Problem with 24" Coralife light

[Glennrf38]

I have one of the corallife lights with 2-moonlights, 2 PC and 1 150W MH. I noticed the other day that my PCs weren't coming on, so I took the covers off thinking it might have been a faulty ....something. I plugged it in and the light came on, so I put it bak on the tank and it ran fine all day. This morning when I went to turn it on, no lights again..... any ideas?

Glenn

[hillegom]

Sounds like you are not making contact with something. ie loose.
Try taking it apart again and rotating the bulb back and forth to "clean" the contacts.
That has worked for me sometimes, in the past.

[Glennrf38]

Thanks
When I checked that, nothing seemed loose or corroded. Is there a "starter" thing like Florescents have?

[hillegom]

I am not an electrician. So do not know about your fixture. I know some flourescents have starters.

[Glennrf38]

OK so now here is a weird update.

Got home after work.
The PCs weren't working.
Took the fixture off the tank.
Plugged it back in and they worked.
Put it back on the tank and they worked.
If it goes the way it has been, they won't work tomorrow morning.
If they don't work in the morning, the only thing I can think of is that there is something loose and when I moved it off the tank, it connected.

But, I gave the fixture a shaking and they still work now.

This is weird.

[i have crabs]

a friend of mine had a bad ballast and the pc's would turn on sometimes and not other times.
i think jl's just got a bunch of ballasts instock

[Glennrf38]

The ballast isn't connected to the PC is it?

[mike31154]

How old are your PC bulbs? Modern ballasts generally do not require a separate starting unit for the lamps, it's incorporated in the ballast circuitry. Also, some newer T5HO ballasts have what is called EOL (end of life protection) which will turn off the lights shortly after start up if they are worn out or close to being worn out. Not sure if PC light ballasts have the same feature, but might be worth trying a new bulb(s) to see if that fixes the problem before you start looking for a new ballast.

[mike31154]

The ballast isn't connected to the PC is it?

The MH and PCs should each have their own ballast. One for the MH and one for the two PCs.

[Glennrf38]

The PC one must be internal. I'll look at it again tomorrow.

[i have crabs]

the pc ballast is internal in the coralife lights. some have 1 ballast for each bulb some have 1 ballast for 2 bulbs

[Glennrf38]

Thanks. I'll take it apart tomorrow and see if I can get new ballasts.

[mike31154]

Don't be surprised if all you find inside the light housing is a couple of transformers and other small components wrapped in heat shrink. I could be wrong though and there may be a generic flourescent ballast (or two) in there. Have you tried new bulbs yet?