Like all electronic devices, projectors also tend to malfunction. Majority of occasions of malfunctioning tend to disturb the image quality of the projector and certainly there can be numerous reasons behind the disturbed image quality. But one common reason is that faulty lamp is the reason behind the malfunction. And this is not surprising, because lamps have a limited lifespan. But the question at the moment is that how to tell if a projector lamp is blown? This article is all about finding the best possible solution for this promise.
But before looking for any signs of a blown lamp you need to check a few other things first. For instance, you need to check the connections that whether your power cables are plugged in the best way. secondly you could look for any possibly blown fuse.
Thirdly, you need to check all the connecting cables and if possible connect the cables but with a different source of input like USB or even HDMI. And even if this works well then find the lamp indicator light and see if it indicates some kind of malfunctioning. But their are some other methods by which you can know that how to tell if a projector lamp is blown.
How To Tell If A Projector Lamp Is Blown?
Even the living things exhibit certain symptoms before getting sick. And as a matter of fact projector’s lamp also exhibit a number of different signs before and after stopping proper functioning. It depends upon the user that how early does he or she detect these symptoms and reach a possible conclusion. Let us learn a bit about all the probable signs that might appear before the lamp explodes or stops working properly.
1. Look out for altered brightness:
Foremost sign shown by a bad lamp is the change in its brightness. If you are using your projector at a regular basis then you will be fully aware of the level of brightness and even a small change will be noticeable for you. In most cases the brightness of lamp decreases gradually before finally shutting down. Moreover, the hue of the light may change from a bright white light to some what yellow colored light.
2. Inspect the pixel quality:
When we talk about we are indirectly discussing the resolution of the image formed. If the image formed is grainy then undoubtedly your pixels are distorted due to poor light reaching on to the screen. And this difficulty in the light reaching the screen is probably due to the poorly functioning lamp. So the second most important sign of lamp malfunctioning is decreased resolution.
3. Occasional flickering of lamp light:
One of the best answer for the question that how to tell if a projector lamp is blown or not is to check whether the lamp light flickers or not. Without a doubt, this is the biggest symptom exhibited before the lamp blows or explodes. This is indicated by varying brightness of the screen through out the session after unspecified intervals.
The image on the screen becomes bright at one moment and dull in the very next moment. This unsteadiness may appear again and again until the lamp is completely blown out after some time of constant flickering. The only thing that you need to keep in mind in this moment is that this flickering of image had nothing to do with the picture effect or any other part of the projector, because certainly distorted image may appear much more than a blown out lamp bulb.
Method for complete physical examination of lamp:
Till now we have learnt that how to find any signs about a misfunctioning lamp and how to tell if a projector lamp is blown. But if you are not satisfied with noticing just the signs for any malfunction, you can carry out a comprehensive physical examination for the sake of your satisfaction. For this purpose you need to follow the steps given below:
Although this task might seem like a technical chore that needs to be performed by an electrician but believe me yo can easily carry out the whole process with ease. But one thing that you might need before conducting this physical examination is a multimeter. And for your ease, this device is also very easy to use.
1. Cutting of power supply:
Foremost step is to disconnect any power supply and for this purpose you need to unplug the power cable. This is done to ensure your safety. Being an electronic device, the projector body might be a little heated. Allow the device to sit for some time after unplugging the power cable so that it can cool down to room temperature.
2. Unscrew the case:
The case stops one from accessing from the lamp so you need to remove it by unscrewing the screws holding it together in its place.
3. Un-assemble the lamp:
After removing the case you will easily locate the lamp. Your next step is to remove the lamp from its designated place for the purpose of physical examination.
4. Conduct physical examination with a multi-meter:
The last step is to take the multi-meter and touch it to both the terminals of the lamp. During this process keep in view the analogue display of the multi-meter. If the lamp is working properly then the needle should deflect towards zero. If the needle shows discontinuity then the lamp is probably blown out. In this way you can know that how to tell if a projector lamp is blown or not?
Conclusion:
After carefully analyzing the method of finding about the malfunctioning of projector lamp we can finally conclude that like all other parts, lamps also come with a certain lifespan and that we need to replace then before this life time is exceeded to prevent any non-functioning. The article above can surely help detect any change in the working of your lamp. Moreover, you can also learn the entire of physically examining the projector.
FAQ’s
Why do I need to remove the case before checking the lamp of any projector?
The case is the outer protective case that tends to protect the inner parts of the projector from the outer environment. So if you want to access any inner part of the projector you need to remove the outer casing.
How can be prevent our lamp from malfunctioning?
If you want to prevent your lamp from malfunctioning you need to constantly look for the signs of malfunctioning. Besides, lamps have a certain life time. So make sure to replace your lamps before the life time is exceeded. You can read our guide about how to change projector bulb at home.
