Any tricks to get a stubborn halide to fire?

Delphinus · #1 04-22-2002, 02:23 AM

I've got a new unused 250W Iwasaki (the R version) that is not firing.

Is there any way to coax it to fire? Should I just turn it on and leave it for a little while and hope that it decides to fire on its own? If I do that, is there any risk in burning out my ballast?

Is there any way to confirm if a bulb is faulty? I guess find a friend who has a 250W ballast and see if it fires on that ballast?

Any advice would be appreciated... thanks

PS. I guess I have a second question ... how often can ballasts fail? I have a ballast that isn't firing any bulbs at all (neither the "bad" bulb nor my one "good" bulb). It was working fine last time I tried this, maybe a month ago ... it has just been sitting waiting to be used, and now that I'm ready for it, it seems to have stopped working now. Argh! :mad: If it's not one thing it's another.

[ 21 April 2002, 22:24: Message edited by: delphinus ]

AJ_77 · #2 04-22-2002, 02:26 AM

I've found that if you throw the object in question against a concrete floor with sufficient force, that will usually fix the problem. ;)

Too much force, though, and you're hooped. :D

I have a 250W ballast that fires the old IWASAKI! just fine, if you want to catch a flight up to my place.

BTW - nice web page, man!

AJ

Canadian Man · #3 04-22-2002, 03:00 AM

Very nice web page Tony! You do wonderful work!(umm.....or .....Alan)
Anyway the one thing I can suggest is check your wiring. Yes I know you are saying now that you did but just for me do it again.......
I speak this from experience.... I have been as frustated as you are and just went back and checked again and found my STUPID mistake.
Jonathan

Bryan · #4 04-22-2002, 03:48 AM

Sometime a defective capacitor is the reason a bulb will not strike.

Delphinus · #5 04-22-2002, 11:38 AM

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

The ballast that fires neither bulb did work a month ago. Now, it's possible that since then, the cord from the ballast to the socket somehow got fatally stepped on or kinked or something like that. I haven't been able to check the integrity of the wiring yet, but that's next. Other than that ... I don't really see how it could have failed. I suppose it could be the capacitor... hmmm. Can one readily buy a replacement capacitor for these things without the transformer? Seems to me at that point it's maybe easier to just buy a whole new ballast.

Basically I tried several different permutations. I swapped ballasts to the left and right sockets several times, I swapped bulbs left and right. I also swapped in my old Iwasaki bulb (about a year old ... it's a non-R version but it lights fine -- my 20g was once lit by this bulb). One ballast lights both the one "new good" bulb and my "old good" bulb, but never lights the "new bad" bulb. The other ballast doesn't light any of them.

I'm off to try a different set of wires from ballast to socket on the one errant ballast. I'll post back if I find anything new.

Troy F · #6 04-22-2002, 01:01 PM

Tony, check the socket's contact point. Doesn't sound like the new bulb is making proper contact.

Delphinus · #7 04-22-2002, 01:24 PM

Well, one problem solved. There WAS a fault in the cord from the one ballast to the socket. Replaced those wires and now both sockets are able to fire bulbs.

But my one new bulb still doesn't fire, in either socket. At least I have a temporary workaround by using the one good new bulb and my old bulb.

I'll try bending out the socket contacts and see if it gets me anywhere...

I couldn't even begin to hazard a guess where the receipt is for the bulb at this point (I bought these bulbs in February!), so if it is hooched then I guess I too am hooched and will just have to buy another bulb. Drat... Another lesson the hard way: test fire EVERY bulb before putting any in storage (to wait out until you're ready for putting it into "production").

[ 22 April 2002, 11:03: Message edited by: delphinus ]