This is a note on how to repair the Epson VS210 projector when one of the temperature sensing resistors stops working.
The projector enters the overheat protection cycle, and after 30 seconds to 2 minutes of operation, the bulb is turned off and all three fans are accelerated to maximum speed.
The fan remains for about 2 minutes after the projector is turned off.
The red "temp" light flashes during this time.
This is not a clogged air filter!
Epson's online help with this situation blamed the user and poor maintenance.
Some users have plugged in the air filter and the problem is corrected when the filter is cleaned.
This is the manufacturer's defect, the cheap micro sensor.
Epson's website does direct you to the authorized service center, but the site does not load for my area.
I don't think service is really a priority for Epson.
The key here is that the unit is not overheating, the bulb is only on for a while, and the unit is cold.
This is a faulty thermal resistor sensor that will turn off and make the entire projector useless.
We can fix it instead of throwing it away and buying a new one.
The best option is to replace the faulty sensor with an OEM Epson replacement part.
However, these things are hard to find and expensive.
The electrical components are cheap, which is a very cheap solution.
This is not the most expensive Projector. it sells hundreds of dollars.
However, on the Epson projector, the failure of the temperature sensor seems to be a bit of a common problem.
The projector people throw away is much more expensive than this one!
From the Internet, all epsons look similar inside.
There is a light, 3 fans, 2 temperature sensors (Some may have 3)
Three LED screens and one lens.
I think the bulb can still be used, and all three fans can be used, so it must be a sensor problem.
Epson uses thermal resistors to measure the temperature because they are very cheap and do well enough.
A thermal resistor is a resistor whose resistance depends on the temperature.
They produce a non-linear reading.
When I measure the resistance on the resistor lead at the connection to the board, the Ohm on the intake sensor is zero.
I forgot the way to measure the exhaust thermal resistor but it is not zero.
The return of zero ohms from the thermal resistor means an infinite temperature.
Therefore, the Epson processor must interpret this as overheating air entering the fan and turn it off to give a temperature alarm.
My initial plan was to replace the damaged thermal resistor with the working thermal resistor in the random electrical components I collected.
I am concerned that this thermal resistor may be within a very specific temperature range.
I can guess what Epson thinks the intake temperature will be.
It turned out that I couldn't find a thermal resistor, and at this point I thought it was a long process, so instead of using a thermal resistor, I made it a simple step and only used one.
I think this is another shot in the dark of 200 ohms.
Looking back, I should choose another one like 10000 ohms.
Anyway, don't you know?
The projector is working.
I had it run for 5 minutes before I unplugged the resistor to see if it was fixed or coincidental.
As soon as I pulled it out, the light bulb turned off and all three fans went into high speed mode.
Looks like we have narrowed down!
Without resistance, the projector can last 5 seconds before turning off and blasting the fan, so 5 minutes is impressive.
I reconnected the resistor, pointed the projector in a less annoying direction, turned it on and turned it on for 2 hours. No problems.
Nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix.
I decided not to look for an alternative thermal resistor, but to bypass the old one with a resistor.
I cut the wire leading to the thermal resistor and welded it in the resistor.
I plugged it back into the board and hid the lead under the board.
I plugged in the projector and tested it before I reopened the box.
We even watched a movie like this. Worked fine.
In the end, this is not the best solution.
I proved it reasonable to bypass the sensor because the intake temperature is a bit redundant compared to the exhaust.
If the projector is really overheating, it will be the exhaust temperature to register it and turn it off.
I wrote this out of discontent with Epson.
They simply lack the support to solve or even diagnose product problems.
The thermal resistor is very cheap and it should not be difficult for OEM to make one to the last one.
Also, reading online, others have the same problem with these sensors, which seems to be a recurring problem.
This projector is not very expensive, I think it's $300 but we really don't use it a lot, maybe watching 100 hours of movies on it, it should last 4-5000 hours.
From the Internet, for this reason, people threw away the Epson projector for $2000.
This fix didn't cost me anything but my time.
I already have a resistor in my case, but it would be cheap to buy one.
The answer always seems to be "buy a new one ".
Since Epson is the largest supplier of projectors, any replacement may come from Epson. Demand Better!
If the manufacturer builds a sub
High quality products, don't buy another one from them!
Fix it and keep using it.