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Help!! I have a Samsung 46" that I purchased back in 2005 (ya know back when $2800 bucks was pocketchange) anyway by my own admission I have never taken any type of appropriate steps towards maintaining it properly, I've let it run for days without end turned it on and off on and off a dozen or so times at the culmination of the annual "Christmas Story" marathon etc. (note I specifically reference these two abusive behaviors as I was unaware that they were abusive till the damn thing crapped out on me today and I'm looking to the holy internet gods for savior).


Ok enough sarcasm and schtick!!

After running this bad boy for a solid 18 hours or so of napping, viewing, stroking, napping (in that order hey I was home sick whadya want from a guy) I turned the TV off and decided to switch napping positions from recliner to bedroom or from Samsung DLP to Sharp Aquos for all intensive purposes of this discussion, took a squeeg then realzed I forgot to set my DVR turned the Samsung back on and while she was firing up I had that thought (wow I can't believe this TV has lasted as long as it has on the original light bulb) anyway it turned on for all of 30 seconds tops, then screen went black (maintained audio for an additional 5 seconds or so) then shut down giving me 3 flashing lights two green ones at the top and a long red one on the bottom from a distance looks like its frowning at me. So that was about 20 hours ago and well I havent taken any steps towards cleaning, disposing of, calling the coroner etc. My plan was initially to junk it as anything over 300 into this things is too much since who knows what could break next. But now I'm thinkin who knows maybe if I can fix it relatively inexpensvely it's worth keeping the old gal around for another train ride.


My question is where do I start? All sarcasm aside I am clueless as to whether there is a possibility that it just needs a good old cleaning and reboot, a new lamp, a power supply, a board etc. The 3 lights are still flashing I can turn it on at will and get a relatively clear picture as bright as one would expect at initial startup which lasts 30sec at best till going black then 3 lights flashing again....

I'll be waiting for your help thanks

Hello trick50.
These DLP TVs are real battle horses that can last you some 5 good years more.
If you really want to keep your tv around and spend a few bucks here is a run down of what you need.
1.- The first thing that goes out and needs replacing on these TVs is the lamp.
Symptoms: No picture, still hear audio (not every time), picture was either perfect or a little dim. Some times you hear a loud pop before the image goes out.
These lamps by factory last 6000 hrs or more (normal use 2 – 3 years).

2.- Do maintenance on your TV every 6 moths. You need to clean the inside of your tv, remove all the dust, gunk and other bad stuff you see in there.
Reason: all this makes the components over heat, and prevents the fans from either working properly or from cooling the lamp and boards.
All you need to clean is put the tv in a well ventilated area (the garage or drive way) grab a can of compressed air, or a small air blower. If you’re going to do it in doors use a vacuumed cleaner also, so you don’t just spread the dust around.

Possible future complications.

Color wheel: it’s a small round disc with colored glass around it. Since a color wheel is a mechanical component it is more vulnerable to fail do to excessive uses, and has a shorter life span that any electronic board.
Symptoms: a whining, whirling, screeching or humming sound coming from the back of the tv, wont turn on, tv shuts of after a few minutes. An irregular shaped colored blob (normally its blue, green or red).

Ballast: it’s the board that regulates voltage to the lamp, some times when the mercury in the lamp goes out completely; it creates an arc that causes a circuit brake that damages the ballast also.
Symptoms: When trying to turn on the tv you hear a constant clicking sound, like the tv is trying to turn on.

DMD board: The board that controls all major components and administrates al the elements to create a picture on the screen.
Symptoms: white or black pixels on the screen that also affect the menu, horizontal or vertical lines.

Hope this helps you out.

I have the HLR4667WAX/XAA plays for about 30 sec and shuts down with the temp & lamp light flashing . Replaced lamp but still did not take care of my problem . Removed color wheel which is intact and spins freely . Understand that the lamp light flashes for a bad lamp but when the is flashes with the temp light what could this mean ? Could the Ballast be bad , but why would the temp light flash . Any idea's ? thanks for your response

Hello Peppi,

Could you please elaborate on the temp & lamp light flashing??

And are there any noises coming when the TV shuts off??

Another question is did you reset the lamp timer?
If you don’t know how to here is a link:
http://www.fixyourdlp.com/forum/viewtop ... ng+Factory
Good luck.

owners manual says 3 flashing lights is the lamp. It also could be an ballast issue but I would say replace the lamp first.