That's what I thought. Wait, he did cause he said he got one after the bulb he had wasnt running full out.
I agree man, bad something on the inside and thats a bit too dangerous for me to fuck with. I wouldnt run the damn thing til it was re-built.
Liquid, if you want to use this ballast then be safe and get a re-build kit. I think they are about 150 USD. For a bit more you can get a quality new ballast and not have to fuck with wiring the damn thing like you would with a re-build.
You keep using that ballast and you're asking for trouble. Think about it, if it was still good then why would that guy have givin it up? Not much to upgrade to when you have the biggest light already. The dude new it was toast.