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The short and dirty version - had lamp error icon. so I bought OSRAM replacement. no go.

now, TV has new a ballast, new a lamp (osram), and a new power supply. old PS and ballast visually looked okay though

The ballast is getting 310V source but is not firing (buzzing or making any noise)

could the ballast not be getting the enable command from the board mounted to the light engine?

or what would cause this? wouldn't the ballast still try to fire regardless of the lamp?

Thanks for your time
Tucker

Is the color wheel spinning? If the color wheel isn't spinning the ballast won't turn on the lamp.

no, the color wheel is not spinning. that is what is confusing me

so, now that we have established the link between the color wheel and ballast; what would cause the color wheel not to spin?

I checked, and the color wheel spins freely and smoothly. all connectors appear in good shape.

Thanks
Tucker

I have the same problem. I replaced the color wheel about 6 weeks ago (screaming) and everything worked well. Then the TV did not light up and I had the three blinking lights. I replaced the lamp (old one looked ok, however) and just replaced the ballast today. No change. The fans appear to be running, but there is no click from the ballast. I can't really see the color wheel, but I have read elsewhere (can't find it now) that there is an interlock that checks to see if the color wheel is spinning before the ballast will fire.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated.

so, It does sounds like we have the same problem

Update; I tricked the ballast into turning on and the lamp turns on but no color wheel spinning.

So, I think either the sensor on the color wheel is bad or the dmd board is bad. but, I don't know enough about these components to determine which one is bad though.

Does anyone know how I can determine which is bad.

also, the color wheel has a part number on it that doesnt match the replacements found online for the hlp5085w TV - it says bp41-00130a

If you go through the posts on this site and others to do with Samsung DLP problems, this appears to be a common problem. The issue is posted a lot, but few times do I see the resolution. Basically, it seems that there are four things that can go wrong - lamp, ballast, color wheel, DMD board. However, ther must be something else, since some people have replaced all four, it seems. There is also a temperature sensor on top of the lamp which probably causes an interlock. I have the HLP5563W model and have only used the proper and new replacement parts.

What is the sensor on the color wheel that you mentioned? Also, have you replaced your color wheel? I was wondering if I did anything when I put in the new color wheel.

My wife wants to buy a new LCD, but I lliked the picture on the DLP for sure.

Well, I have not checked the temp sensor yet because I would assume that would trigger the thermal error light. but I will check it out though

you are right, this seems to be common problem with few resolutions. or people solve it and never report back to the forum their solution.

the sensor on the color wheel is a small IR emitter/receiver placed under the axis of the wheel. it keeps track of the color wheel rotations so that the color will sync with the DLP microchip.

I have not replaced the wheel because it is in excellent shape and all wires test fine for continuity. I have a sneaking suspension that the previous owner replaced it with the wrong part and couldnt get the TV to work; but I cant confirm that without buying another. I am waiting to see what kind of suggestions I can get before I go spend $113 on the wheel and find out it was actually the DMD which costs $600

at this point, I almost recommend a good ol' rear projection tube TV. it can do HD, and its an old and proven technology. whereas this crap we have now is a rushed technology prone to failure.

I am going to pull out the optical engine and check all connections around the color wheel. Hopefully we will get some suggestions on what else it could be.

Well, I took everything apart, down to taking out the color wheel, and checked all connections. Color wheel looked fine, could spin. I put it all back together, but no luck. I tried unplugging the temperature sensor on top of the lamp housing, but then the TV would not try to start, so I am assuming that it is working fine, since it did try when I reconnected it. What now? I am going ot look at some more sites later.

I am pretty sure if anything is wrong with the temp sensor, it would trigger the thermal error light, which we are not seeing.

I went ahead and ordered a new color wheel and hopefully that will do it....

I took out my lamp and started the TV up. The color wheel is not spinning. During the attempt to start, the color wheel pulses very, very slightly, but does not spin. Since I just replaced the color wheel and jsut removed and re-inspected it, I suspect it's not the wheel? What is it that starts the wheel?

BTW, I found this other forum. It has much of the same problems/information/suggestions/etc.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/samsung/

I took out the optical engine again and removed teh color wheel, since after doing a lot of reading, this seems to be the most likely culprit, even though it is new. I tried spinning the color wheel by hand. It moves but it stiff. I thought it would spin very freely. I did not keep the old one, so have nothing to compare it with. How freely does yours spin?

that's definitely your problem then. it should spin extremely freely. you should be able to spin it quickly with your hand and it coasts for 10 seconds or more

I called PartStore.com, where I bought the and they would not honor a return. They said that the 30-day return period had expired (by a few days only!). The supervisor I spoke to would not do anything to make the situation right. This is not a place to buy parts from.

Moofus - this may sound like a dumb reply, but make sure the flat cable from the color wheel is installed the right direction. I've incorrectly installed a new color wheel and got the same results. Just a suggestion.

Not a dumb reply at all judging by the many people who have done. I was careful with this and remember, the TV worked fine for almost 4 weeks after I installed the color wheel. Now the wheel does not move. If I had not been reticent to fault the color wheel (after all, it was a new part) I could have returned it within the 30 day period. They measure 30 days from the shipping date. I did not install the color wheel for 3-4 days after receiving it, then I spent around 8-10 trying to diagnose the problem. Caveat emptor! from PartStore.com

no kidding...I bought a PS for this tv. it was supposed to be new. it was clearly salvaged. now I question whether they will take it back claiming I used it or something. partstore sucks. sounds like they screwed you with a used part.

not saying you should do this. buy another color wheel. wait 1 or 2 weeks and say the new color wheel is bad. let them send you out a replacement. take the new replacement and sell it on ebay. also make sure the rubber seal around the cover of the color wheel is on currect. dust is hard on color wheels.

sneaky sneaky...

Well, as usual, in a bad situation, I wait a couple of days before responding to a company or store. I like to cool down a little and think rationally before i was going to write to the Customer Service Mgr and CEO. Today that paid off. I got a unsolicited call from Dawn, Quality Mgr, at PartStore.com. She had heard about my situation and was most sympathetic, and she said the store would make everything right. They will take back the broken color wheel with full refund, and are express shipping (no shipping charge) me a new one. As you can imagine, my opinion of PartStore.com did a 180 degree turn. I'll let you know how everything turns out, but at the moment, I feel very positively towards them.

Good comment about the seal. When I put the CW in the first time I was not sure the rubber seal was seated properly, so I took it out and refit it . . . just in case. Thanks for reinforcing my thought.

Just to let you know . . .

I put in the new color wheel and everything is working fine !! . . . so far. I will provide an update in a week or so. I should have gotten the credits from PartStore by then and hopefully the TV will still be working fine. I still have a new ballast that I don't need. My wife says to sell it on eBay, but I reckon the day after I do, the original ballast will probably fail - Sod's Law.

Checking to see if the color wheel is spinning should be one of the first diagnostic steps. I will add this on some earlier forum posts. It is pretty straightforward.

glad you got it fixed. but can anyone answer where the color wheel gets its command from? just because it doesnt spin, mean that its defective. mine sometimes spins and then it doesnt.

Just to close the thread. I received all of the refunds from PartStore.com - for the defective color wheel and the express shipping for the replacement. So they did come through and am very pleased with their customer service group's follow up and response. The new color wheel has performed well for a over a month, so keep your fingers' crossed.