Cleaning dust ingress from the Sanyo PROxtraX PLC-XE31

I have a lot of these projectors, and after replacing a bulb on one of them recently, I found that the image was a bit blurry, and there was an uneven purple discolouration across the screen. I wasn’t convinced the new bulb was to blame, so I went looking for another explanation.

I quickly found advice online that a “blotchy uneven purple in the image is caused by dust contamination on the green LCD”. I’d already tried cleaning dust out with compressed air via the side vents, but clearly it needed a more thorough job. It was time for a disassembly.

My goal here was not to completely dismantle the projector, just to open it up far enough for easy access to the optical assembly, where dust ingress causes the most problem. Remember that this procedure is definitely not manufacturer-approved, so don’t screw it up and then try to claim on the warranty. Proceed at your own risk, and do not come crying to me if you break your projector.

The following photos are a guide to how to get this bugger apart:

Remove this screw to open the bulb cavity.

Remove these two screws and CAREFULLY lift out the bulb.

Remove this screw.

Remove these screws.

Remove these screws.

Remove these screws, remove the air filters, then turn over and remove the top cover from back to front.

Remove these screws.

Unplug this connector.

Remove these 9 screws.

Unplug this connector.

Remove this screw and unplug these connectors.

Unplug these connectors.

Disconnect the three ribbon cables by pulling these toggle gently outwards.

Lift up the PCB from back to front. It will still be attached at the front so don’t try to remove it.

Move these ribbon cables out of the way, like so.

Once you’ve got to this point, it’s time to begin dusting. In ideal circumstances I would remove the optical assembly, but it’s very fiddly to remove on this projector. My approach this time was to simply blast as much compressed air as I could into the gaps around the assembly until no more dust was being ejected.

• Concentrate on the optical filters indicated by the arrows in the last picture.
• Get the face of the lens too (underneath the tweezers in the photo).
• Once those parts all seem clean, blast air into any and every crevice you can find inside the rest of the projector. Dust seems to get in everywhere in these things.
• Once you’ve cleaned out the rest of the unit, do one final blast around the optical assembly to remove any dust you’ve dislodged from elsewhere.

You can use canned air for this, but I prefer using an electric air compressor since they are higher pressure, and I don’t have to worry about how much of the can I’m using up. Compressors aren’t cheap, but in my view are a sound investment.

Don’t be a hero. You should wear eye protection while doing this, and if the projector is particularly dusty, consider a dust mask for your nose and mouth. Also, don’t do this anywhere you care about dust going all over the place.

Lastly, reassemble using the reverse procedure.

The end result for me was a crisp, brighter image, with no discolouration. In other words, a job worth doing.

lotchy uneven purple in the image is caused by dust contamination on the green LD