Problem with my hps, need help

ok so when i got home today i noticed that my 400w hps light was really dim. it was working fine yesterday but today it will get really bright like it use to and then it will just go dim(barely lit up, just glowing) and then it will slowly get brighter and brighter and then like 3 mins later it will just go dim again.. wat tha fuk is goin on???

check all the connections related to it, check the socket its plugged into, check its fuse. Try it plugged into another wall socket.I had a time when my hps would work its way up to full brightness then die and keep repeating this over and over and it did it plugged into a few sockets but not all of them. I had an electrician come and look and I guess a bunch of my connections from my fuse box came loose from being so old and it was just barely touching. he fixed it and left without even having to look at any lights or in my room or anything. check everything that may be an easy fix before thinking its your light. peace and good luck bro

Sparky here -
First try and swap the lamp, it's the cheapest check, especially if you have 2 fixtures.
Second it could be the capacitor. It holds a burst charge to help ignite the lamp through to full output.
Third it could be the starter, but not likely. If the lamp were to just maintain a low glow it's the starter for sure.
Sorry - it does take this many tries to figure it out - if you need to keep expenses low.

pretty sure that means the bulb is burnt out, get a new bulb.

grind said:

pretty sure that means the bulb is burnt out, get a new bulb.

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ok i checked all the cords and everything looks fine.. when i put my mh bulb in it everything works fine but when i switch to hps it keeps doing the same fucking thing..

um is your mh bulb a conversion bulb?

yeah you shouldn't put a mh bulb in a hps ballast. if the hps bulb doesn't work but the mh bulb does then the hps bulb is obviously burnt out. you need a brand new one.

lol, i dont think an mh bulb would fit... its obviously a convertion... your hps bulb is burning out. get a new one.

If itsb a switchable or digital ballast it will run both mh and hps bulbs just fine. If its not a switchable or digital and your swapping bulbs your lucky you not deafd. Lets assume its a switchable magnetic ballast which means it has a switch you flip to mh or hps.If your hps bulb is good for sure then it might mean the ignitor in the ballast is going out. The hps needs the ignitor but the mh doesnt need it to fire up. This happens alot to the HTG garbage ballasts. Try a new bulb or try your bulb in a different ballast. If its digital then no switch to flip just swap bulbs and if it is digital its not the ignitor as the digital ballast dont use same setup so it would be an inside issue. Check your warranty

mine would light, then just turn off and back on, now it wont turn on at all... pos...

[edit] End of life

At the end of life, high-pressure sodium lamps exhibit a phenomenon known as cycling, which is caused by a loss of sodium in the arc. Sodium is a highly reactive element, and is easily lost by combination with other elements, and migration through the arc tube walls. As a result, these lamps can be started at a relatively low voltage but as they heat up during operation, the internal gas pressure within the arc tube rises and more and more voltage is required to maintain the arc discharge. As a lamp gets older, the maintaining voltage for the arc eventually rises to exceed the maximum voltage output by the electrical ballast. As the lamp heats to this point, the arc fails and the lamp goes out. Eventually, with the arc extinguished, the lamp cools down again, the gas pressure in the arc tube is reduced, and the ballast can once again cause the arc to strike. The effect of this is that the lamp glows for a while and then goes out, repeatedly.
More sophisticated ballast designs detect cycling and give up attempting to start the lamp after a few cycles. If power is removed and reapplied, the ballast will make a new series of startup attempts.
LPS lamp failure does not result in cycling; rather, the lamp will simply not strike, and will maintain its dull red glow exhibited during the start up phase.

Ya can put a mh bulb in a hps socket. It will work just fine. I have done it for years.

Those actually sound sorta like the symptoms of putting a mh in an hps ballast for a second. may have ruined the ballast if its not dual. hope not man. good luck.

1982grower said:

Those actually sound sorta like the symptoms of putting a mh in an hps ballast for a second. may have ruined the ballast if its not dual. hope not man. good luck.

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Read my post above yours. My hps is not conversion.

Dirtyboy said:

Read my post above yours. My hps is not conversion.

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its a switchable ballest, both of the bulbs came with it when i ordered it so i know thats not the problem.. im assuming its a digital bc theres no switch on it.. i have the mh bulb in now and everythings working fine but it starts fuking up when i put the hps in.. how can i fix this? buy a new bulb or am i going to have to buy a new fukin ballest? also im two weeks into flowering and im having to use the mh bulb, will my buds be alright? thanks..