Generic lamp trials and tribulations — Community

#1 Dec 28, 2009 at 1:56 am

Ballast change on Panasonic PT50DL54J

Hi everyone,
I recently (5 months ago)changed the lamp on my DLP HDTV. Everything seemed fine until about a week ago when the the lamp turned off by itself a few minutes after it started and the led on the on/off switch started flashing. I switch the TV off and on again and the lamp came on and stayed on for the evening. The next day, I had to do the same manage a couple of times before it stayed on. The day after it was normal and the day after I had to UNPLUG it from the wall (ups) for a couple of minutes and then swith it on and it was ok and been ok since(cross my fingers). NOw I remember reading about this when I was shopping for a lamp. Something about the replacement lamp an ( Osram) not being the same specs as the original (Matsushita) and therefore not matched to the existing ballast. I can hardly beleive that those electrical components (lamp and ballast) are made to such tight specs. Can someone clarify this with some sence for me please?

Instructions on how to change a ballast, is there such thing on the net, can anyone direct me on this ? I'll use this ballast as long as I can and then plan on changing it.

Comments and suggestions are more than welcome.

#2 Dec 29, 2009 at 4:42 pm

Hi Debes7,

We had a private exchange via email 5 months ago and my response was...

Please read this new article as it answers most of your questions while also explaining the reasons behind our position.

TV: Lamp failure and replacement
http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10384

I do not have an answer concerning what make and number of lamp was originally used and you could open up the lamp cartridge and see what you find on the lamp.

I spent about two minutes google searching and came up with the following.

Here is your owners manual
http://personafile.com/Panasonic-Televi ... 982579.htm

You can get the OEM lamp in the cartridge from...
https://www.encompassparts.com
... and the current part number is TY-LA2004JS. You can also get it from Panasonic 800-833-9626. I see this lamp cartridge is more expensive than most and why you may be seeking a bare lamp alternative.

Here is a bare lamp with a 6 month warranty
URL removed

Here is another bare lamp with a 1 year warranty
URL removed

We had a private email exchange because you had started two posts insisting on an after market lamp solution to save money, it pushed all the lamp spam buttons for moderation so your posts were moved. You contacted us directly about that and we discovered you were not a spammer.

The article explains why you should buy the OEM lamp cartridge. Either you did not read it or decided to ignore the advice and the outcome is of no surprise. I did find two sources that provided a warranty just as the article suggested for those who insist. Your lamp should be covered unless you bought it elsewhere. It will fail prematurely again and I suppose they will replace it until the warranty expires.

That said, your current information speaks volumes. Nobody can buy the original Matsushita bare lamp and there is no direct generic replacement.

Yes, the lamp and ballast form a single circuit and both must be matched for maximum lamp life and light output. The lamp manufacturer actually creates the ballast design for their lamp which is sold to a display manufacturer that incorporates it into the rest of the design. No, you cannot put an Osram ballast in your TV because it will physically have to fit the mounting assembly and interface with the rest of the design for control and feedback. You might as well be asking how you can put a Toyota engine in your Honda car.

#3 Dec 29, 2009 at 9:57 pm

Thank you Richard,
I'am sorry for the comotion of the first e-mail of 5 months ago, but in this market you must agree that it's very hard to get a straight answer.

I do have the operation manual and it says consult a service man when the on/off led flashes.
I've done without and my lamp is still fuctioning, for how long, I don't know.

Now for the replacement lamp, I could not get a straight confirmation from any of the supplyers then about what make of lamp was in their OEM replacement.
All they could say was it was the same that Panasonic would supply, and if I remember right, even the sales person at the Panasonic distributor's warehouse could not certify me that it was a Mitsushita. Confronted with this situation, I decided to buy the only fair reputation lamp available an " OSRAM" as Phillips do not make a replacement.

If there is no Mitsushita on the market, will Panasonic pay for the replacement of the Ballast? That's the next question.

Please explain your sentence, I don't dig the " speaks volumes"
"That said, your current information speaks volumes. Nobody can buy the original Matsushita bare lamp and there is no direct generic replacement."

Thanks again

#4 Dec 30, 2009 at 3:49 pm

If there is no Mitsushita on the market, will Panasonic pay for the replacement of the Ballast?

I'm scratching my head over this assuming you read the article 5 months ago and now again as a refresher...

As you noted in your first post the lamp inside the lamp cage is a Matsushita. As you found out, you can't get the Matsushita lamp alone because Matsushita does not sell the bare lamp to anybody at all. Matsushita will be happy to sell anybody the original lamp, in the lamp cage. The lamp cage is the only way any manufacturer will sell you a replacement. Sure you read that article?

You don't have a right to install a bare lamp or use different lamp in your product or the right to make a claim against a manufacturer to have them change the lamp and ballast type to one of your liking. Don't shoot the messenger...

I could say more but it's all in that article...