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Question

Older Samsung HL-P4663W - Worth Fixing?

Feb 18, 2015 6:39AM PST

Hey all-

I picked up an older 46" Samsung HL-P4663W DLP TV for free and I'd like help determining if it is worth putting any money into it to get it up and running.

Here's what I know about it:

1). The woman who gave me the TV told me her husband said it quit working but he didn't know why. I suspect he never did any research into the issue.

2). When I plug the TV in, I get a chime and hear the fans running then the following sequence of lights come on:

First the "Lamp" light comes on. After a moment I believe the "Lamp" light will go out then the "Stand By/Timer" light will come on for a bit. Once the "Stand By/Temp" light goes out the "Lamp" light will come back on and the cycle will repeat itself. This appeared to happen two or three times.

Next, the "Timer" light, "Lamp" light, and "Stand By/Temp" light all come on and stay on. This is where the TV appears to be stuck.

3). I opened up the back panel and pulled the lamp out. It is broken.

Obviously I need a new lamp. What I don't know is if this will be the only trouble I run into. Since this is a ten-year-old television I don't want to put much money into this only to find out the TV has other problems and is junk.

My brother-in-law suggests I don't put any money into this as I can buy (in his words) "a nice 32-inch HDTV for about $150, and a name brand 40-inch for $300, with off-brands going for less."

Since I am a newbie when it comes to 'higher-end' TVs, I hope someone can chime in with some sound advice.

Thanks in advance for your help!

BTW: I did some preliminary research and came across a couple of threads. While they tell me HOW to fix my TV, they don't tell me if it's WORTH fixing my TV.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Iffy.
Feb 18, 2015 7:37AM PST

Maybe a shop will sell you a lamp but you would have to be on good terms with them. Such as I'll buy the lamp if it works.
Bob

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Answer
Purchasing Parts
Feb 19, 2015 1:47AM PST

Good Afternoon!

You can always go to our website, http://www.samsungparts.com to see if there is a lamp for purchase there. If you'd rather speak to someone on the phone in regards to the part, you may speak to our parts department J&J Parts at, 1-800-627-4368.


Regards,

HD Tech

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TV Worth Fixing?
Feb 27, 2015 4:13AM PST

@ R. Proffitt and @ Samsung_HD_Tech

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I appreciate the link to get a lamp.

Getting the lamp isn't the problem I have, it's determining whether or not this TV is worth trying to fix.

Is anyone able to provide any insight into this?

Thanks again

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To test a lamp
Feb 27, 2015 4:30AM PST

You need a TV. To test if it will fix a TV you need a lamp. This same conundrum is seen in inkjet printers. Is it the printer or the cartridge? Only one way to tell to date.
Bob

PS. The lamp is not testable with an Ohm meter.

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DLP TV - Lamp Update
Mar 9, 2015 6:14PM PDT

Here's an update to my issue:

I purchased a new name brand lamp and properly installed it to the best of my knowledge.

After plugging the TV in I tried to reset the lamp using these keystrokes:

Mute + 1 + 8 + 2 + Power

I read that 'Menu + 1 + 8 + 2 + Power' sometimes works as well, but for what ever reason I was not able to enter the service menu to reset the lamp.

The TV did startup and this is what I observed:

I hear the TV power up. I hear the fans and the start up chime.

With the rear access panel take off and the door switch overridden, I am able to observe these during startup as well.

1). A green light in front of the lamp is on. (location of color wheel?)

2). the lamp crackles as it briefly lights up, or should I say it flashes and it tries to light up. This happens once or twice.

3). TV 'pauses' as it shuts down and repeats the above scenario.

4). The above scenario repeats itself a third time.

5). The TV shuts itself off and the "Timer" light, "Lamp" light, and "Stand By/Temp" light all come on and stay on.

Any ideas what to try next? Maybe the ballast is bad which keeps the lamp from completely firing?

Any info someone could provide as to which direction to go would be helpful.

Thanks!

----

EDITED TO ADD:

After reading this thread here:
http://www.justanswer.com/tv-repair/32u5t-samsung-hl-p4663w-dlp-tv-lamp-light-front.html

About 2/3rds of the way down the TV Tech1 suggests to test to see if the ballast is firing by taking out the lamp and checking for a white light. I did this and the ballast appears to be getting power since this white light does come on. If I were to estimate its timing, I would say that the little white light near the ballast comes on at approximately the same time as "the lamp crackles" in my above scenario in #2.

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This is why
Mar 10, 2015 12:10AM PDT

You as the TV Tech want a service manual, prescribed parts and test gear to move forward. Remember this is not considered user serviceable (that ballast.)
Bob

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Thanks for the Warning
Mar 10, 2015 5:51AM PDT

Hi Bob-

Thanks for the warning. I'm able to get a service manual, find a ballast on eBay, and am more than competent to test circuits, etc.

I assume the next step is to replace the ballast. If it is, that's great as it's something I can easily do. (Before I take that path and order the part, I need to read a definitive yes or no answer online. The link above is the closest I've come so far.)

Assuming yes, I would have around $110+ USD into this "Free" TV. At what point have I gone to far, monetarily speaking?

Thanks again!

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Dice roll?
Mar 10, 2015 5:53AM PDT

Sorry but that's par for the guess work. Service centers have spares to sub in along with test gear.
Bob