HD 20 optoma - urgent help required

[buswal]

I got a brand new optoma hd 20 projector from USA- best buy.com through my brother today.

I just connected it, the projector shuts down automatically after few minutes (say 2-3 minutes) and the amber light flashes, indicating error- fan fail. How to rectify the defect? What could be the problem? I allowed the Pj to cool down and tried again, but no luck.

Srini, advisied me to remove and refix the lamp. Since the warranty sticker is affixed on the screw, I didn't open the PJ to remove and refix the lamp.

Pl. help me to solve the problem. Thanks in advance. The first option is to get it serviced at chennai or bangalore. The second option is request my brother to take it back with him and forget about the PJ.

dear santhol2, santhosh, venkatesmart and others, pl. guide me to rectify the defect.

regards,

 

[kapvin]

Hi Buswal,

my heartfelt sympathies. I can understand the anticipation with which you must have waited for this projector.

my advice to you on this would be what you do not want to hear -- send it back, if you have the option. my reasons for recommending this -

the optoma will have a us warantee which is not honoured in India. in the uS, this would qualify as DOA / defective on arrival and would be eligible for a full replacement.

in india, at best you will achieve a paid repair. as of now you do not know that the problem is a simple fan connector loose or something far more serious. you'll need to open it to find out and then you'l void the us warantee as well and lose the chance of a full replacement.

my experience with electric products that give trouble in the first few days, is that they are a "bad piece" (just like int he old days, you could get an ambassador which was "good piece" or a "bad piece"), and the "bad piece" invariably causes grief with multiple failures and repair cost.

of course your problem could be a very simple easily solvable one, but would you want to take the gamble and open it?

there is one other thing you could try -Call optoma US - explain the issue and ask them to prevail on the local optoma authorise repair shop to at least do diagnostics if not honour the warantee. -it's is just a loose connection or something 0- they'll solve that - else you can take it to the us for replacement.


all the best and do post how this all pans out..
cheers

 

[buswal]

thanks kapvin for your kind concern about my plight. I am getting suggestions from fellow members, including veteran video buff srini. I will try my level best to solve the problem.

The last option is return it and forget about procuring a PJ for the time being. :sad: Since my brother is returning very shortly I am keeping my fingers crossed
.

cheers

 

[srinisundar]

Sir,
I know the pain of getting one product and failed to get lit and make us happy... I have faced the same problem, but not the "fan error" message.. My HC4900 had the same problem(not 2 to 3 minutes switching off- may be once in 10 minutes) till it crossed more than 75 hours.

I got typical advice from some senior members from US forums citing loose lamp during transportation and also quoted for some PJ there will be "burn in period" will be there and once it crossed everything will be all right.

I could see the switching off cycle reduced once the lamp casing was removed and refitted... However i am made to wait till 75 hours till my PJ has taken 75 hours to achieve the "burn in period"

However tommorow i will cross check with local PJ techs and try to get some advice on this.

However as suggested in PM try some methods before sending back to USA..

 

[buswal]

thanks srini. I will try as per your advise given through pm and let u know.

cheers

 

[kapvin]

thanks srini. I will try as per your advise given through pm and let u know.

cheers

HI,

does the fan turn on at all, or does it turn on and turn off after 3 minutes?

 

[santhosh]

Hi buswal sir, sorry to hear that. I would send it back because you have the option of returning it through your brother and avail warranty. Your brother can then shop back to you though Borderlinx, you may spend around 10k for shopping bit you'll have peace of mind.

I will call you later today to discuss.

 

[vinay]

Well congratulations on your new purchase.

It is good that you are not working on anything which could create warranty issues.

I think you are on the right track in contacting the members, there will be a scope that they could solve this problem otherwise call a professional and see if he can do something, if it still does not work then rightly said it is better to return the projector.

In my case when i had bought the lg projector with 20,000 hours of bulb life, when they opened the box for installation i realized that the cables were not in closed plastic sheet, it was just bare and i realized that they have bought a used piece, a big show down happened with them, then i forced them to call for a another piece, and to my horror this one was also a used piece because the cells were already in the remote control, so this projector also i returned, this drama started at 7 in the evening and went on till mid night, next day i complained at the head office of lg, and the dealer was put in good trouble. The beauty of this whole dirty game was that the packing was well sealed thus completely looking as original which means that they had the mastery to forge the original box.

V.

 

[Dushie]

Buswal, had one question are you using the original power cable that came with the projector,

Does the projector turn on and the blub glows.?

I know i am asking very basic stuff , but that is because when i got my HD 20 , i did not use the original power cable and i used a regular one, so the projector would turn on for a few seconds and then the light will go to amber.

After using the original power cable it fired up and worked fine.


Best is to ship it back to US through someone, so they can get the same fixed ,also file a claim for DOA, the details are there on the Optoma site, i believe you will be having your warranty card and bill with you.

Do not tell optoma that you have got the PJ to India and are using it here as the machine does not carry international warranty?

Better is to ship it back to your contacts in US and process the DOA.
If you don't have anyone going to US , you can use some freight forwarded so they can take care of shipping and customs. Borderlinx is also a good option.

 

[cmsajith]

As others told, you get it replaced. Till that time you can use it with a temporary solution. Usually there will be one or more fans for a pj. Attach an 80mm silent pc fan at the air outlet of the pj (on the pj body). If it shutsdown again, attach one more at the air inlet also.

 

[buswal]

Dear Vinay, dushie, sjsmith and others,

First let me thank the forum owner, I am getting excellent responses and suggestions from the fellow members.

I connected the original power cord that came along with the pj, even then the pj gets switched off automatically after 2 to 3 minutes. I tried even without connecting the source, kept the pj upside down even then the problem continues.

I have connected the pj to 110 volt ac outlet.

I noticed the pj is getting heated up like a oven within few minutes.

The pq of the pj is awesome. but my bad luck the unit appears to be a defective one. I will try by using an external fans and let u know the results.

My brother will take it back, if I can't rectify the defect. But I will be without a pj.:sad:

regards

 

[buswal]

Hi,

It appears I could locate the flaw. I removed the 110 variac to a separate ultra isolation 110 transformer and then connected the pj, to my surprise PJ was working without shutting down for more than one hour. I watched spider man one for close to one hour without any issues. :yahoo:

I will play it again in the evening to ensure that the pj is fine and keep u posted.

I will take this opportunity to thank srini, vinay, santhol2, dushie, cmsajith, kapvin and others for guiding me to isolate and solve the problem.

Thank you one and all, have a great evening.

regards.

 

[vinay]

A new world of ventilator that too for gadgets.

So far human beings in hospital were put on ventilator in a icu but now there is a discovery, putting a projector on ventilator.

V.

Till that time you can use it with a temporary solution. Usually there will be one or more fans for a pj. Attach an 80mm silent pc fan at the air outlet of the pj (on the pj body). If it shutsdown again, attach one more at the air inlet also.

 

[subhash]

hi buswal

didnt quite get u here , 110V AC outlet ??

 

[santhosh]

hi buswal

didnt quite get u here , 110V AC outlet ??

Subhash, I called Buswal in the afternoon and told him there is no need for him to use the step down transformer with his HD20 as it supports both 110V and 220V. I think everything is fine now, guess he will try in the evening and confirm.

Also, he mentioned that the 220v to 110v step down transformer that he was using initially was not of great quality.

 

[subhash]

Subhash, I called Buswal in the afternoon and told him there is no need for him to use the step down transformer with his HD20 as it supports both 110V and 220V. I think everything is fine now, guess he will try in the evening and confirm.

Also, he mentioned that the 220v to 110v step down transformer that he was using initially was not of great quality.

ok

was wondering from where the 110V supply came in .

Buswal sir , congratulations , do use an UPS for the PJ ,to gracefully shut it down in case of power failure

 

[kapvin]

Subhash, I called Buswal in the afternoon and told him there is no need for him to use the step down transformer with his HD20 as it supports both 110V and 220V. I think everything is fine now, guess he will try in the evening and confirm.

Also, he mentioned that the 220v to 110v step down transformer that he was using initially was not of great quality.

well, that's thrilling news! hope his evening experience is all fine.

it also loooks like the the HD20 is a little more sensitive to main-power line conditions than others. i think this is the third case I've read about which was solved by changing the input power conditions.

i guess it's always sensible to be extra careful about the quality of power you feed to the projector

 

[cmsajith]

A new world of ventilator that too for gadgets.

So far human beings in hospital were put on ventilator in a icu but now there is a discovery, putting a projector on ventilator.

V.

I think you have no idea about how a projector works. So this is not a discovery.

 

[buswal]

Today evening I watched a movie for 30 minutes and the pj is working without any problem.

I removed the old step down transformer, the culprit. thanks to one and all, once again.

Now watching ger vs. eng match. how the referee missed the second goal of england. what happened to modern day video replay etc?

regards

 

[vinay]

Sure i never knew this is how a projector works, no wonder it was a discovery for me. :yahoo:

V.

I think you have no idea about how a projector works. So this is not a discovery.