Yesterday we wanted to watch a Bluray in our home cinema, but what happened? The beamer lid of our Sanyo PLV-Z4 opened as usual, but the lamp did not start but remained dark. After a few seconds the lid closed again and two LEDs started to flash, according to the user’s manual saying “Lamp defective” or “Lamp has reached maximum life time”. Of course we did not have a spare lamp – at a price of about 250,- € this is not something you’d normally have on stock.
I started to google where to get a new lamp, or what else might cause this problem, and in fact I found something in a forum: There is a bi-metal switch inside the beamer which shuts off the device when it gets too hot. Normally this switch turns on the beamer after cooling down, but often it does not for some reason. All you have to do is to push this switch, somethiong that has apparently already worked for many users with similar problems.
Unfortunately you need to open the beamer to reach this switch. There are three screws on the back side and three on the bottom (see images 1 and 2). The bi-metal switch is located at the rear left side (see images 3 and 4). When I pushed it, I heard a soft “click” sound. Close the beamer again – the short screw belongs to the rear, right 😉 – switch it on, and … voilá: running again, great picture, no hint of any problem 🙂 By the way, the newer PLV-Z5 seems to have the same switch and the same problem.
One important note: I cannot take any responsibility for trying this, in other words please send in your beamer for an expensive repair 😉 And note that there is normally a reason why the switch shut down the beamer: maybe the filter needs to be cleaned or the room temperature was too high. Such problems must be solved first! (In our case the air filter seems to have been the cause).
Well, we finally could watch our movie … the lamp is still running … I hope for quite some time 🙂
PS: Our lamp counts 1500 operating hours, life time is specified at about 2000 hours.
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In case you have indeed to replace the lamp, here s a direct link to Amazon (US and UK):
22 thoughts on “Beamer Sanyo PLV-Z4 / Z5 does not work, no light but LEDs flashing, lamp defective?- No, just push the bi-metal switch!”
Thank you very much. Ik replaced the lamp of my sanyo beamer PLV-Z4 but the lamp did not burn. A red en orange lamp flashed and then the beamer shut down. I have followed your instructions and the lamp now burns. Thank you very much!!! The operating hours of my old lamp where about 2.100 hours.
Thanks! I was so frustrated when replaced the lamp, but the Lamp Replace light was still showing a problem. Your explanation and detailed pictures were very clear and solved my problem.
Brilliant!! The switch must have popped up when I switched the power off without waiting long enough for the fan to cool the unit down…your solution worked perfectly well! I also read about the “light ballast” that might have to be changed or cleaned but hope that this will still last for many more hours of projection…
Many thanks for sharing this, this was the solution for me as well.
It did work for me… apparantly my son operated the beamer much longer after the replacement lamp’ was flashing. Thanks to the engineering of the Sayo-people the security went off and the lamp did not explode.
Many thanks to you for fixing this problem for me so easy.
Best regards Anders In Sweden.
Thanks for the pictures and clear instructions. I had this problem after a sudden power outage. Without a cooling cycle, the overheat switch must have tripped. I bought a new lamp thinking it was the problem, and had the same issue. Fortunately, I found your blog and was able to fix the problem and return the unused lamp for a refund.
life saver !!! thank you !!
Fantastic – Thanks so much for posting this. Cured the problem I had with my PLV Z5 without having to drive miles to the nearest authorized repairer and shelling out for a job that in the end only took 5 minutes!
Thank you from another PLV-Z4 owner! I thought I was going to have to dole out big bucks for a repair. Gotta love the internet and nice folks who post useful things.
Awesome! Many thanks! Same problem occurs to me on yesterday. Without warning, when i was going to watch film, lens cover opened, but no picture and within few seconds lens cover closed, with blinking LED’s! Pushed the thermal switch and Voilá! 2400h’s and still going.. You just save me 300$ 🙂
This did not work for me got new bulb replaced and it did not turn back on. I opened th ecase tried to push the reset button. Did not feel any real push or pull on the switch. I tried it again still does not work. I tried checking the switch with a meter. I amnot an electronic tech but it showed 0 on the resitance like I was touching the two probes together.
Anybody know where i can buy a replacement switch.
Muito obrigado! Funcionou perfeitamente para fim, embora não tenha ouvido o “click”… Thank you very much!!!
Hi,
I have a plv Z3 and i have the same symptoms, i tried to open it and the switch is not clicking (same symptoms as kevin)
Do you know how i can test it with a meter ?
Thanks
Many thanks, havent tried this yet but will definitely do so! Love this sort of tips!
Hi!
I got same thing that Kevin and Yecine on my PLV-Z5: “thermal reset” -button is already at the bottom, so I cant push it. Button is also very loose and I can pull it up like 2-3mm.
Any ideas whats wrong it?
I have done this procedure twice now over the last few years. this happens when you have kids pulling our the power cord before the fans cool down the lamp.
This works brilliantly and only takes 10min to complete. Take the time to clean out the filters while you’re at it and your beamer is good to go.
I had already bought a spare lamp, thinking that was the problem, until I ran into this website. So be smarter than me: try this first before buying a very expensive replacement lamp.
Thanks again for the info!
Many thanks from Algeria 🙂 You are my hero! I didn’t need to change the lamp thanks to you 😀
great tip, worked flawlessly after replacing the lamp for my PLV-z5.
thx !!
Hi. Is the thermal switch hard to push in? Mine won’t move. Is that because it didn’t ever pop up? Do you push in the little white button or the whole unit? Sorry for the dumb questions, but i don’t want to break it :/
Thank you!