Sanyo Z4 - back to life.
About two weeks ago my Sanyo Z4 video projector stopped working. The lens is covered by a lid which usually slides away automatically when you turn it on, actually that feature never broke. Unusual was, that it shut itself off a few seconds after turning it on, by sliding back the lens cover. A hint of what the problem could've been, was the blinking »Lamp Replace« light on top of the projector. I followed that hint and bought a new lamp. 200 Euros.
After receiving the lamp and putting it in place (which was easier than I imagined) I eagerly tried to turn on the projector. The cover slid away,... and... shut right after 5 seconds; familiar lights blinking.
I didn't have much time the following days, but sunday I tried to contact the Sanyo support in Germany. I wrote an e-Mail to Mr. Horn. Monday I tried to call him, but all I got was "all lines are busy, please try again later.." kind of answers through the phone. Tuesday I received his e-Mail response where he told me to call him, so I finally got in touch with him wednesday.
He told me how I could take of the lid of the projector (not the one protecting the lens, but the entire unit) and that there is this little white button I could press. The projector may have overheated and there is a thermo sensor which snaps into a disable position once detecting too much heat. The little white button is there to reset the thermo sensor, which might have been the reason for my trouble. I wasn't home at the time I called Mr. Horn, but of course, as soon as I got home I tried to unveil the white button. Unfortunately, I needed a long but slim screw driver to unscrew the screws and my long screw driver was too thick to fit in the case holes.
Today, I borrowed Andreas' screw driver, undid the screws, took off the lit, searched for the little white button (which took about 5 minutes), pressed it, heard the click, and was all positive I found the cause for my pain. I did. After reassembling all parts I successfully turned it back to life.
To sum it up:
If your Sanyo Z4 ever has the »lamp replace« light blinking, the first thing you do NOT do is to spend 200 bucks on a new lamp. You loosen the 6 arrow-marked case screws, take off the lid, press the little white button, which is on top of the lamp-power-connector. If it clicks back to position that was the cause for your problem.
To avoid all that, make sure to regularly clean the air filter. That filter being full will eventually lead to overheating the projector.
Time to play some Motorstorm now! :)
After receiving the lamp and putting it in place (which was easier than I imagined) I eagerly tried to turn on the projector. The cover slid away,... and... shut right after 5 seconds; familiar lights blinking.
I didn't have much time the following days, but sunday I tried to contact the Sanyo support in Germany. I wrote an e-Mail to Mr. Horn. Monday I tried to call him, but all I got was "all lines are busy, please try again later.." kind of answers through the phone. Tuesday I received his e-Mail response where he told me to call him, so I finally got in touch with him wednesday.
He told me how I could take of the lid of the projector (not the one protecting the lens, but the entire unit) and that there is this little white button I could press. The projector may have overheated and there is a thermo sensor which snaps into a disable position once detecting too much heat. The little white button is there to reset the thermo sensor, which might have been the reason for my trouble. I wasn't home at the time I called Mr. Horn, but of course, as soon as I got home I tried to unveil the white button. Unfortunately, I needed a long but slim screw driver to unscrew the screws and my long screw driver was too thick to fit in the case holes.
Today, I borrowed Andreas' screw driver, undid the screws, took off the lit, searched for the little white button (which took about 5 minutes), pressed it, heard the click, and was all positive I found the cause for my pain. I did. After reassembling all parts I successfully turned it back to life.
To sum it up:
If your Sanyo Z4 ever has the »lamp replace« light blinking, the first thing you do NOT do is to spend 200 bucks on a new lamp. You loosen the 6 arrow-marked case screws, take off the lid, press the little white button, which is on top of the lamp-power-connector. If it clicks back to position that was the cause for your problem.
To avoid all that, make sure to regularly clean the air filter. That filter being full will eventually lead to overheating the projector.
Time to play some Motorstorm now! :)