How to Clean and Repair Projection TV
If you have a projection TV and the picture quality seems so washed out, you might need to do little cleaning up. Don’t panic because it is better then dumping the $2000 TV and buying a new $2000 TV. I had a same issue where my picture quality was bad. I was going to dump the TV anyway, so I disassembled the TV knowing that there are projection bulbs inside the set. I decided just to take a look at them to see if they were dirty or damaged. What I found was a thick layer of dust all over them. After cleaning them carefully, I assembled the TV back again and the picture looks as crisp as ever! It saved me a bulk just doing simple repair that might cost over $400 at my local Radio Shack store.
Here are the directions if you are willing to do it. Don’t move any part of the projector assembly. Contact a technician if you spot any leaking cooling gel around the projector tubes. Do this at your own risk because I do not take any responsibility if anything goes wrong! I take no responsibility at all!
- FIRST UNPLUG THE SET! So, just because the set is unplugged doesn’t mean you can’t get shocked. Certain parts of the chassis can carry a residual charge that will injure you, by that I mean send you flying.
- Gently remove the screws from the back cover of the TV set.
Check to see if you have removed the screws around the connection area because the area will be connected to some sort of board inside. By connection area, I mean:
- Now, you should have the back cover removed by now. If you still can’t get it removed, look for other ways. I am sure there many ways and different T.V sets have different ways of removing back cover.
- When you remove the cover, most TV will have a mirror attached to the back cover you removed and you will also see the 3 “guns” red/blue and green.
- To make sure you don’t damage your own TV, you will need a safe cleaning tool. You can probably use camera lens cleaner. You can find them at a local camera store.
- Use the lens cleaner carefully to clean the mirror and lenses inside the TV.
- For other sets, like Pioneer, you will want to enter from the front. You can do this by removing the screen first - this will give you a chance to clean the front too.
This should take about one hour if you are careful enough. Don’t use ammonia based cleaners on any plastic components, lens or mirror either. The ammonia can cause the plastic to cloud. To further educate yourself, visits the Web sites listed below.
Resources:
Feel free to suggest new sites!
Mirinda said,
June 25, 2006 @ 4:37 pmI am not sure but what would be the best thing to use when cleaning rear projection tv screen? I tried to search but found nothing. My T.V. Manufacturer states I sound use water with soap only when cleaning. I recently bought a product called Monster Screen Cleaner but since I’m dealing with plastic, I don’t want to do any damage. So any suggestion?
Thanks!
Techgeek said,
June 25, 2006 @ 6:46 pmTo Mirinda:
Hmm, If I were you, I would listen to what the manufacturer is saying since they know what they are doing. But if you decide to use the detergent, make it so it is with mild solution.
To be honest, I simply use a damp cloth to wipe stuff off tv. Don’t try it!
Jenny said,
June 26, 2006 @ 11:39 pmAnyone know the best/safe way to clean Rear Projection TV?
Thankkkks in advance!
bubbleboy said,
June 27, 2006 @ 10:36 pmJenny, try Windex and it should work fine. Leave the outside surface of your screen untouched since it shouldn’t be treated with anything — — it would be glass and plastic.
-
Mike
Sethal said,
September 1, 2006 @ 9:42 pmI fixed mine with soap and water. it worked great but its still hazy when playing video games so im going to buy some kind of cleaning agent. do you think this will do the trick or is it about as good as its gonna get now.
TechGeek said,
September 2, 2006 @ 3:31 pmSethal, I think getting a cleaning agent is the last thing I would have on my mind since they are somewhat expensive. Can you tell me how expensive the cleaning agent will be?
Also, what is the model of your television?
Thea said,
September 30, 2006 @ 3:00 pmI have a CRT Rear-Projection tv that dosn’t have a screen shield. My 2 year old decided to feed Nemo some chocolate pudding. I wiped most of the pudding off with a cloth and soap and water. We now have some staining on the bottom of the screen. What is the best way to clean this screen?
jose otero said,
January 1, 2007 @ 9:27 ami have a phillips big screen hdtv and right now the picture is hazy and the blues and reds seem to be misaligned can cleaning the bulbs and lenses solve my problem
Paul Yost said,
January 31, 2007 @ 1:43 amLast night I was moving a dinner tray and tripped over a wire. The tray went flying and took chips out of what I believe is the Lenticular (outer?) screen. I am wondering if there is a way to replace it.
sreenu said,
April 19, 2007 @ 3:46 amJose Otero, Did you clean the bulbs and lenses to solve you blue and red color misalignement. I have a samsung rear projection tv with blue color misalignement.
Brad said,
April 21, 2007 @ 2:13 amI have a Samsung projection tv and It has a yellow tinge to the picture, with flashing blue. How do you change the bulb or gun?
daddyphatsak said,
May 7, 2007 @ 9:50 pmdoes anyone have a problem of the whites glowing like u have chlorine in your eyes from swimming? can this be fixed by cleaning the lenses?
Kory said,
May 8, 2007 @ 12:14 amas for color misalighnment ive got an auto focus on mine but you should clean your lenses and mirrors carefully if your image is blurry or faded but for anything else i would suggest having it serviced for a mere $200 dollars from your local tv repairman than ever replacing the unit..
Jeremy said,
June 27, 2007 @ 3:27 ami was cleaning my projection tv and as i was cleaning the lences i looked into the blue and it looked like i was looking at a popcorn roof look.so i went to take it apart and some kind of iol started to come out.What is that oil and what can i use to fill it agin????help please
John said,
July 4, 2007 @ 1:06 amMy sweet, angelic little princess of a daughter smeared applesauce, jello and and probably a little slobber along with colored on my proj. scrn. tv. Pict ure is fine, but marks are obvious. How can I clean without disassembling my t.v.? Thanx a million.
John In Arkansas
Moo Bell said,
July 26, 2007 @ 5:36 pmHi, I got a little different problem with a Projection TV, this is the thing:
I moved to other house and in the while, my Projection TV has a Color Moved, the red one, and I see double the face of the people that are appearing in a show, so I want to know if it’s easy to correct this problem in home or I have to call a technical assisant to repair it? I would thank to anyone who knows that…thnx
william spears said,
July 27, 2007 @ 3:21 pmi have some little white lines right at the top of tv
jay said,
July 29, 2007 @ 2:24 amI CLEANED THE LEANS OF MY PROJECTION TV AND WHEN I TURNED IT BACK ON I HAVE THREE DIFFRENT COLORS NOW RED BLUE GREEN WHAT DID I DO WRONG CAN U HELP ME
ON THE SCREEN
Eric said,
August 12, 2007 @ 4:36 pmi have a phillips rear screen and the red bulb is out. does anyone know how to replace the crt bulb and what a new one would cost.
Jermaine said,
August 14, 2007 @ 10:14 amMy rear projection tv as cracks in the screen (toddlers continually hitting the screen), does anyone know where I can buy a replacement screen and roughly how much it will cost? Can fit it myself as I figured out yesterday that the front of the tv can be removed which was a life saver as my daughter pushed the screen right in an I needed to fix it back in place.
Help please.
justin said,
August 14, 2007 @ 11:58 pmif anybody needs a projection lens like the ones above email me at liveline1@gmail.col
Bryan said,
August 15, 2007 @ 11:52 pmAll you need is a new j-cloth and vinegar and water 3 to 1> 1 being vinegar, wipe off dust and other crap with the wet J-cloth then dry with a dry j-cloth, make sure there new out of the pack.
debra said,
October 16, 2007 @ 10:14 amJeremy, did you work out what sort of oil that was? I have the same problem where the oil has leaked out and I dont know what to buy to fix it and no technicians know what to do. Any ideas anyone?? Thanks
Barbara Hankins said,
November 9, 2007 @ 9:17 pmI have a blue line running through the TV, what is it and how do I get rid of it?
Steve Jackson said,
December 18, 2007 @ 5:23 pmI have a Toshiba 53 in. Projection T.V. with Color Stream. It is about 4 yrs. old. It has developed a yellowish spot about 3 in. round in approx. the middle of the screen. It is most visable when the screen is light or white. I live in a 100 year old house, which can be somewhat on the dusty side. Could cleaning the tubes and mirrors take care of this problem and is it pretty much done the way it was described above ? What is the safest cleaning solvent ? This set has had no abuse and has been well taken care of. I thank you very much, if you can help.
grace said,
December 26, 2007 @ 7:35 amI have a zenith rear projection tv that’s about 4 years old. Today (on Christmas) when we turned the tv on there was a yellow leaf-like mark surrounded by a blue haze in the middle of the screen. there is another leaf-like mark just above that to the right in a more faint blue. can someone pleaaase tell me what the problem is and how to fix it? and how much it might cost?
(we tried auto convergence and it did nothing.)
THANKS!
jennifer said,
December 29, 2007 @ 10:18 pmi was cleaning my tv and now i need to replace the oil. does anyone know what kind of oil i need to use and where i can get it from
stacy said,
March 1, 2008 @ 5:05 pmI have a phillips projection tv. on the left side of the tv when I look at it you’ll see double. such as eyes on a person or the ticker on the bottom. I went to the menu to fix the conversion on the multi point. somehow when looking at it on the left side the pluses are crooked. The line going top to bottom of the + is ok but the line going side to side on the + is way off and crooked. One side of the + it is about a inch off and the other side of the + it is about 2 inches off. What could be the problem?
jorge said,
March 12, 2008 @ 1:22 ammy philips rear projection has shadows. i cant get the colors to converge, how can i fix that?
Matt M said,
March 14, 2009 @ 11:39 pmI have a Mitsubishi WS-55909 that was given to me. It works for a few minutes after turning on but the the color goes red and you can still see whatever it is you were watching. but everything is redish in color. sometimes it flickers back to a normal color. Could this be a heat problem? are there internal fans that could plug up? Can i get a repair manual anywhere for it?
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Gabe said,
June 25, 2006 @ 4:14 pmMy 2 sets were different brands. They both needed a simple hex wrench to remove the back cover, but one you could also use a phillips screwdriver. Thats the only tools needed. The older set the lenses were accessible as soon as the cover was off. The newer set had an angled reflector screen that was also remover with 4 hex screws. Just look for the colored lenses and clean them with glass cleaner.
I am so grateful for your help!