96-01316A.aspx?model=HLR5678W and I guess $93 isn't too bad although it does sting a bit more as its right on top of the $120 I paid last week for two replacement lamps (I went ahead and got a spare). Also, I found a youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyJ94sDdC2g of someone replacing their DLP's light tunnel which appears pretty straightforward so I may get brave and try it.

I haven't emailed the DLP light tunnel class action lawyer or spoken directly to Samsung customer service yet so I've got other options as well though the latter doesn't appear to be very satisfying based on what I've read in this thread.
Edited by beernutz - 8/6/12 at 8:04pm

To any of you who have tried to fix the light tunnel problem yourselves, does this appear to be the part that needs to be ordered? The one I found in my previous post is described as a light tunnel but now I don't believe it is what I need.

http://www.samsungparts.com/Products/Parts_and_Accessories/PID-BP96-01962A.aspx?model=

I have an HLR5678W. Thanks!

Hey guys, I almost started a new thread to see what help I could get re: swapping the light tunnel on my 67in Samsung HLR. I have changed the bulb (with and w/o hosing as well as the color wheel so I have some experience ripping my unreliable 1080p (yeah right) set apart. After 6 years it appears one of the mirrors in the tunnel has come loose.

A couple of questions for people who have been through this on their own without Samsung.

Should I try to repair my existing tunnel? It seems others have done it but the parts aren't that expensive if I just get the tunnel. The engine is out of bounds....I'd buy something else and not a Samsung for sure.

Has anyone published a write-up of the exchange process? I see folks were helping each other at one point with scans of the service bulletins or service manuals, but I am about 3 years too late to that party.

Is there anyone other than Samsung directly that people recommend for this part? I know Sears has a schematic and I would rather give anyone else the money for parts.

That's a few questions to start. Thanks in advance for any help. Hope everyone's having a great Halloween.

I remember trying to glue the mirrors with epoxy after the collapse and it didn't work. It generated an even stranger shadow. Maybe a better surgeon could do it. Samsungparts.com probably has it. Its fairly simple to replace. I don't know if they are part of Samsung or just a reseller. In any case, one time they sold me the wrong lamp for my unit, blamed it on me and would not refund or replace, so I personally would avoid them as well. Before the order, I was on the phone with them while they directed me to the lamp code on the TV itself. I entered it into their website and made the order. So their fault!

I bought a 65" Mitsubishi DLP for $900 18 months ago and it still works great. It is a hair wider and a few inches shorter than the 61" HLR unit, so it fits in the very tight custom space I had constructed for the HLR. The bulb seems to be dimming a little, but par for the course.

I have so many stories about dealings with Samsung over that HLR unit. Good riddens. I have no more Samsung products. All met with a premature death. I buy a lot of stuff and sell them on eBay when I upgrade. Samsung, notsomuch.

The Sharp Aquas LED LCD is pretty darn awesome and suuuper bright! The 60" is around $1200 now. $2100 for the 70"!

Good luck!

Hi,
I am having trouble finding the instruction to repair the light tunnel. Can someone direct me to the link?
I also came across references to http://splodeman.com/light_tunnel_fix.pdf but the document is not longer there... Could someone help?

Thanks to everyone for the good info in this thread. I have an HLT6156W. I had the white dots problem, and was able to fix it by getting a replacement DMD chip and swapping it out. Once I got it focused and the DMD board aligned, I saw a shadow (about 2") on the top edge of the TV picture. I read all the horror stories about light tunnel collapse, and ordered a replacement tunnel, then proceeded to dismantle and swap it out too. I didn't read the suggestion about recording how many turns of the light tunnel adjustment screws you apply to swap the light tunnel until after the fact.

Long story (and afternoon) short, in the end, all I needed was a little adjustment of the original light tunnel. As a few other people mentioned, you can adjust it relatively easily...in my TV's case, I only needed to pull out the light engine to access the top screw, and further, to remove the bulb, the color wheel shroud (but not the color wheel assembly itself), and the assembly around back (some sort of control board and a fan), to be able to easily reach the back screw with the screwdrivers on hand. Tightening the top screw moves the picture down; loosening it moves the picture up. Tightening the back screw moves the picture right, loosening it moves it left.

Definitely try this before replacing the light tunnel. Speaking as someone who replaced the tunnel (twice, ending up with the original one so I could return the new, but unneeded, part), it's a lot easier to tweak the screws before assuming a collapse.

In any case, I did certainly learn a lot about the TV, and thanks to everyone who posted suggestions and/or pictures that helped me through this process!

http://www.avsforum.com/attachments/19055
light_tunnel_fix.pdf

I have an older HLN507W that works fine except for the shadow across the screen. It has been sitting unused in a spare room for a few years but from this thread I see it may be fixable.

My problem is I cannot determine the light-tunnel part number for my set. Is there a source somewhere for the part number for the light tunnel that fits my model? These days a complete light engine (new old-stock) can be had for $230, but there are three different part numbers listed for those! AA41-00694A, AA41-00694D, and AA41-00694E. (Or maybe its the BP41-00051A) See my problem? Any help would be appreciated.

I'm really annoyed that I missed the fix for the class action suit, but I knew nothing about it even though Samsung had my address.
Edited by insatrx - 4/7/13 at 3:40am

I realize this is an old thread for an old TV and not many people are likely interested, but I replaced the light tunnel in my HLN507w yesterday and what a difference! Its like a new TV. This TV had been sitting unused in a spare room for the past five years after having developed a shadow across 90% of the screen. Sure enough it was the light tunnel. When I got into it the tunnel literally fell apart in my hands and had a lot of corrosion and spots on the mirrors. No wonder the picture had degraded. It isn't really that hard to replace the tunnel (and they can be ordered from Sears for $45).

True, it doesn't have the new inputs like HDMI or digital audio, but it still has a very decent 50 inch picture with much blacker blacks than the LCD. If I had known how easy it was to fix I would not have spent the $900 for the 46" LCD I bought to replace it. This forum is a great resource for people and diagnosing the problem would have been impossible without it. Thanks to everyone who contributed over the years on this issue and kept me from scrapping a perfectly good TV.