Question JVC DLA-X3 not powering up - Help!

JorisS

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Hi all

We just came back from 2 weeks of vacation, and thought we'd enjoy ourselves with a movie in the evening. Unfortunately, the projector didn't cooperate :(

I powered everything up, heard the lamp cover open, then went to fix some stuff. When I came back in, there was no image at all. Projector completely unresponsive, the lamp not powered on at all (not even the dim light that sometimes can be seen when looking into the lens).
Tried unplugging for a while, nothing. Took it down from the ceiling and tested some more - the only sign of life I get out of it is that if I manually close the sliding lens cover, it will open it when I power on the unit. There are no LED lights lit at all, the lamp nor fans give any sign of life.

Anybody who has had a similar issue and can comment? I've tried another lamp, it makes no difference.
 
Quite possibly the ballast unit
 
Quite possibly the ballast unit

Can those be repaired/replaced?
Also I'm wondering about the LED lights... come to think of it, can't remember seeing the red LED for standby showing for ages. Might be it's trying to give an error code but the LEDs aren't working?
 
Ok here's a quick update:

I'm in the process of opening up the PJ (I have the service manual) and noticed that the connector feeding the LED panel had come loose - I reattached and did a test; red LED is lit up in standby, as it should. When I power on the unit, the LED turns green, lens cover opens but nothing more happens. On the upper PCB, I see one LED that's green (LED800) and another one is showing red (LED1400). When I push the power button again, the standby LED goes red, the middle LED is blinking orange and the warning LED is red. I guess this could confirm the ballast problem which it seems many have suffered?

Question then is what is the best/easiest/cheapest fix? I'm a service technician myself, can do soldering and such.
 
Where do you get the service manuals from for JVC PJs?

I got them from the JVC service center, called them this morning. They themselves did not do pj service, but apparently the guy I spoke to had access to the documentation and was allowed to send it to me. If you're interested, drop me a PM and I'll email them to you.

I've worked my way down to the ballast board now - can't see any visible damage but I guess some component went tits up? Does anybody know if it's a specific part that usually breaks and can be replaced, or should I try and source a new ballast board?
 
I've attached some images. Quite often MOSfets are the cause of trouble, perhaps the R6020 as in one of the pictures is the problem?

Has anybody figured out what causes the ballast boards to fail?
 

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Thanks unreel, I have seen the 2nd and 3rd link. In the Fixya thread there is mention of a damaged resistor and optocoupler; the resistor looks fine but I'm going to take it out of the PCB and check. The AV owners thread contains a lot of useful information from psmith, I'm going to give things a go and check the components mentioned.
 
Dang... I started by checking the resistor that seems to be the common factor in all threads I've read, but it looks to be fine.... Wondering now if it's indeed the ballast board that's gone, or something else completely :/

Ideally I'd like to test with a replacement board, but if that turns out not to be the problem that's quite a lot of cash down the drain :(
Does anybody know a source for the ballast board within EU? I've seen for $150 in the US, more expensive ones also. New and repaired from Asia from $40 or so, but those will probably take several weeks to be delivered...
 
Thanks, I'm waiting for info on who is doing the pj repairs for JVC here in Sweden and check with them also. Found a reseller in the US doing them for $150 also. Fair price but may end up paying customs :(

I also came across a German forum where a detailed repair procedure is described both for the ballast board replacement as well as a fix with components listed. However, the guy who posted it wrote a few posts later that one of the repaired units had failed again, so they weren't too sure about how lasting the fix is. I'm waiting for approval of my registration there so I can contact him and ask for further stats on repaired units.... if one failed that's an incident, if all failed shortly after repairs I guess a new ballast board is the way to go - seeing as the procedure to get to it is a real pain :/

Here's a link to the German forum (I can read German, otherwise I suppose one can use Google translate to translate the entire page?):

Lamp Ballast Board Defekte der JVC DLA X3 bis X90 Reihe, inkl. Beschreibung einer Reparatur

This goes straight to the first of the specific posts, the next one is the repair.
The entire topic is quite interesting. Hope it helps somebody else as well :)
 
What's not to like about a cut price PCB generating hundreds of volts?! :p

But then again, you can't break what's already broken... :D

I'd be willing to give it a go if it were a European reseller.
Right now though I've just ordered parts as per the German site (note that they are warning in that topic that they have had repaired units fail again, so it's not a "permanent" fix - that said they're using some alternative parts, I've sourced originals only now). I'll post back how it went :)
 
You have to imagine there is a reasonable chance the ballast is actually being damaged by a bad lamp combined with poor circuit design. If they fix the ballast issue the lamp may still be failing, and might cause recurring failure of the ballast. Just because the lamp lights most of the time I guess might not mean it is a good lamp...

Just a guess, but might explain it. Bad lamps have been linked to failed ballasts before by JVC personnel.
 
I have a JVC DLA x3 and the 2 outer lights are solid red and the orange lamp light is flashing.
Lens cover is stuck open and can only unit turn off by mains not remote..

Shall i buy a new lamp or will i be wasting money --
If it is something else more nasty , will it be cost effective to repair from a repairer :(
 
I have a JVC DLA x3 and the 2 outer lights are solid red and the orange lamp light is flashing.
Lens cover is stuck open and can only unit turn off by mains not remote..

Shall i buy a new lamp or will i be wasting money --
If it is something else more nasty , will it be cost effective to repair from a repairer :(
It is your ballast the problem and not the lamp!
 
It is your ballast the problem and not the lamp!
I had same problem with my old X3. Within this forum verify you may will find pictures from repairs and how to disassemble the unit and replace the defective ballast! It is a dainty job ,but if you are DIY person + the service manual you will succeed. A repair shop will charge you a lot for replacement of the ballast because it is a 5-7 hours job. In addition if your lamp has accumulated many hours and it is close to the limit and needs replacement - adding both cost you will have to weight your decision. Link to the forum where I posted pics taken during repair it is under AGSCMC will give you an overview of the job involved!

Replacing JVC Ballast - Page 3 - AVS Forum | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews
 
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I get these errors from time to time. I now switch off at the mains after the pj shuts down. Seems to have mostly solved the problem as not had it for the last 20 or so switchons. When it does happen I have to turn off at the mains for a few mins.
It’s usually the coloured lines error. That’s probably happend 15+ times. Only had the 3 led error twice I think.
Are these known issues?
 
I thought expensive JVC projectors were suppose to be reliable.
If i bought a s/h car for 3k and it went bang that quick ,i would be straight on the phone.
We seem to accept it on gadgets as these though !
 
Erm.... a JVC X3 is not £3k second-hand. I think mine was £3.4k brand new 8 years ago... it would probably cost nearer £300 for a second-hand one now.

I had a minor issue (front ir receiver failed) but this was fixed and the projector given a complimentary service under the warranty (just less than 3 years old at the time).

I have nothing but good things to say about my JVC projector experience. My X3 still gets almost nightly use and still blows me away.

To be honest I would put JVC kit quality and longevity on a par with other premium brands like Apple. Certainly far ahead of the likes of the now-defunct and at the supposedly (but not really) premium Sony Vaio PCs.

In terms of comparison to cars, different beasts of course but I’d say JVC is really good quality and long-lasting like VW or Audi.
 
Just repaired mine .took ages for the new board.
Worried how long it will last now .It's done 850 hrs.
Just wondering if I turn off the auto lens cover if it takes the power from the ballast board on startup as it was stuck open when broke.
So will reduce the current drain on it.
 

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