Repair Icecap Ballast

[zulu_principle]

Has anyone ever used someone locally to repair icecap ballasts ??

Mine is firing for a couple of minutes, then off and wont come back on again.

That being said they also want $65 US to send them back and repair.

Thanks for the help.


Wendell

[StirCrazy]

how old is it ?

Steve

[Skimmerking]

hey there Wendell i have had the same problem it turned out to be the plug silly old me ,i would tey putting on a new plug to see if that is it and then try the fuse in there too..

Mike

[Bryan]

Wendell:

You may want to try B.C.I.T. I am sure some student in the electronic labs can help you out.

-=Bryan=-

[zulu_principle]

Mike

I have a few of these so I just changed the ballast and worked fine.


Wendell

PS I know I have to send them back just trying to save the dough.

[Delphinus]

Has anyone opened up an Icecap ballast, are they encased with epoxy?

Just curious, because I'm curious whether epoxy filled e-ballasts are truly "repairable."

I fried an electronic ballast last night (wow ... there goes $160 down the drain) because there appears to have been a short in the light fixture. Ballast says "do not connect lamp leads to ground." Boy, I'm soo glad my fixture was grounded then. :frown: It's not an Icecap ballast, it's some brand called "Reliable" (I think it's a HelloLights thing that they built for premiumaquatics.com). I peeked inside to see if it was a blown fuse or something and the circuit board is covered in this shiny black goo (which I assume to be epoxy). Which makes me suspect I just threw $160 into the toilet and flushed it, because I have no idea how you're supposed to pull out a blown transitor (or whatever those little electronic thingies are) and replace it (let alone diagnose/identify the blown component).

So anyhow, I'm curious if these things can be repaired, because, ... well, $160. (grumble). (More accurately, "$100 USD at last year's dollar conversion" ..)

I have no contact info for "Reliable." Trying to do a seach on "reliable electronic" is a nightmare. "Reliable" is a LOUSY search term!!! (grumble).

(sigh)

[ash08648]

From IceCap:
Happen to catch this thread.
All IceCap VHO and NO fluorescent ballasts are not potted and are repairable.

Andy

[Gools]

I had 2 of my ballast go on me after just 6 months. I send them back and they sent me 2 brand new ones. They have great service. If they are under 3 years old they probably will repare or replace it for free. It only cost me $16 to ship.

[hockey nut]

I have a 660 and I am having the same problems as Wendell. Did you find out what the problem was with yours? And are they worth fixing? Any info on the 660 would be appreciated.

[zulu_principle]

We are trying a local electrician, hopefully he can help us out. That being said if you have filled out the warranty card, I would just send them back to icecap.


Wendell

[hockey nut]

Thanks for the reply. Let me know how the local electrician works out. :smile: