Got my hl50a650c1fxza in fall of '08. perfect TV. A month ago the lamp went out.
Came to this website to look for troubleshooting and ordered a lamp /w housing through discount merchant.
When the package came, I was already kind of skeptical, only because the housing didn't look exactly like the one that came with my set.
Instead of the normal thick black plastic handle, I got a flimsy, thin, and moving metal handle.
When I put in the lamp, it didn't seem to fit as "snug" as the original one, but everything seemed to click in and the locking latch snapped in fine, so I thought nothing of it.
Everything was working great for a month.... up until tonight, when I got a almost sulfur like smell coming out of my TV. I quickly unplugged it and didn't really see any smoke.
I ran back to the computer and came to this website and found on the home screen that my lamp... bp96-01653a , had a fire warning for it.
The site told me to quickly take out my lamp to make sure there was no damage... so I open the side, remove the lock latch, and pull the handle... only to break off the handle
I tried pulling out the lamp by grabbing the side but it doesn't seem to budge. I'm assuming that my connecters have somehow melted, however, THE PICTURE ON MY TV LOOKS FINE!
so I know that the connecters are good somewhat.
I need input.
One, I need to figure out how to get this lamp out.
Two, I may need a new housing case because mine was cheap.
Three, who can I call if I need to get this done professionally and what am I looking at price wise?
Thanks for any help.
