ahopyojk

[Kentb53]

New to the forum. Hello!

For over two years, my HLS 5686W performed flawlessly. Then about 6 mos ago, the picture would dim about 60 seconds after power on. Brightness settings had to be changed from mid 50s to low 70s. Then, about two months ago, picture would go to black and I got the three blinkers. However, when I powered back up, everything was fine, INCLUDING picture brightness which went back to normal (mid 50s settings). I ordered a new Phillips bulb (E22 120/132W) but let it sit in the closet because all was well with old bulb. Three days ago, after about 30 seconds, bulb kept going dark with the three blinkers. Re powered, same thing after thirty seconds. OK, finally time to pull out the new (bare) bulb.

From the get go, the new bulb is dim again (like the old one became, then self corrected). Need to crank up brightness to the 70s (picture starts to get milky). Could this be a problem with the ballast? What has me stumped is why the old bulb got brighter towards the end. Any ideas would be welcomed.

[Eddie]

The ballast's main job is to supply enough power to the lamp for ignition and to keep the thing on. A weak ballast will often times not ignite the lamp at all, or simply not maintain enough wattage to the lamp causing it to appear dimmer than normal. The lamp, in turn, sucks up as much power as the ballast will give it. So when you have a new lamp that's not working as it should, it could possibly be a bad lamp, but OEM Philips lamps have a .03% failure rate. I think a weak ballast is your problem, but honestly a technician is going to need to come out there to really look at it for you if you're still unsure... I believe your part number for that ballast is BP47-00029A.

Here's the ballast on DM at super low price of $53. It'll be cheaper than having a tech come out and tell you it's the ballast, and it's really easy to install yourself.

http://www.discount-merchant.com/produc ... 00033a.htm

Double check with DM though, they have great customer service and tech support and I'm sure they can help you out.

[Kentb53]

Thanks for the input, Eddie. One thing I forgot to mention which may lend a hand. From day 1 with this set, it would take at least 30 seconds for the picture to normalize. It would start dark, then it would brighten but look blue, then a few seconds later would pop to normal, with more red. Since new bulb, the process is the same but taking about twice as long.

[Eddie]

Kent, the lamp has nothing to do with the coloration, only the intensity of the picture. A coloration problem may be something else all together. If you're saying it's dark AND blue, you might have a combination of problems. The firs thing to really check out is that ballast though. There are a number of posts on this forum on how to check the ballast. The easiest of which is with a new lamp which you've already tried. There is also an outside chance of a power supply failure, but I don't think that's that common with your model television.

Have you tried anything else in terms of trouble shooting?

[Kentb53]

Kent, the lamp has nothing to do with the coloration, only the intensity of the picture. A coloration problem may be something else all together. If you're saying it's dark AND blue, you might have a combination of problems. The firs thing to really check out is that ballast though. There are a number of posts on this forum on how to check the ballast. The easiest of which is with a new lamp which you've already tried. There is also an outside chance of a power supply failure, but I don't think that's that common with your model television.

Have you tried anything else in terms of trouble shooting?

Thanks Eddie. I will try to check out the ballast. After about 60 seconds, the color is just fine...beautiful in fact, albeit dimmer picture. Have to keep brightness at at least 75. Like I said before, the dimming problem started about a year ago. My bet is on weak ballast...perhaps getting weaker since it's taking longer to get to normal. Will report. Thanks again.

[Eddie]

Well, ballasts aren't that expensive in terms of DLP repair. You could always try to find parts online. Check DM first.

If you're low on cash and don't want to invest just yet, keep reading forums on the web or here on our site.

I'm almost certain it's the ballast, but I'm not there to check it out. The better you describe the problem and the more you explain your troubleshooting steps, the more of a consensus everyone can give you here.

[Kentb53]

Just ordered ballast from DM. Went with my gut since not that exensive.

[Kentb53]

I'm almost certain it's the ballast,

...and you were RIGHT! In fact, I now have deeper contrast and black levels than I EVER had since day one of ownership. I.E...before, in Movie mode, I would have to max the contrast out to 100, and even then it was a bit milky. Now, I've got it down to 75...and might yet go a little lower. So Eddie, you're a genius.

BTW, regarding Discount Merchant. I ordered the ballast this past Monday afternoon and it arrived in Indianapolis on Wednesday, via regular 1st Class Mail. Amazing!!!

Thanks again...

Kent

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