Fixed 4100MP DLP lamp failure issue - RESOLVED

I have a Dell 4100MP DLP projector, which had been working fine until a month ago.

Actually, for a while the image on the screen was looking "blotchy", so I pondered that I needed a bulb refresh (950 hrs...to me, not enough, but anyway..). My pondering was answered in the fact that the bulb blew (if you get a chance, take your bulb out and look at it while it is still working...you will know when it has blown....definitely does not look the same).

I bought a new (overpriced) bulb, and that worked for a while, then the projector upon startup would start lighting up, and then shut off with the dreaded orange lamp failure lights.  Inspection shows that the lamp did look OK, so I suspected there was a cooling issue.  The cooling issue coupled with the old bulb may be why my bulb went in the first place.

Aside: one of the things that computer and peripheral companies do not tell you is that there electronics are extremely susceptible to dust - a little dust can create a lot of havoc. That is especially true for confined space electronics, like laptops and projectors.

Anyway, upon reading a few posts here, I decided to take my 4100MP apart and thoroughly clean.  Here is what I did:

0. Unplug the unit and REMOVE THE BULB (see user guide - just to avoid any problems)....

1. Remove all the screws from the bottom of the unit (once you get this thing apart, you will realize that you only needed to remove three bottom screws, but to avoid confusion here, just remove them all....the three critical ones are the two front black screws and the centre black screw (there are posts inside the machine that go to the top).

2. Turn the unit upright, and look at the back - on mine I do not have the optional card reader, but you can remove the slot where the card reader goes (2 tabs on the back - lift those towards you and pull the cover out).  You will see two silver screws on each side inside: a small upper screw and a larger lower screw.  You only really need to remove the smaller screws (again, I removed both so you may want to do this as well).

3. Now, it is THE TOP of the unit that comes off (not the bottom).  The top is where the projector control buttons are. The top needs to slide back slightly (away from the lens) and then be lifted up - it took me a little while to do this as I wanted to go slow as to not break anything - DO NOT RUSH.  THERE IS A RIBBON CABLE from the base of the unit to the top; you can either remove it (if you are comfortable removing ribbon cables), or do as I did, placed a thick book beside the projector and lay the top upside down on it (the ribbon cable will reach).  You now have a splayed open projector!

4. Go to town cleaning...CAREFULLY.  I used a can of compressed air....cleaned both fans (the big one behind the projector and the smaller fan to the right)...I blew air over around and through all the circuit boards...I blew air over the colour wheel (just to the right of the bulb)....a lot of dust came out.  I cleaned multiple times so that I would not have to do this again for a while.

5. Put everything back together (just reverse the order)

Now, my projector comes on nicely, and it is even a lot more quiet than it was.  I am assuming that the more effective heat transfer will both keep my lamp failure light off (which is really just an indicator of a projector fault) and keep my bulb cooler (thereby extending its life, I hope).

Just remember to take your time doing this, and do not force anything (that is good advice for any project like this - if you are forcing it, you are doing something wrong).

Anyway, this helped me and I hope that it may be of some help to others.

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