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  #1  
Old 10-10-2012, 07:41 AM
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DavGoodlin DavGoodlin is offline
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Optical block Sony Wega - fix or replace?

Looking at a CL ad for FREE KDF-60X9S55, claims there are instructions on how to fix the "blob issue".

Is this worth the trouble
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  #2  
Old 10-10-2012, 08:27 AM
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No, you have to buy a new light engine, expensive and not reliable from what I've read.


Edit: I see you said it was free, in that case it might be fun to try and fix it.
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Old 10-11-2012, 12:24 AM
Geoff Bourquin Geoff Bourquin is offline
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That doesn't look like a good model number, but it doesn't really matter. I wouldn't do it, those optical blocks are expensive and on some models can be a real pain to get in. The new (or rebuilt) will likely eventually get the blue blobs too. If it's free, it might be worth snagging it just for the fun of taking it apart and seeing what makes it tick.

Last edited by Geoff Bourquin; 10-11-2012 at 12:32 AM. Reason: If it is KDF-60xs955 the part number is A-1084-668-A . Discontinued. Used or rebuilt will run you $350-$400 online.
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Old 10-11-2012, 12:30 AM
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I see that issue all the time. I have removed a few to investigate but not worth the trouble. If you end up with it and you cant fix it, you still have to get rid of it.
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  #5  
Old 10-11-2012, 12:44 AM
Geoff Bourquin Geoff Bourquin is offline
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I have seen a bunch of them too. I won't do the repair unless some sort of warranty is at least paying for the parts, and even then I don't like doing it.
As for getting rid of a set like that, that is a problem for a lot of people. I'm lucky, I have a recycler about 10 miles away. When I was a kid, we'd just take stuff like that out to a vacant field and shoot at it until there wasn't anything left. Of course back then we had CRTs, and they were a lot more fun to shoot at.
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Old 10-11-2012, 06:19 AM
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CoogarXR CoogarXR is offline
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Usually on models with the blue blob, you can tear the block down and find the problem. It usually the "blue" lcd unit. They can be bought separately, but they are pretty expensive. No affiliation:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40 I'm not sure if that's the exact one you need, but if not, it will be close.

To me, for $90, I'd rather find something else...
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  #7  
Old 10-11-2012, 08:07 AM
VINTAGE.FAN VINTAGE.FAN is offline
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I had the problem on a 50" wega set I got for free due to it not working. The bulb was loose, reseated it, came to life. But there were colored "bars" at the top and bottom of the screen. I took the optical unit apart, and "rotated" the first prism 180 degrees. With my flashlight shining through the light box, I could see the bars and blobs disappear when i moved the prism around. Put it all back together, and bam! Had a beautiful picture. Took about an hour to do, and now it lives in my den and we watch movies on it all the time.
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  #8  
Old 10-11-2012, 06:18 PM
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Sometimes you can snag a block cheap from places like MAT but its not the easiest of jobs depending on the model, but... If you get lucky it doesn't go bad it can last plenty long, my parents have one of these type sets, forget the model got it when it first came out 7 or 8 years ago, gets used 3 or 4 hours a day works fine (on its second bulb of course).
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Old 10-11-2012, 09:17 PM
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I have a Sony WEGA projector also but I think it's one model year after they had all the major problems.

It still works fine with around 10k hours on it but it hasn't been used heavily for the last couple years since I got the Plasma.

Fabulous picture on that set, if it had a good black level I would call it perfect.
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Old 10-12-2012, 08:49 AM
ischmidt ischmidt is offline
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The standalone projectors (that you'd use with a separate screen) never had these problems; Sony still uses this light engine for those. It was just the rear-projection TVs where they were problematic. That said, I just put bulb #3 into my bought-new-in-06 55A2000 and it's still making a perfect 1080P picture.

There's a company called "Tri-State Module" that will rebuild bad Sony light engines for a $299 flat rate (they also sell individual parts and NOS replacement modules).

https://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/ has more information than you'd ever care to know about this stuff.
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Old 10-12-2012, 11:30 AM
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A friend gave me a similar Sony TV that had the blue blob problem due a bad block. It started out small and eventually got too bad for him to watch. He called Sony and they admitted that they'd had problems with those sets. Even though the set was out of warranty, they ended up giving him a substantial credit towards the purchase of a new Sony LCD TV and they told him to do as he wished with the old set. Once I found out how much trouble it would be to fix and that it probably wouldn't be reliable, I gave it to a scrapper.
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