just bought a PJ800, doesnt work

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Hi,

I recently bought a used PJ 800 projector, its old I know. When I got home I turned it on just to see what would happen and it turned on, I had a blue screen on the wall I scrolled through the menu. It was great. So I then move it to the back of the room to get a bigger picture, it powered up, and nothing projected. This is what happens: the power led is red then turns to flashing orange and green. Then I hear a high pitch sound from the maching for 2 seconds. Then after about 30 seconds, the led for the lamp flashes red. Then the system goes into stand by with power led on solid red and flashing red lamp led. Does this mean the lamp is bad? I pulled out the lamp but I don’t know what to look for. Also when I pulled it out I noticed a crack in the glass where the lamp shines through. Would this effect any thing, is it replaceable? If I replace it and it doesn’t work, what should I do? Would I get my money back? And the final question is it worth my time to replace it?
Thanks for any help
 
sounds to me like your lamp is dead. when you moved it, did you bang it around? did you hear a pop? do you hear glass rattling in the projector? all this will mean you have a dead lamp.

usually, when a lamp goes bad you see alot of "white frost" which indicated a lamp that has reached the end of its life.

You say your lamp has a crack. if this crack is in the way of your beam of light it will affect the projected picture. big line or "gash" going across the screen.

the high pitch whine can be your ballast trying to start the lamp.

the viewsonic pj800 isnt to bad. svga, 550 lumens 200 contrast. 3000 hour lamp life. bad thing is that the cheapest i found a replacement lamp is $376.99. you have to decide if it is worth it to you. i dont think you'll be aqble to return a lamp once it has been installed. or you might but have to pay a re-stocking fee.

last idea, retro-fit it with a MH lamp setup. cheap alternative to $376.99 for a lamp.

ap0
 
yeah i know that company too mike its on ebay usa, but the lamp cant be damaged in anyway or they cant fix it, u better off giving them a call, i dont have the link unfortunatley, i would also try to put the bulb back in and try it again, some projectors are know for faulty bulb sockets and that could be the case why it worked the first time, but i would have to say by all means get a new bulb before the old blows up and destroys your whole projector.

Trev
 
What brand is it?
sorry, viewsonic pj800

usually, when a lamp goes bad you see alot of "white frost" which indicated a lamp that has reached the end of its life.

White frost! it is there hehe sorry this is my first projector, so i wasnt sure if that was a normal thing or not.

i didnt bang it or anything no rattling either

im aware of the price for a new bulb thats why im scared that the bulb is not the prob, bu i think it may be

MH lamp setup- where can i get more info on that i have no idea what you are talking about


I think Verbose know of a company that rebuilt bulbs for cheap (under 200, worth a thought)

where do i find them?


thanks so much for all your help too guys i really appreciate it
 
also let me clarify the crack. it not on the bulb it self. the bulb rests in a cube about 5x5x5 inches, and once you take the cube out, there is a window inside the projector where the light is sent through, this window has a crack, to me it looks like a piece of glass about 4 x 4 inches and 5 mm thick, is this a filter? can i replace it? can i just take it out?
 
it could be a regular piece of glass or it could be a uv filter, which you want it there, or else you'll burn your eye balls out. i dont know what it is but if anything replace it with a uv filter. cant loose going that route.

MH setup, you would have to retro fit the projector with a mh lamp and a reflector. you basically have to rigg the projector to take a new lamp. you most probably have a big balast sticking out the projector. serious risk of shock (25,000 Volts) and death if you dont do it correctly.

pj800 is probably worth about $600.00 - $650.00 running. If you got it dirt cheap and had to buy a new lamp it would be worth it.

you can try ebay to locate a lamp.

ap0
 
I guess it leaves you with some options, assuming that the projector works correctly and doesn't have any video display problems. You said you only saw a blue screen. You weren't able to see an image to be certain it works correctly.

Option one, buy a lamp for it and have a decent projector for $620.

Option two, rig the projector with a cheaper light source.

Did the person you buy it from give you a D.O.A (Dead on arrival)warranty? Seems you only turned it one once and it went out. Maybe you should check with that seller.

ap0
 
apo

apo where did u get 25000volts from? they dont run on 25000volts lol ever looked up a bulbs specs? they run at about 92volts lol the ignigter puts out about 2.5kv that 2500volts for about half a sec just to get the arc then the rest goes from say 92volts and the amps get lower as the bulb warms, now tv's put out 25000volts lol when u go to look up a bulb have a look at the spec sheet it tells u what it draws and what voltage it runs on, the same for a ballast but that info is hard to get for a ballast for some reason.

Trev
 
french fri

i think u will find that thick glass is temperd glass for saving the optics just incase a bulb explodes cos they eh? lol thats why u never over run a bulb over its time limit cos they explode or have a high chance of exploding after the 200 hrs or so they rate it at, it could also be a uvfilter aswell as a temperd glass fixture but i doubt that as most of these bulbs incorporate a uv filter in the actual bulb material

Trev
 
correction

replace 200hrs with 2000hrs and the first line i meant they do explode eh? sorry for the corrections i dont know if its me or not but my spelling is crap latley even after i check it before post, seems funny how i miss commers and letters after i post what im saying anyway i shut up now lol
 
apo

trigger is the igniter voltage, seems high, its only for a split sec thats why they say trigger, there is no way it would run on 25000volts other than a trigger, if it did it wouldnt be a ballast it would be a inverter.

Trev
 
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