What's wrong with my TV?

September 29, 2006 4:39 AM

My Toshiba DLP (44NHM) that is a little over a year old turns itself off after about 5 seconds of being on. Turn it on, warms up everything looks fine it turns off after 5 seconds. Does the bulb need replacing?

Everything looks as it should be during that time on, so I am a little hesitant to replace the expensive bulb. Is this symptomatic of the death of the bulb and TV is trying to prevent something to happen? If it is a bulb where's the go to place to buy it?

posted by geoff. to technology (5 comments total)

something from happening rather.
posted by geoff. at 4:46 AM on September 29, 2006

Off the top of my head, not being a TV doctor, nor even playing one on tv, i'm going to guess that when a bulb goes, it goes. There is no slow death—the filament pops and you're done.

That said, it definitely sounds like it could be a heat-related issue. And I'm wondering if "little over a year old" means "just out of warranty."

Is it consistently five seconds? Does it last longer after a longer break in between uses?

There's not much troubleshooting when it comes to modern (hell, any) TVs, past the bulb. And that's a $300-$400 attempt at a fix that really doesn't sound like a likely fix.

Have you moved the set around or caused it any other trauma?

Can you call Toshiba or your retailer to determine if the bulb would just die binary instead of slowly bring your tv down with it? (That is, if no one else is able to give a definitive answer here...)
posted by disillusioned at 5:16 AM on September 29, 2006

Have you checked the cooling fans? Their bearings often wear out, causing the fan to fail to spin up. The TV may notice this, and decide to switch itself off for safety.
posted by Neon at 7:16 AM on September 29, 2006

According to the manual (on Toshiba's website), the 3 lights on the front panel will indicate exactly what the problem is, so you don't need to guess.
posted by cillit bang at 6:58 PM on September 29, 2006

Nope the lights were not indicating anything wrong (thus the question). Toshiba repair coming out later in the week ... definitely not the lamp is what they told me from the description.
posted by geoff. at 9:32 AM on September 30, 2006