Mitsubishi DLP RP WDxxx25 - a variety of symptoms and problems

This TV chassis, V26, is well known for having multiple problems related to what is called the chassis. The chassis is a big silver box on the left side of the unit when facing the back. It contains all the electronics to run the light engine and send the video signal to it. The chassis represents 80% of the product and the vast majority of service and repair.

The V26 chassis, manufacturered 2004-2005, covers the following model numbers: WD-52525, WD-52725, WD-52825, WD-62525, WD-62725, WD-62825

Multiple symptoms:
1) green timer light continually flashes, product will not turn on
2) red lamp light comes on after pressing power
3) thin horizontal lines throughout the picture with analog video only
4) distorted video
5) tiny checkerboard pattern throughout screen - no video picture

Please note with symptom #2 this could easily be your lamp. You should remove the lamp cartridge per the owners manual and inspect it for physical damage and if damaged replace it. Odds are very high that will repair the TV. If it is intact it still could be the lamp but it is also possible that the chassis has failed creating this symptom. The only quick way to know for sure is replace the lamp. As always, it is recommended you purchase the lamp cartridge directly from the manufacturer and with Mitsubishi there is no choice since they do not have a secondary distribution system.

If you research the internet there is much to find. One major example:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthre ... 6&page=217

Ultimately research will provide you with the following results:
1) lots of owners have been dealing with this problem
2) the failure rate has significantly increased at this time
3) nearly all failures are related to faulty radial and surface mount capacitors
3) the chassis needs to be rebuilt by Mitsubishi and there have been delays
4) this COD repair runs $600-700 for parts and labor
5) many have received repair assistance from Mitsubishi covering the part and the customer pays for the labor, average $300.
6) as of mid 2010 many have received a product exchange instead and support for repairs have been declined; expect $500-600 for the exchange.

When Mitsubishi rebuilds the chassis all capacitors on the DM and Format boards are replaced. Specific radial capacitors are replaced on the Power CBA. The service and repair of these three boards covers the vast majority of chassis failures. There are a handful of other parts that are replaced on other boards.

TIPS For a Smooth Experience

COD If you are paying COD for this repair insist on having Mitsubishi perform the rebuild. There are rebuilders across the country who do not replace all the parts that Mitsubishi will. You may be told that to have Mitsubishi rebuild the chassis requires a parts account with them, not true. Not a bad idea to ask the service center up front about this because if they will not do it then you should find someone who will or use a Mitsubishi Authorized Service Center.

MITSUBISHI ASSISTANCE If you seek assistance from Mitsubishi do the following:
1) (as of mid 2010 Mitsubishi has not been requiring a sales receipt to receive assistance)
Find your sales receipt. This is critical because it is highly unlikely they will help without it. A Valid Sales Receipt = Dealers name, date of purchase, description of product, price paid. Cancelled checks, credit card statements, leasing statements do not qualify.
2) You must call a Mitsubishi Authorized Service Center for service. Report your symptom and schedule the service call.
3) Keep your well informed position to your self and allow the service center to do their job of inspecting and evaluating the product.
4) Hopefully the technician will recommend chassis replacement (and maybe all of this info) in which case you will receive an estimate. As a courtesy, reveal that you will be seeking financial assistance from Mitsubishi. On the other hand, some service centers will repair this chassis for a specific problem such as the Power CBA and/or replacing the radial capacitors on the DM and/or Format CBAs. Another possibility is the light engine has failed which is also expensive but a difficult investment to accept due to the chassis problems. If so it is now time to reveal that you are aware of chassis problems and prefer an estimate to have the chassis rebuilt by Mitsubishi or in the case of a light engine the chassis is included in the estimate.
5) With your estimate and sales receipt in hand call Mitsubishi 800-332-2119, explain your well informed position, what you desire requesting financial assistance with the repair. You will be asked to fax or mail copies of the sales receipt and estimate for review. (as of mid 2010 Mitsubishi has not been requiring a sales receipt to receive assistance)
6) Mitsubishi will call and inform you of their decision typically within a few days of receipt of documentation. The typical response is they will cover the part and you will pay labor. (as of mid 2010 many have received a product exchange instead and support for repairs have been declined; expect $500-600 for the exchange)
7) Regardless of what Mitsubishi tells you the service center cannot proceed with the repair until they receive a faxed authorization from Mitsubishi documenting what you were told.
8) Upon receipt of authorization the service center will call you to schedule removal of the chassis and send it to Mitsubishi.
9) Once the service center receives the chassis you will be scheduled for completion.
10) This is an internal policy and there has been no official public statement from Mitsubishi. It is highly unusual for a manufacturer to provide financial repair or replacement assistance for a product that is now 5-6 years old. This program can be removed at any time.

While you have them there ask about cleaning the primary mirror and lens if they have not suggested it themselves. This optical cleaning will dramatically improve picture quality leaving you with the same image you had years ago when you first brought it home. It is not uncommon to be charged additional labor for this service.

HDTV Replacement Offer
There is the possibility that Mitsubishi may offer to replace the product. Due to the presentation from Mitsubishi and the variety of ways a service center will present their offer to repair, you could be mistakenly confused and/or misled.

To generate your claim required payment of a service call or estimate fee depending on how the service center defines the charge. Either way, you have spent this amount of money.

Let’s say that fee is $125 and your total estimate, including this fee, is $600

Mitsubishi calls you and states they will pay for half of the repair, $300, or they will replace your TV with a new model for $600. As expressed it appears the difference is only $300. What about the service call or estimate fee? Taking that back into account, the correct comparison is $300 to repair your product or $725 (600+125) to replace it. The real difference in total cash outlay is actually $425, not $300.

That’s not the whole story either...

If you select replacement Mitsubishi will also charge you sales tax on the $600 offer and charge shipping to get it to your home. Sales tax in my county would amount to $37.08. Checking shipping from various online retailers, $100 appears to be a reasonable expectation. Shipping could run more or less depending on a variety of factors.

Adding those two additional fees into your total expense comparison, you are looking at $300 to repair your product or $862.08 to have it replaced. The difference in total expense is really $562.08 if you choose to replace, not $300.

Richard,

I read your post about the common problems that the Mitsubishi WD_62525 has. Mine has a green light that is flashing, and no power. The Mitsubishi certified technician told me that the power supply has gone bad, and that they need to send it in to Mitsubishi to be rebuilt (approx $800-$900). I am going to try the approach you suggested and see if Mitsubishi will pay for the parts. Do you have any other suggestions??

Thank you,

TV-less in Houston

I wish you luck. Good news... the turn around time on the last 2 chassis was 5 days!

Hi Richard! (long time, etc....)

An interesting read regarding Mitsubishi problems and solutions. Have they gotten their act together recently or is this sort of thing a problem throughout their entire DLP line? The reason that I asked is that I just purchased one of their new "837" units yesterday (a 65" WD-65837) based on specs, features, recommendations, etc. and am wondering what to expect. I couldn't resist the price ($1769 from PC Richard & Sons) and want to hand down my still functioning HP MS5880 1080p unit to my son's family (their 1990 Pioneer Elite Pro-75 finally bit the dust - also a refuge from dad's HT). I still love the look of DLP (no rainbows for me) and right now if you look around, the remaining DLPs are the best bang for the buck in terms of price/performance. This assumes, of course, that you have the room and can deal with a "big butt" monitor. <g> Sort of the CRTs of the early 21st century. As a side note - PC Richard also still includes bulb assemblies in their extended warranties so $399 for five years was a no-brainer for me. It will definitely pay for itself over that time as it's actually like pre-paying for bulbs and having everything else covered as a safety net.

Thoughts on the overall Mitsubishi situation? I always like to confer with brethern in the trenches.

Take care.

Great post and description of how to handle these problems, Richard. Do you mind if I link to it in my forum?

Icaillo, please feel free to link this thread!

rfowkes,

The first generation of anything can be trouble and this concept is socially well known along with the understanding that it can take a few more generations to develop a well rounded design. From there comes design changes related to advancing technologies, further integration of processes and cost reduction which can affect failure rate for better or worse. It must also be realized that while manufacturers could build products that last much longer, nearly bullet proof, they would also cost significantly more. Cost effective manufacturing to be competitive versus reliability to gain loyalty is an equation in constant play.

The old CRT is a great example of the above process creating poor products, decent products and the not so common long lasting products with little trouble. The technology is so old you would think it had been perfected along with solid state over the last two decades but that was not the case.

While one can predict the failure rate of current product already out in the field even that is prone to change as the product ages and new failures are fleshed out. Bottom line is nobody can actually predict the failure rate of new product. You can come up with an intelligent guess that is likely to hold true based on past experience. Past experience is mostly what first generation product is missing hence the common line of letting them work out the bugs and kinks with other customers before you buy!

As a service center I may have an inside look at what actual failure rates are like but that perception is clouded by the small world I operate in. Failures can be a reflection of a region due to weather and climate; this affected a glue that was used, which was OK up north but trouble in the hot and humid south. Failures reflect volume; I could state XYZ manufacturer has a low failure rate because I never see them for service yet that could easily reflect poor sales in my area.

Your HP DLP RP is a low volume example. I have had two calls for service but have yet to actually see one. I know the lamp is real expensive which likely reflects their low volume of the product.

Atlanta was a Mitsubishi town at least in the CRT days. While Mits is still popular I can certainly see their drop in volume as the world went flat and Mits is now trying to get a foothold in that category via LCD. While Mits toyed with DLP in 2001-2002 much in the same manner they are toying with laser driven DLP (toying as in no real volume) the Mits V26 chassis was their first high volume DLP rear projection product and was designed from the ground up based on that earlier design while implementing new technology. The V26 chassis is uber complex containing 5 fully loaded boards and designed in such a way that makes service extremely difficult earning the technician phrase of Frankenstein. The size of the component level parts list for this product is truly staggering!

Like all things electronic the individual component elements have been part and parcel of LSI technology, Large Scale Integration, from chip manufacturers reducing individual parts counts and space requirements drastically. What was once a 30 pound box is now about an 8 pound box at about a quarter of the size reduced to 3 boards with one being more of an interconnection board rather than active. Light engine design has also seen a reduction in size along with greater reliability. All of this within the short span of 3-4 years. Mitsubishi DLP has gone through the process of multiple generations creating a well honed design with greatly improved reliability and serviceability.

Richard,

Thank you for the lengthy and most insightful response to my previous message in this thread. I find your perspective from the repair side of things fascinating. It offers a view a bit different from the prosumer point of view and helps complete the overall picture. I've made the transition from my HP MD-5880n DLP unit to my new Mitsubishi WD-65837 unit with extremely ease. All that remains now is to program in a couple of new codes into my universal remote (codes for the Mits and my new Oppo BDP-83) and operation should be transparent to the user. A couple of initial impressions and questions.

I'm very pleased with the initial picture over the first 25 hours or so. I realize that things must be allowed to settle in and be tweaked for the set to reach its full potential but my out of the box experience has exceeded expectations. The various controls allow for simple operation and yet are comprehensive enough to offer lots of different options. My only gripe with the Mits remote is the fact that the concentric arrows around the ENTER button are a bit cramped for navigation and backlighting would have been appreciated to facilitate this in a darkened room. Of course, setting up a custom screen or two on my URC MX980 would offer me a workaround to all this. I also notice that there are "ISF" controls to allow one to adjust parameters above and beyond the presets. Gregg Loewen always comments that some sets make ISF adjustments a "task". Where does the 837 Mits line fall into the "ISF-friendly" spectrum? Just curious. I also see that MITs offers something called "Perfect Color" (I believe that's the term or similar) where one has control over six colors rather than the traditional three. A gimmick or a truly useful tool? Gregg will probably stop by during his next trip through NY so I'll get some of my answers but I wanted a second opinion.

While I still think that my HP MD5880n provides an excellent picture the WD-65837 has the potential to step it up a notch at a much lower cost. Big picture, later DLP technology, more settings options (which can be a good or a bad thing!) higher refresh rate, 3D adaptability (possibly a gimmick that I'll never use and something that might not even adapt to the "final" 3D specs, despite Mits claims) and several other things. The only thing that I would give the definite edge to on the HP side is cabinet ergonomics. With all jacks and controls including the bulb front panel accessible on the HP, the Mitsubishi requires pulling it out to get to such things. That's why it's on teflon "gliders" and not really a big issue as a result.

As to light bulbs: I recently replaced the light bulb on the HP (probably a year after I should have because the output level went up dramatically). It was a very simple swap (I went the full module route) and the part cost me ~$279 delivered. A little more than some other DLPs but nothing close to some prices over the years (like my Runco DLP FP). The store I purchased my Mits from (PCRichard&Sons in the NYC area) offers a 5 year all-inclusive in home wattanty for $399. Normally I pass, but since it includes unlimited bulbs during the life of the contract I felt I was simply pre-paying for fresh bulbs. Also, I have 5 years peace of mind in case something else goes wrong (which I'm not expecting but you never know).

My son's big screen dying gave me all the excuse I needed to upgrade (or at least rationalize it) and I feel it's a win-win situation for all concerned.

Thanks for the feedback.

Purchased this unit in 2005. Have replaced bulb 2x. In 2008 pink/green lines diagonally across screen. Green Blinking light started happening but was able to get the set on and off. Now it is constant blinking and cant get it do anything. Local repair shop said it was probably a formatter board among other things and would be an expensive repair. Has anyone got any relief from Mits for these problems. Any suggestions? Thanks for any info.

I've added your post to this thread. Read the second lengthy post at the top.

Good Luck!

Richard,

I followed your advice and MITS rebuilt the chassis and I paid the labor costs. MITS was very easy to work with and everything went smoothly. I made the choice of repairing or replacing much easier. I hope to get several more years out of my 52725.

Thanks again

Don

Very cool

Thanks for the follow up!

new addition to post #2

HDTV Replacement Offer

I no longer have the receipt and the store I purchased it from is out of business. My receipt was a casualty of war in moving out of state. Knowing that, is there any use in me contacting Mitsubishi at this time about this problem or should I go the DIY route to replace the CAPS and hope for a positive outcome?

I am comfortable with the instructions enough to not mangle the set in theprocess but if there is still value in pursuing an "official solution" from Mitsubishi that is not going to involve me pouring significant money into a 720p DLP (WD-62725) 60", then I will give it a try.

Thanks in advance,

-Kevin

If you don't have the receipt you will not be helped. BTW, this is one of the few REAL 720p DLP RPs (not wobulated like the nearly all others) so there is potential videophile value there.

Since we don't support DIY repairs here the info you have comes from else where.

Since you think this won't be so bad you are likely referring to only a handful of caps. As noted in the 2nd post the cap count for long term success is in the hundreds. There are only a handful of servicers in the country who will perform this service to that level. I have done it twice and will not do it again. On top of that the skill level required to open up the chassis and remove the boards even for the handful of caps is far higher than normal and some of the things you will be messing with are easily destroyed and difficult to replace.

All that said, if you don't see value in paying to have it repaired properly then trying DIY is an option.

Thank you for the response. It is a 720p set and spending in excess of $1,000 on it at this point is foolish. However, I am still going to contact Mitsubishi because the palce I bought it from told me they filed all the registration paperwork on my behalf. Perhaps that will be enough.

It is just distressing that the model of dependability has now been replaced with a model of planned obscelesence. The collective "We" never too much noticed when they snuck this in and come to expect that we live ina disposable society.


-Kevin

spending in excess of $1,000 on it at this point is foolish.
From the second post...

4) this COD repair runs $600-700 for parts and labor

Excellent post.

I have been repairing the V26 chassis for about a year now (caps only)... [EDITED by moderator] Total 52 caps ( I order the caps in volume)

[EDITED by moderator]

This is a massive amount of work (3,5 shop hours) with the low price we charge only justified as "keep busy work" due to the downturn in repair volume. Locally we charge a flat rate $390 with a 30 day in home warranty and an additional 2 months warranty for the chassis repair. I can't charge more as new 1080P TVs are selling for something around $1000.

Also, any time I'm called for service on a V26 chassis I inform the customer that I can not offer a warranty on the repair of the TV unless I repair the entire chassis. The recall rate on partial repairs is huge.

For a number of months Mitsubishi has not been assisting with repair any longer providing an exchange only on these products. Based on feedback you can expect about $500-600 for the exchange which is still a great deal if not unheard of for a product that is now 6 years old.