Help - Plugs on lights are weird

[HowardWCampbell]

There are no wiring instructions. I'm going to post some pics just so there's no mistakes.

The first pic is the diagram on the side of the ballast.

The second pic is just a birds eye view of the clusterfuck of wires.

The third pic is the wire labeled 120v, as you can see it's unattatched to anything.

The fourth pic is the wire labeled 240v and as you can see it's jumpered in using one of those wire connectors.

The only other labeled wire is Com which according to the diagram should always be wired no matter what voltage is being used, at least if I'm reading the diagram right.

So what does everyone think, will disconnecting the 240v wire and connecting the 120v where you disconnected the 240v wire do the trick?

I can't see exactly what's going on in pics 2-4, but I think you have it figured out right. Were there any other plug ends that came with the light? (edit: just saw that there were no other cord sets)

If not you will probably have to cut off the factory plug end and wire in a regular 110v plug. After you do the 220/110v conversion of course.

 

[scooby33]

ok on a 240 plug you have grd top pin hot(live) on on the right pin as the pins are facein you com (neg) on the left

 

[HowardWCampbell]

plug your light into it use your made up lead plug it into 110 it wont hurt it if it is wrong as you are useing the lowest volts

If you cut your voltage in half, your amps will double. Google ohm's law.

Too many amps running through a wire causes heat, which could potentially cause a fire.

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

I can't see exactly what's going on in pics 2-4, but I think you have it figured out right. Were there any other plug ends that came with the light?

If not you will probably have to cut off the factory plug end and wire in a regular 110v plug. After you do the 220/110v conversion of course.

Yeah, I actually figured out the plug problem before I knew I had a voltage issue.

So just that simple 1 wire "rewire" is all there is, there's nothing else to rewire or change?

Sorry about the pics, I did the best I could. 2 is just a birds eye view of the wires.
3 is a pic of a wire labeled 120v which is unattatched to anything
4 is a pic of a wire labeled 240v which is spliced together with another wire

The wires labeled 208v & 277v are also unattatched.

A wire labeled COM is spliced to another wire.

There are no other labeled wires.


So just swap the 240v wire with the 120v wire? I just want to make sure, it just sounds to good to be true

 

[scooby33]

well it's 4.30 am here m8 and my ladies have gone to sleep all 20 of them so i think i am going to join them i will check back tomorrow to see if you got it sorted
best of luck

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

Thanks for helping Scooby. Good luck with your girls

 

[HowardWCampbell]

Yeah, I actually figured out the plug problem before I knew I had a voltage issue.

So just that simple 1 wire "rewire" is all there is, there's nothing else to rewire or change?

Sorry about the pics, I did the best I could. 2 is just a birds eye view of the wires.
3 is a pic of a wire labeled 120v which is unattatched to anything
4 is a pic of a wire labeled 240v which is spliced together with another wire

The wires labeled 208v & 277v are also unattatched.

A wire labeled COM is spliced to another wire.

There are no other labeled wires.


So just swap the 240v wire with the 120v wire? I just want to make sure, it just sounds to good to be true

That's the beauty of a convertible ballast. A new plug end should run about $3 and you are all set.

Good luck.

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

That's the beauty of a convertible ballast. A new plug end should run about $3 and you are all set.

Good luck.

Thanks man, I'm gonna try it now.

 

[Roland]

Roland
The rewiring of the ballast & the plug are 2 seperate issues.

The pics show which wires I think need to be rewired.

Once I have it wired for 110v the plug will be no problem, I have that solved.

Scooby
I'm not plugging it in till I know I have everything right. Good rule to live by when you have bad luck

the white wire .. that is nutted to the wire tagged 240 .. should go to the cord with the plug on it .. right ?


When u change to 110 Volt supply .. u need to change the white wire .. to the common ... the Black needs to got to the wire tagged 110/120

 

[Roland]

at the new plug ... the white wire needs to go to the silver / "white" screw ...

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

The power cord come in and gets split 3 ways immediately. None of these go directly to the 240v wire. There are 2 unlabeled black wires, one comes from the power cord, I can't see where the other comes from. Both are attatched to unlabled white wires and twisty tied to other wires.

I took off the 240v wire and spliced the 120v wire to the wire that the 240v used to be attatched to. I was about to rewire the plug with the one normal male end that I bought at home depot.

Inside the new plug I have 3 screws. The one for the ground is greenish, the one on the left as you're looking at the plug is a goldish plug, on the right is a silver screw.

In the cord I have a green, a black, and a white wire.

I'm guessing that the green wire is ground since it's the same color as the ground in the plug.

So the white wire goes to the silver screw and the black wire goes to the gold screw?

 

[Roland]

Yup .. U got it ...

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

Yup .. U got it ...

Cool, thanks Roland. I really owe you one.

 

[Roland]

np

Good luck ..lemme know when u plug it in

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

np

Good luck ..lemme know when u plug it in

Ok, just plugged it in for a bit. Bulb blinked once or twice then started to warm up. During warm up it looked like it went through a couple of minor color changes, and it wasn't as bright as I expected. But I'm seeing those little spots when I blink, like when you take a pic with a flash bulb. Never had one of these lights before so I'm not sure if it's acting normal.

The ballast was a lot more quiet than I expected. I actually didn't hear it at all. I don't know if it will start making noise when it gets hot, but I'm impressed for the money as long as the bulb grows my babies.

 

[Roland]

Yeah they change colors as they warm up .....

Ever seen street lights come on .. HPS type ... ? Same thing

Haha don't look directly at the light without Protection ... good idea even to wear sunglasses when u are looking at your plants under BRIGHT light

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

Yeah they change colors as they warm up .....

Ever seen street lights come on .. HPS type ... ? Same thing

Haha don't look directly at the light without Protection ... good idea even to wear sunglasses when u are looking at your plants under BRIGHT light

Never really paid much attention to street lights, besided they have a thick frosted covering so the color change may not be visable.

I thought the only lights I had to worry about looking at were UV lights, thanks for the tip. Don't wanna make my eyes any worse than they already are. lol

Thanks again for your help. I don't know how to rep+ someone or I would. But I can tell you that I got my lights from www.htgsupply.com . Got three 400w bulbs, ballasts, and hoods for about $320 delivered. The hoods suck, I can tell even though I'm a newbie. So I'll eventually upgrade the hoods (probably on next grow). I can't tell if the bulbs are good, but in 9 months I'm going to have to change the bulbs anyway. But if the ballast doesn't start making noise, she's a keeper. Anyway they have good deals on 600w & 1000w sets. Hope that helps you save some money in the future, only way I could think of to pay you back for the help.

 

[Roland]

Hey bro' no prob ... U can clik on the scale .. by post # in upper right corner to rep


U have 3 -400 W lights ? 1200W /120 Volts = about 10 amps ... sounds like u have 15 A circuits so as u add fans etc .. U may need more power ............. you'll be OK for a while

 

[DannyGreenEyes]

Hey bro' no prob ... U can clik on the scale .. by post # in upper right corner to rep


U have 3 -400 W lights ? 1200W /120 Volts = about 10 amps ... sounds like u have 15 A circuits so as u add fans etc .. U may need more power ............. you'll be OK for a while

I tried to do the rep+ thing but I don't see anyting on my end. Did it work?

My circuit breaker isn't labeled right. The kitchen & dining room are both 20s but the bedroom & living room aren't marked right, they must be 2 of the breakers labeled lighting (4 are labeled lighting) I guess. The smallest breaker is 15.

I just figured that if I overload a circuit and the breaker keeps tripping I'd get a good extension cord and run a light off a different circuit.

BTW, the documentation that came with the light sais "Plug the ballast into any household grounded outlet or appliance-duty 15 amp (or higher amperage) timer."
Does this mean I need a special timer for these lights?

 

[Roland]

I tried to do the rep+ thing but I don't see anyting on my end. Did it work?

My circuit breaker isn't labeled right. The kitchen & dining room are both 20s but the bedroom & living room aren't marked right, they must be 2 of the breakers labeled lighting (4 are labeled lighting) I guess. The smallest breaker is 15.

I just figured that if I overload a circuit and the breaker keeps tripping I'd get a good extension cord and run a light off a different circuit.

BTW, the documentation that came with the light sais "Plug the ballast into any household grounded outlet or appliance-duty 15 amp (or higher amperage) timer."
Does this mean I need a special timer for these lights?

you probably have two 20 amp circuits in kitchen .. if u have a newer kitchen .. they are there for appliances

just a normal plug in timer will work fine .. it just means that the receptacle matches a 15 a plug

when u get over 20 A or 240 etc.. it won't fit