Metal halide lights... need help!!!

So I picked up a couple of ballasts, one 250w and one 400w metal halide at a university surplus sale...for 8 bucks!!! good ass deal. They are both new, and just the ballast kit. I went and bought all the other pieces, and somehow found 250w mh bulbs for 1.99$ I guess it was in the stars.... anyway, I made a remote ballast for both 250/400 in separate boxes, and a universal hood with mogul socket. they both worked fine at first. The 250 was the first to go out. I changed the bulb and nothing....I mind you the light had been working fine for a couple of days. so I hook up the 400. it worked fine until I tried to start it this morning. Bulb will not fire. the ballast is an advance magnetic 400w, multi tap ballast, brand new w/ capacitor. I got some wiring diagnostics online and wired her up. like I said, both lights worked fine at first, but now neither light will fire. the other one is almost exactly the same only 250w>>>> does anybody know anything that can get my lights running again???

Anyway to post some pics of your wiring. Reading your post there is really no reason as to why it shouldnt be working.

some asshead stole my digital camera so I dont have any way to post the pics. maybe I can explain a little better. Inlet power = I wired a male ended cord...green to the frame, black to the volt wire (which I set to 120) white to the com wire...... wired the capacitor wire to the cap wire...outlet power =wired female ended cord... other capacitor wire to black, other com wire to white, green ground to frame. then on the socket..wired another male ended wire...black to black, white to white, green to ground... like I said, it worked for a couple days, now it wont. I tried lightly bouncing the bulb, and it shows a blue flicker for a second like it wants to fire, but never does. My light was working fine as of 3 o'clock this morning when I unplugged it

what do you expect for $8? invest in a new system!

that's bullshit man... this surplus stuff is brand new in the box... its not even about the price. the dudes there didn't even know what they were worth. thats why I got them for hella cheap. if you can answer anything that would be helpful as to why it might not be working right please feel free.... if not, please dont post..

first try new bulbs. Thats the fisrt step in trouble shooting your lamps. maybe they were 1.99 because they were used. 1.99 for 400W and 250W bulbs sounds like second hand prices.

Advance ballasts are top notch so i would suspect a faulty bulb. if not the bulbs, check the base. if yer using the same socket for both systems and its not working, its most likely a faulty connection at the the socket. check the bottom tab of your base, make sure its raised enough to touch the bottom of the bulb when you screw it in.

good luck.

sometimes it takes 10 seconds or so to fire up the MH bulb. heck ive had it take 20 or 30 seconds on a new, freshly wired system. did you give it enough time?

khujo said:

sometimes it takes 10 seconds or so to fire up the MH bulb. heck ive had it take 20 or 30 seconds on a new, freshly wired system. did you give it enough time?

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I agree with this and the bulb check too, sometimes after they heat up you really have to crank the bulbs down into the sockets too.

thanks guys, Ill try it out. I got all the bulbs brand new... the 250w bulbs were 1.99 cause the lady didn't know shit about them. they had no price tag... she was like how about 1.99$ I told her I would take three.... everything I purchased, cheap or not, was all brand new. I will double check stuff and report back... thanks for the help

Try a little static electricity... Try taking a baloon and rubbing it on your hair then touch it to the bulb just after you turn the light on.. It it does not fire up then I woudl check the capacitor

make sure their screwed in all the way...bulbs wont work half hand tightened

ok, tried everything. then I get the static balloon close to the bulb, I get a blue flicker like the lamp is trying to fire, but it only lasts a second. bulb will still not fire, although I got the 250 to fire up, so hopefully I can get the 400 rolling again

now the 250w starts, then after a few minutes shuts off.... then it will start a while later, then shut off again>>>>> I dont know what to do

ok it sounds like your bulb is cycling. which is what happens when the bulb gets old. As HID lamps age, they require more and more current to operate. After a certain amount of time the ballast can no longer supply enough current to sustain the arc of the lamp. then it shuts off untill it cools, and the 'cycle' starts all over again.

are you SURE their new bulbs? have you bought any other ones than the ones you got really cheap? you know, i could put a used bulb in a new box, seal it, and tell people its new. i'm not saying that this happened to you, fuck, no one wants to get ripped off. Im also not tryin to knock a good deal but man, everything you say sounds like OLD bulbs. even the price. surplus stores commonly get second hand items. Government and commercial building owners often turn salvagable stuff over to surplus stores.

get a new bulb from an actual electrical or hydro store. thats the best advice i can give you. it should have been the first thing you did. if you already did this, then im stumped. could be a defective capacitor. you can get them from a hydro shop

good luck dude

1000bulbs.com...sounds like there was a reason they were 1.99...get ya some good bulbs and you won't have to worrie for a while might pick up a spare it sucks when ya don't have a back up plan sounds like ya saved a buck in the end anyway

ebay has good deals on bulbs too..........

Are you sure input power should be 120V and not 220V? If you under powered the ballast it might take a couple of days to die.

StealthyGardener said:

Are you sure input power should be 120V and not 220V? If you under powered the ballast it might take a couple of days to die.

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A multi-tap ballast can be wired in 4 different voltage configurations. At 120v it will draw a tad over 4 amps while at 220 it will draw around 2 amps.

Home Depot and Lowes both have 400w MH bulbs for around $20 (US). They also carry 400w HPS for about the same price.

not to beat a dead horse, but.....you said you got the bulbs brand new from a 'lady' who didn't know shit. they weren\t marked with a price, and you suggested 1.99 and she was like "OK".

were you at a garage sale? what kind of store sells "brand new" products with such a specific market, yet they know shit about them. that doesn't make sense.

just to let you guys know.. the bulbs were brand new at a hardware store.. the ballasts were never opened from there boxes, and both run absolutely wonderful! seems like it took a couple days for the bulb to break in, but both ballasts work excellent! Im gonna barter the 250 at Tonasket Barter Fair next weekend! sorry about the late reply... got super busy for a few weeks