Help Please: Infocus 7210 Lamp Message at 490 hours??

While the projector is off...... power on the projector and hold down both "brightness" buttons on the top of the case at the same time... for about 10 - 15 seconds.... this should reset the lamp counter.

If you have a new bulb or even an old bulb that was still working when you replaced it try putting that in and see if you still get the message....

Other than that I would try calling/emailing your InFocus Dealer, Krasmusik (here on AVS), or call IF Tech Support. (there are most likely other IF dealers here on AVS Kevin is just one of the most active)

You don't need a new lamp. If you properly reset the timer and it shows zero the message should go away. The projector has no way of knowing whether you put in a new lamp or not. With some Epson PJ's the lamps have a fuse that resets the timer, but with the PJ you have everything is done manually. I would recommend resetting the lamp timer again. If that doesn't help you'll need to set up repair for the unit.

I've never heard of this before, but there's nothing else you can do to troubleshoot. It's possible you may have received a defective lamp, which would explain the brightness issue, but that doesn't explain the "replace lamp" message. It sounds like your unit needs repair.

A reply suggests that the projector "has no idea whether or not you put in a new lamp" which is not true. These Metal Halide lamps have electrodes and an arc, and this technology definitely causes the ballast to have to drive higher volts to sustain the arc. From Wikipedia Metal Halide article:

"End of life behaviour

At the end of life, metal-halide lamps exhibit a phenomenon known as cycling. These lamps can be started at a relatively low voltage but as they heat up during operation, the internal gas pressure within the arc tube rises and more and more voltage is required to maintain the arc discharge. As a lamp gets older, the maintaining voltage for the arc eventually rises to exceed the voltage provided by the electrical ballast. As the lamp heats to this point, the arc fails and the lamp goes out. Eventually, with the arc extinguished, the lamp cools down again, the gas pressure in the arc tube is reduced, and the ballast once again causes the arc to strike. This causes the lamp to glow for a while and then goes out, repeatedly. In rare occurrences the lamp explodes at the end of its useful life.[8]
Modern electronic ballast designs detect cycling and give up attempting to start the lamp after a few cycles. If power is removed and reapplied, the ballast will make a new series of startup attempts."

The projector, for safety reasons, needs to monitor the voltage and stop driving the lamp at some point.

Why does a lamp not give full life? My guess is that it is very dependent on the manufacturing process, control of tolerances, purity of materials, etc. and the 2000 hrs is the design and manufacturing goal, and the manufacturing plant has no way to functionally test each unit to be certain it will last that long. The assurance must be through process control... something that has to be re-established at every factory and changing supply chain conditions.

Yes, the "behavior" you're quoting is typical of a lamp that is reaching the end of its life. BUT, that can come earlier than expected, especially if you try and save a few bucks by using a "generic" lamp that is not 100% compatible with the projector. Lamp life has many variables, beginning with manufacturing, as you alluded to, and ending with actual use by the operator.

There is NO intelligence in a projector that will say...hmm, I can no longer fire this lamp, it must be at the end of its life.

The lamp counts hours used, as in a clock. That's it. No feedback from any circuit goes into that. When the projector fires up, the clock starts. When the projector is shut down, the clock stops.

I don't think you were trying to say anything different, but I felt the need for clarification for the benefit of others. There is no shortage of people who do not have a clear understanding of a projector works. Look at all the people that come here posting questions like..."There are spots/discolorations/lines in my image, changing the lamp did not help. Now what?"

My 2 cents.
Edited by Sheridan1952 - 2/3/13 at 11:46pm

LOL, this post was from 2007 and likely been resolved by now.

Jason