[MJU1875]

I seem to have the same lamp issue on my Sony KDFE50A12.

Set is almost 3 years old and picture has now become a lot darker.

I was wondering if anyone has been successful getting it replaced as part of their 5 year guarantee with John Lewis?

I have a technician coming tomorrow but don't know whether they will replace it as part of my guarantee?

[deltafx]

Originally Posted by MJU1875

I seem to have the same lamp issue on my Sony KDFE50A12.

Set is almost 3 years old and picture has now become a lot darker.

I was wondering if anyone has been successful getting it replaced as part of their 5 year guarantee with John Lewis?

I have a technician coming tomorrow but don't know whether they will replace it as part of my guarantee?

let us know how you get on i have same tv from John Lewis.

[daveoc]

I'll add a ''me too'' to that.

I know that John Lewis were selling a lot of these sets at the time so they must have had call outs by now which turn out to be the bulb failing.

[AndyCob]

Sorry to spoil things but virtually everyone (John Leiws included if I remember correctly) right a line about not covering 'consumables' (things like remote control batteries which need replacement) into their waranties and technically this includes the bulbs in projection sets, it may even mention them specifically if you really look. However the people handling the warranty repairs often don't seem to know this any better than many non technical people that buy such sets so it is worth giving it a try but if they are up on there own terms and conditions you are stuffed.

Best of luck.

[MJU1875]

Originally Posted by deltafx

let us know how you get on i have same tv from John Lewis.

Originally Posted by daveoc

I'll add a ''me too'' to that.

I know that John Lewis were selling a lot of these sets at the time so they must have had call outs by now which turn out to be the bulb failing.

Originally Posted by AndyCob

Sorry to spoil things but virtually everyone (John Leiws included if I remember correctly) right a line about not covering 'consumables' (things like remote control batteries which need replacement) into their waranties and technically this includes the bulbs in projection sets, it may even mention them specifically if you really look. However the people handling the warranty repairs often don't seem to know this any better than many non technical people that buy such sets so it is worth giving it a try but if they are up on there own terms and conditions you are stuffed.

Best of luck.

Just to let you know that my TV set was picked up by the JL repair guys and they mentioned nothing about the lamp not being included in the cover (although I was too frightened to ask).

They did say though that it might be more than the lamp that is faulty with my TV.

Fingers crossed that the next time I hear from JL is to arrange delivery of my repaired TV or to offer me a credit note for a replacement.

I will try to keep you updated.

[Kirby]

Im sure I have seen threads on here from people saying JL changed their bulbs as part of their cover, so you should be good . I had whatever happens currys cover and didn't think bulbs were covered so paid out for my own almost a year ago now, turns out they were covered and I forgot I even got somebody in store to sign my reciept stating they were covered .

[daveoc]

Thanks for reply MJU1875.

Please update us when you hear back from JL.

What sort of lifetime should we expect from the lamps? I have a KDFE42 that is a couple of years old now but the picture seems OK so far.

[alanc]

My bulb went just short of 2 yrs.
I managed to get JL to go halves with me for a bulb from Ebay.
I got £54 from them within a week of sending them a copy of my ebay invoice.

[MJU1875]

Just an update from JL .....

As expected my lamp needs replacing, and they have advised as it is a "consumable" it is not covered in their 5yr warranty.

They will replace this for me but want a whopping £282.90 for parts and labour which seems a bit excessive. I gave the go ahead to do the repair but they will need to order the part.

My set is just short of 3yrs old.

I have just found them on sale for £110 on ebay, but I don't feel that confident about replacing it myself.

Any advice is appreciated

[simon1]

Originally Posted by MJU1875

Just an update from JL .....

As expected my lamp needs replacing, and they have advised as it is a "consumable" it is not covered in their 5yr warranty.

They will replace this for me but want a whopping £282.90 for parts and labour which seems a bit excessive. I gave the go ahead to do the repair but they will need to order the part.

My set is just short of 3yrs old.

I have just found them on sale for £110 on ebay, but I don't feel that confident about replacing it myself.

Any advice is appreciated

You must be mad to pay them that to replace a bulb

This tv was designed for consumers to be able to replace the bulb themselves. It takes 5 minutes to swap.

The bulb is in a square plasitic housing, so you don't even need to touch the actual bulb. Simply remove the square panel on the right side of tv, then open the lamp door, slide old bulb housing out, slide new housing in.

Reset lamp timer using 'Replace Lamp' option in menu.

Sony KDFE50A12 Bulb Replacement - DONE

I've had 2x bulbs from ebay. First one was my KDFE50A12, (from Japan)second one for my KDS55A2000 (from USA) - both took 10 days and were aprox half the price of UK dealer.

buyfromjapan is a well respected seller on ebay, with many AVForum members (including myself), having bought from them. Only problem is the price isn't as good as it used to be, particularly as the pound is so weak against the dollar.

The bulb you need is XL-2400.

There is a UK seller on ebay offering them for £159.99 with FREE Next Day Special Delivery - ideal if you're in a hurry or worried about import duty.

[MJU1875]

Originally Posted by simon1

You must be mad to pay them that to replace a bulb

This tv was designed for consumers to be able to replace the bulb themselves. It takes 5 minutes to swap.

The bulb is in a square plasitic housing, so you don't even need to touch the actual bulb. Simply remove the square panel on the right side of tv, then open the lamp door, slide old bulb housing out, slide new housing in.

Reset lamp timer using 'Replace Lamp' option in menu.

Sony KDFE50A12 Bulb Replacement - DONE

I've had 2x bulbs from ebay. First one was my KDFE50A12, (from Japan)second one for my KDS55A2000 (from USA) - both took 10 days and were aprox half the price of UK dealer.

buyfromjapan is a well respected seller on ebay, with many AVForum members (including myself), having bought from them. Only problem is the price isn't as good as it used to be, particularly as the pound is so weak against the dollar.

The bulb you need is XL-2400.

There is a UK seller on ebay offering them for £159.99 with FREE Next Day Special Delivery - ideal if you're in a hurry or worried about import duty.

Thanks for the advice, I will be on the phone to JL tomorrow to get my TV back and I will get one on ebay, there are sellers in the UK for around £110, I will get one and give it a go myself.

The price JL are charging is ridiculous

[holtehero]

there is one on ebay with an hour and 23 minutes left (7:50am), its had 0 bids and i think its from UK and postage is £6.99

Mine lasted 2 years and it really is a 5 minute job to change yourself, mind you the 2nd bulb is just over 13 months old and has started to shown signs of fading (have had to increase brightness and contrast)

But i still think for the price i paid this set has been excellent value for money as at the time i bought it 32" LCD's were £1500, though i'm about to change mine for a Pioneer KRP500M

[AndyCob]

I have had a couple of lamp units from buyfromjapan for my KDS without any problem one arrived in only two days, for around a £100 compared to the Sony RRP of £500 for the XL-5200 lamp unit. Not sure about your model but it is literally a 30 second job to pull out the old and insert the new unit. If you have a little dexterity and some screw drivers it is even possible to recycle the lamp housing and save a few more ponds by buying just a bulb.

[MJU1875]

Originally Posted by AndyCob

I have had a couple of lamp units from buyfromjapan for my KDS without any problem one arrived in only two days, for around a £100 compared to the Sony RRP of £500 for the XL-5200 lamp unit. Not sure about your model but it is literally a 30 second job to pull out the old and insert the new unit. If you have a little dexterity and some screw drivers it is even possible to recycle the lamp housing and save a few more ponds by buying just a bulb.

Thanks Andy, I assume that if I am ordering a replacement bulb then I might need order the bulb in the housing as the bulb I found on ebay that fits my TV for £110 does not include the housing?

[scooby do]

I have a brand new xl2400 (purchased in error should have got a 5200) has never been fitted and comes in retail package. Will let this go for £90 delivered via royal mail SD. Will post a for sale if you are interested.

[MJU1875]

Originally Posted by scooby do

I have a brand new xl2400 (purchased in error should have got a 5200) has never been fitted and comes in retail package. Will let this go for £90 delivered via royal mail SD. Will post a for sale if you are interested.

Scooby Do, thanks for the offer. I am still negotiating with JL, apparently they ordered the bulb for me yesterday and it has already left the suppliers. Therefore apparently as I verbally agreed to them sourcing a replacement I am liable for their charges.

I am fighting this with them just now, if I get a cancellation I will let you know and take this off your hands.

[scooby do]

I would not stand for that, especially at their inflated prices. Any repair needs to be agreed especially one at this cost. Remember you are dealing with a well renowned store and I am sure that if you speak to the right person you will get your TV back without having to pay their inflated price. Out of interest did they not send an engineer out to inspect as he should have known it was the bulb and as such should have advised.

[MJU1875]

Originally Posted by scooby do

I would not stand for that, especially at their inflated prices. Any repair needs to be agreed especially one at this cost. Remember you are dealing with a well renowned store and I am sure that if you speak to the right person you will get your TV back without having to pay their inflated price. Out of interest did they not send an engineer out to inspect as he should have known it was the bulb and as such should have advised.

They did send an engineer out and as they thought it might be more than just the lamp and took the TV back to their repair centre for further analysis.

I did speak to them on the phone yesterday and I was advised that it was the lamp and I foolishly gave them permission to order a replacement bulb.

It was my fault for not carrying out enough research into replacement costs and as they probably recorded my call yesterday their argument is that it is too late for me to withdraw since the part is now in transit.

They did say that out of the £282.90 replacement cost that labour was only £45 and the rest of was for the part. I just wonder if it is made out of gold at that price.

I am expecting a call back from their manager so hopefully we can reach some sort of compromise.

[Dreamdog]

Originally Posted by scooby do

I have a brand new xl2400 (purchased in error should have got a 5200) has never been fitted and comes in retail package. Will let this go for £90 delivered via royal mail SD. Will post a for sale if you are interested.

Should MJU1875 manage to sort out his problem I'd be interested in taking the bulb of your hands.

[scooby do]

Ok no problems just let me know, £45 labour is a joke you could change the bulb whilst holding your breath. Altough they me be factoring in the cost of transit but really it should have been all done on site.

[daveoc]

I just took the opportunity to have a look at ebay.

If you put in XL-2400 it brings up 10 items, which includes a few repeats.

The price for the bulb on its own, without the housing, seems to range from £91 to £105.

The bulb with the housing is around £157 delivered from buyfromjapan, £104 from rivervalleyelectronics and a whopping £265 from someone called xl2400.

Do you need to buy the complete housing or is the bulb on its own sufficient?

If you knock the labour off of the JL price that brings it down to £237---but is that for just the lamp without the housing?

If it is then JL are putting on a huge mark up.

Could someone take a look at ebay and check out the listing by rivervalleyelectronics, the one for £104 delivered. It gives a list of models the housing fits but Sony KDFE50A12 isn't mentioned.

Does anyone know if it does fit ours, as I'm tempted to get one to keep as a spare for when required.

[MJU1875]

Originally Posted by daveoc

I just took the opportunity to have a look at ebay.

If you put in XL-2400 it brings up 10 items, which includes a few repeats.

The price for the bulb on its own, without the housing, seems to range from £91 to £105.

The bulb with the housing is around £157 delivered from buyfromjapan, £104 from rivervalleyelectronics and a whopping £265 from someone called xl2400.

Do you need to buy the complete housing or is the bulb on its own sufficient?

If you knock the labour off of the JL price that brings it down to £237---but is that for just the lamp without the housing?

If it is then JL are putting on a huge mark up.

Could someone take a look at ebay and check out the listing by rivervalleyelectronics, the one for £104 delivered. It gives a list of models the housing fits but Sony KDFE50A12 isn't mentioned.

Does anyone know if it does fit ours, as I'm tempted to get one to keep as a spare for when required.

The lady I spoke to earlier at JL was suggesting that they only have the 1 supplier and they cannot change them for parts (I assume a Sony distibutor). She seemed quite genuine when advising that it is costing JL £237 for the part.

I am still waiting on the Manager to call me back and looks like being tomorrow. I have asked for at the very least a goodwill gesture from them. If they say no then I will ask them to deliver the TV back with the bulb in the box and I will fit it myself to at least save me the £45 labour costs.

[AndyCob]

Originally Posted by MJU1875

Thanks Andy, I assume that if I am ordering a replacement bulb then I might need order the bulb in the housing as the bulb I found on ebay that fits my TV for £110 does not include the housing?

I see there have been a few more replies and you may be stuck with the John Lewis one but as you ask. You can get just a bulb and recycle the old housing but this is not really intended by the manufacturer so it is a little fiddly opening the housing up, but it can be done with a little dexterity and patience, say 10-20 minutes to get the housing apart take out the old bulb put the new one in and close it back up.

If you get a complete lamp unit bulb+housing then it's a much quicker job obviously just pull the old one out and insert the new one.

Whether you go for just a bulb or a complete unit is really just a price/convenience decision, I got the complete units both times because when I was ordering getting just a bulb was only about a tenner cheaper. The one time this may not be the case (and this happened with my first lamp unit) is UHP (Ulta High Pressure) bulbs can explode when they fail, hence the replaceable unit, which prevents any damage to the TV and contains all the bits of broken glass. Now if this happens your diamantling job will be complicated by all the bits of broken glass but there may also have been damage or scratchs to the glass cover plate which might leave visible shadows on the display so then you would want the whole thing.

I suggest if you wind up ebaying one you get a complete unit the first time then at your leisure you can dismantle the old one and go for just a bulb if that is all you need the next time or another unit if you don't think all the extra faffing about is worth it to save just a few quid.

As for the John Lewis price as I said the official original RRP for an XL-5200 lamp unit from Sony UK was £499.00 which was utterly ridiculous, indeed it put me off buying the set for awhile until I found they could be sourced off ebay and other places for around a 100 or less.

[MJU1875]

Originally Posted by scooby do

I have a brand new xl2400 (purchased in error should have got a 5200) has never been fitted and comes in retail package. Will let this go for £90 delivered via royal mail SD. Will post a for sale if you are interested.

Good news for me, I have managed to get John Lewis to cancel the replacement so I can replace the bulb myself now.

Scooby do - does the XL2400 bulb you have include the housing, if so I would really like to take it. Thanks.

[AndyCob]

As far as I know the Xl-..... are the model no.s for the whole units as Sony do not offer the option to buy just a bulb, so that should be a full unit. Sony source the bulbs from Philips I think rather than manufacturer them themselves so it is perfectly easy to order just a matching bulb from a variety of places online, it's just a fiddle getting the housing apart and back together.

[scooby do]

Yes it is the full retail bulb with the housing. As I say it has not been fitted so is 0 hours and can easily be fitted by the end user

[MJU1875]

Originally Posted by scooby do

Yes it is the full retail bulb with the housing. As I say it has not been fitted so is 0 hours and can easily be fitted by the end user

I will send you my details by Private Message, I assume you are ok for Paypal?

[danGerMouse]

Hey guys!

Well after much reading on the (truly awesome!) forums here, i'm now convinced that the lamp in my KDF-E50A12U could do with replacing. I have brightness and contrast both up to 100, otherwise it's just not watcheable (it was only really when other people would come in and mention that they thought it looked dull - i hadn't even noticed!). I've had it for 2.5 yrs and when i do the numbers i reckon it's been beavering away for a good 7,000-8,000 hrs. Is that good or bad?

With cost being a big factor here for me (bit skint at the mo - who isn't?!) i think i'm gonna buy just the bulb itself and recycle the housing. I'm a bit of a techno-junkie so i'm sure i can handle it (i've also seen the vid on youtube showing how to do it, doesn't look too hard).

So......the cheapest i can find online is this one on eBay:
SONY XL-2400 XL-2400U XL2400 XL2400U A-1129-776-A LAMP on eBay, also Rear-Projection TV Lamp Bulbs, Television Parts Accessories, A V Accessories Cables, Electronics (end time 21-Jan-09 18:49:55 GMT)
It's from America (so not the japan guy everyone seems to use) and is £90 incl delivery, which seems pretty good to me.

Any thoughts guys? Am i definitely looking at the right bulb here? And is the price good?

Cheers fellas!

[Kirby]

Originally Posted by danGerMouse

Hey guys!

Well after much reading on the (truly awesome!) forums here, i'm now convinced that the lamp in my KDF-E50A12U could do with replacing. I have brightness and contrast both up to 100, otherwise it's just not watcheable (it was only really when other people would come in and mention that they thought it looked dull - i hadn't even noticed!). I've had it for 2.5 yrs and when i do the numbers i reckon it's been beavering away for a good 7,000-8,000 hrs. Is that good or bad?

With cost being a big factor here for me (bit skint at the mo - who isn't?!) i think i'm gonna buy just the bulb itself and recycle the housing. I'm a bit of a techno-junkie so i'm sure i can handle it (i've also seen the vid on youtube showing how to do it, doesn't look too hard).

So......the cheapest i can find online is this one on eBay:
SONY XL-2400 XL-2400U XL2400 XL2400U A-1129-776-A LAMP on eBay, also Rear-Projection TV Lamp Bulbs, Television Parts Accessories, A V Accessories Cables, Electronics (end time 21-Jan-09 18:49:55 GMT)
It's from America (so not the japan guy everyone seems to use) and is £90 incl delivery, which seems pretty good to me.

Any thoughts guys? Am i definitely looking at the right bulb here? And is the price good?

Cheers fellas!

If the write up and picture are accurate then that is it, and it would seem so going on the sellers feedbacks . These have got really pricey but then again anything you have to buy from abroad now is I used a whole new casing but I have to admit when you examine it is seems simple enough to get apart so good luck to ya.
One thing though, keep in mind (being skint after xmas and all) you will likely get stung for import tax I don't like giving bad news but just incase it slipped your mind.