Operational Question On Zenith (LG) E44W46LCD

[Ray H]

My TV's psychotic. I bought it from Best Buy January 25, 2005. Lately when I attempt to turn it on, the "MODE" LED goes from standby red to flashing green (normal), but for nearly a MINUTE (NOT normal), then both the "MODE" and "LAMP" LEDs alternately flash red a few times, then the "LAMP" LED flashes red six consecutive times, and finally the "MODE" LED resumes it's red standby color (definitely NOT normal!). At no time does the audio come up, nor does the background screen illumination ever become visible. The logical explanation is that the halogen projection lamp tanked, BUT, if I remove the projection lamp, reinsert it, and screw everything back down snug, the TV works normally again for anywhere from three to five startups just as it did when new - audio, full screen brightness, good color, etc. so I doubt the lamp is cooked. (The ventilation filter gets cleaned four times/month religeously.) I'll have a tech out to check it out since it's still under warranty (except for the projection lamp), but before I pay BIG BUCK$ for a new projection lamp ($280.00 plus tax and shipping on the internet), I thought I'd inquire whether anyone else ever came across or heard of this whacky phenomenon. I checked and I have 967 hours on the projection lamp which according to my calculations works out to a bit more than 4 hours/day operation. If I have to anticipate purchasing a new projection lamp every seven months, this set's going up on eBay. The ultimate aggravation is that I've been very pleased with the HD picture quality once I got the thing dialed in to my liking. (Grrrr!) TIA!

[Ray H]

Update:

A Best Buy moron came out three weeks ago and said without looking at the set that I'd have to buy a new lamp from him. He also said I'd have to pay $100.00 for installation. When I pointed out that the in-home warranty covered labor charges, he said not on a projector lamp. (this is simply not true) I invited him to leave. Today I finally got an LG tech out. He said the lamp looked good, but sometimes they've had trouble with internal connections going sour. He brought in a new lamp from his truck and stuck it in. Up came a picture within 12 seconds. He presented me with a receipt listed, "N/C". I stupidly asked about this, but he assured me LG has updated their warranty several months ago on these sets to include the lamp for the entire first year. I have a feeling Best Buy is telling their techs to charge for the lamp as the original warranty indicated, and then the company turns around and double-dips against LG, too. I'd love to be able to prove it.