Ballast or bulb problem?

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tical916

Well-Known Member
Allright I've got a cheap 400w htg hps/mh ballast. And I`m running them on 20/4. The last two nights I woke up to find the light not being able to relight. The ballast is running again, and the light is lightly flickering.

But heres the strange thing, I switch to a 400w spare MH bulb and it works fine for the day until it shuts off again. I had to do that again, I put the 400w HPS bulb back in and it worked all day.

I shut it off for a second, and it wouldn't refire. Unscrewed the bulb, rescrewed it back in and it worked fine.

I`m guessing my problem is with the ballast. I`m hoping I can get it to last this grow. I've got a little over a month left. Then I`ll upgrading to a newer digital ballast.

Any tips on dealing with this?
 
PANGcake

PANGcake

Active Member
tical916 said:
Allright I've got a cheap 400w htg hps/mh ballast. And I`m running them on 20/4. The last two nights I woke up to find the light not being able to relight. The ballast is running again, and the light is lightly flickering.

But heres the strange thing, I switch to a 400w spare MH bulb and it works fine for the day until it shuts off again. I had to do that again, I put the 400w HPS bulb back in and it worked all day.

I shut it off for a second, and it wouldn't refire. Unscrewed the bulb, rescrewed it back in and it worked fine.

I`m guessing my problem is with the ballast. I`m hoping I can get it to last this grow. I've got a little over a month left. Then I`ll upgrading to a newer digital ballast.

Any tips on dealing with this?
Click to expand...
Go to this thread and copy and paste ur post...u will get a reply fast!

Bored electrician answer your questions

:peace:
 
J

justlookingtf

Active Member
hmmm, them bulbs dont like to restart when hot. you could be loosing AC power and then they wont restart? does the transformer have a buzz or run real hot? If it does you could have a shorted winding and thats not fixable. the capacitor will usually not fail but the starter can fail but it doesnt sound like the starter since it does start the bulb and then its out of the circuit. there is more than enuff voltage and current in that box to kill you. if your not comfortable with it then replace it. otherwise unplug everything and check for loose connections or other intermittents in the ballast. maybe its the MH/HPS switch? I am making more than a few assumptions from your post but it does sound like the ballast.
 
T

tical916

Well-Known Member
justlookingtf said:
hmmm, them bulbs dont like to restart when hot. you could be loosing AC power and then they wont restart? does the transformer have a buzz or run real hot? If it does you could have a shorted winding and thats not fixable. the capacitor will usually not fail but the starter can fail but it doesnt sound like the starter since it does start the bulb and then its out of the circuit. there is more than enuff voltage and current in that box to kill you. if your not comfortable with it then replace it. otherwise unplug everything and check for loose connections or other intermittents in the ballast. maybe its the MH/HPS switch? I am making more than a few assumptions from your post but it does sound like the ballast.
Click to expand...
Yes the ballast is somewhat loud when it won' refire. I tried moving infront of a fan and we`ll see what happens.

It's strange I can just unscrew the bulb and screw it back in with 10 seconds and it will refire though.

I'd like it to last this last 1 1/2 months. Then buy a 250 digital.
 
T

tical916

Well-Known Member
justlookingtf said:
look into the end of the socket. is it burned? if its really flickering it sounds like a poor connection.
Click to expand...
I think the ballast was overheating. I lengthened the cord and moved it out of the room. And she is back up and running.

I`m still thinking of going with a 250w digital and a new cooltube reflector. Cut the grow down in half and only grow 2-3 at 1 time.
 
CLOSETGROWTH

CLOSETGROWTH

Well-Known Member
tical916 said:
I think the ballast was overheating. I lengthened the cord and moved it out of the room. And she is back up and running.

I`m still thinking of going with a 250w digital and a new cooltube reflector. Cut the grow down in half and only grow 2-3 at 1 time.
Click to expand...
Thats great!

In case you have this problem happen again, its the igniter Capacitor.

You'll need to have it serviced at your local hydro shop.
 
Oldreefer

Oldreefer

Well-Known Member
I recently had my hps ballast checked at a hydro shop where I noted the following:

With a hps bulb: slow/delayed start/won't: usually is the starter/ignitor

insert a known good MH bulb: if it lights, the starter/igniter needs replacing since MH doesn't need ignitors
if the MH bulb delays /doesn't light up: The capacitor is usually going bad also.

A hps ballast will run a MH bulb although it is not reccommended. Short bulb life.

I replace both the ignitor and capacitor and it runs great!
Hope this helps.
Google your ballast for the correct parts. Easy to replace as long as you follow electrical safety......
 
T

tical916

Well-Known Member
Oldreefer said:
I recently had my hps ballast checked at a hydro shop where I noted the following:

With a hps bulb: slow/delayed start/won't: usually is the starter/ignitor

insert a known good MH bulb: if it lights, the starter/igniter needs replacing since MH doesn't need ignitors
if the MH bulb delays /doesn't light up: The capacitor is usually going bad also.

A hps ballast will run a MH bulb although it is not reccommended. Short bulb life.

I replace both the ignitor and capacitor and it runs great!
Hope this helps.
Google your ballast for the correct parts. Easy to replace as long as you follow electrical safety......
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I've been looking at replacement parts. I`m still leaning towards just replacing it with a 250 digital. If I can get this fixed, maybe I`ll the 400 in during flowering.
 
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