what kind of electrical cord is this? expert needed

its 14-2 romex

means 14 gauge, with 2 wires (not including the ground, which will be bare - not green like some one said before.)

ok so we found out the cord was a 14-2 romex cord but im still thinking its something else

im high as shit and confused as shit

14-2 romex is rated at 15 amps i work with my father whos an electrician. but since your are using continuous power prob it should be when you calculate the power for the lights you should do 125% and size the wire for that (as a continuous load) and they're right it sounds like an internal problem though not the supply wire. buy some stranded wire

edit: also as a general rule even though it is rated at 15 amps the code (at least here) says you can fill up to 80% i believe so 15 amp rated breaker should not exceed 12 amps as a general rule..

Other people aren't noticing like I didn't at first that that romex is not his supplu line it's the lines from the ballasts to the bulb sockets. Replace all that romex wire with flexible wire. The cheapest suitable flexible wire is almost always extension cords and you can just use the standard 50' orange colored 3 prong with ground extension cords and cut the wire from them it's cheaper than buying wire off the spool. You don't need any super heavy duty cord the orange 50' cord will do just great.

I'll bet you that romex is broken that's why wiggling it makes it work. That wire can't handle being bent repeatedly and is just not suitable for this. Still not a fire hazard but just not right and won't work long term like this unless you hard mount the bulb and ballast and tack the wire in place where it never moves and then you can never adjust the height of the lights.

No need to be confused, just do it.

^^^^^^just like oregon meds said its not a short its an open from a broken wire or poor connection ,shorts let the smoke come out of the wire then you play hell putting it back in