Troubleshooting Your DLP Projector. Is It Dirty or Is It a Bad DMD?

Sometimes it can be tough to tell if the white specs in your picture indicate a failing DMD or just some annoying yet cleanable dust.
This video gives a quick demonstration as to what a dusty DMD looks like and how to tell.
Thanks for watching!
\o/

[@Kujokouklos]

You, Sir, alone are the ultimate wikipedia for projectors. Thanks for all the info Frank!!!!

[@FixitFrank]

Thanks brother! I'm glad to see it helps people out

[@chriswallace4324]

Frank, you are a national treasure, good sir. Every time i watch your video i learn something new. Thank you!

[@FixitFrank]

Thanks Chris!

[@craigm.9070]

Thanks for sharing! Always appreciate a professional's troubleshooting advice; no replacement for experience!

[@FixitFrank]

Thanks man! That means a lot coming from you. I appreciate that.

[@chessguru900]

Useful piece of info. Push the envelope. Keep it going Frank.

[@rogeliofernandez7938]

Frank I have an optoma hd27 that was cleaned for having dust in the optical system but I can notice that now at both sides(right and left) can see vertical shadows from top to bottom that I can notice in clear scenes.The entired image is ok but the vertical shadows on the right side and the left side.What could it be? Thank you.

[@FixitFrank]

I'd suspect the light tunnel/integrator moved. If you moved those 2 screws with loctite on them, that would be the cause. I have a few videos on light tunnels. You can search the video page and I suspect you will get it worked out.

[@rogeliofernandez7938]

Thank you so much Frank.

[@ozairaziz8291]

Really appreciate the knowledge and information you share with us.
I want to know that I have an old Benq th682st projector and working completely fine but there is some dust build up inside the short throw projection lens so I want to know is there a way to open and clean the inside of projection lens?

[@smolbodybuilder1602]

what would you use to renew the thermal pad? It got damaged and needs to be renewed. can I use thermal paste instead (brand is thermal grizzly)

[@FixitFrank]

I replace them. Its cheap to get online. You could use paste but make sure its not conductive. I cant say Im familiar with Grizzly but if its a arctic silver clone, it should be fine.

[@Rhythmman14]

My Acer H7550BD has this issue and I really don’t want to take it apart because I’m afraid of damaging it, it’s morning noticeable at night and when the image is darker

[@uuuu260]

Thanks for the info! I have an optoma HD26 that’s showing dust but also a white pixels and pixels in the process of getting stuck. Is it possible to to fix the mirrors on the DMD in anyway? Chip replacement is expensive, I was thinking even if it was difficult to try I would somehow get the mirrors unstuck and find a better cooling solution for the projector

[@FixitFrank]

No, the DMD needs to be replaced. There is no way to repair them once they fail. It's a failure of the structure that holds the mirrors. The cause is usually dust causing cooling issues or using a cheap lamp that has the wrong IR filter that cooks the DMD. The only repair is a DMD replacement. Part # is 1910-6039E or 1910-6037E and they should only be around $75-85.

[@uuuu260]

@@FixitFrank You’re the best, thank you!

[@508shakenbake]

Mine keeps shutting off after like 2 mins 😢