Any electricians around?

saltwater4life1

saltwater4life1

Member
Hey guys,
Well my ballast on one of my t5's went out. So i contacted the company and they sent me a new one. I open it up and it's not the same as mine. idk if they changed the style or not but i'm just wondering if it's safe to use this one or not. I'm waiting for reply from them just though I'd ask here.
The old one has 3 slots on one side (ground - + i guess) and 7 slots on the other side. (One of which had 2 wires going into one slot) The new one has the 3 slots on one side but 6 on the other side... I though maybe the 2 wires that are in one slot i would do the same with another matching pair? I just don't wanna mess something up and burn out the ballast or start a fire...

Thank you very much!!

~Nick
 
Company/brand name of ballast would be helpful. Is this a T5 retrofit kit or a complete fixture? What size lights? Maybe a photo and we could help you out.
 
3 Slots on one side is power A/C in. 6 others are the lights output. As long as you told them your wattage and light sizes, they prolly sent you a newer version of the one you did have. There should be a wiring diagram on the ballast itself. No??
 
Yeah i figured that out. The diagram is a little different then my set up i think... It shows 2 wires going to one end of the bulb then on the other side of the bulb 1 returns and another runs to the other bulb. which explains why only 6 slots. but mine has 2 wires on each side of each bulb none of mine connect to another bulb that i know of...
Anyways here is a picture of the old ballast it's still wired up. If that helps with anything...
ballast1.jpg
 
Yea the knewer ones have jumper wires that run across the 2 lamps. Hard to explain, hella easier to see a pic, but I don't have one. Your idea about the 2 wires into the same spot is right on, I guess that takes out the jumper on the ends of either lamp. So in effect you jump it right there at the ballast, without plugging it into the ballast.
 
Last edited:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14782872#post14782872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 125G Reefer
Click on further details on that web sight, it shows you how to wire it up.
Click to expand...
Hmm yeah thats almost like the one on the ballast but if you look closer it shows 7 slots... but the ballast only has 6 here is a picture of mine.

newballast.jpg
 
Maybe my eyes are bad, I only count 6. ?? And 6 push heads for the wires. ?? See the jumper wire across the bulbs??. Thats a peice of cake. Wire em up just like that, and off we go. :thumbsup:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14782958#post14782958 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 125G Reefer
Maybe my eyes are bad, I only count 6. ?? And 6 push heads for the wires. ??
Click to expand...
Which ballast? The old one has 7push heads one is hidden on the left by a wire... The new one only has 6.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14782973#post14782973 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltwater4life1
Which ballast? The old one has 7push heads one is hidden on the left by a wire... The new one only has 6.
Click to expand...
I follow you. Do you see the jumper wire across the bulbs? They eliminated wire 7, that jumped from the ballast to the bulb. Not much of a difference, they just took out that lead, and instead, you jump from one bulb end to the other with no connection to the ballast.
 
In the diagram? yes, Not sure if this is what your saying but i just sat down looking at it and think i figured it out. If you look at the first picture. Where i was saying 2wires go in one slot. (Far right push thing 1red wire 1black wire) they are soder together and each come from different bulb. Are you saying that is the one to leave out. Which would have them connecting bulbs... Sorry hard to explain
 
Yes sir, now you've got it.:thumbsup: You can put a wire nut on those 2 wires. Or run a new single wire across the bulbs.
 
Last edited:
Okay thank you so much,
One other question how do i one which wires on the other side go where? They tell me on the diagram which colors go where but mine aren't those colors... They show white, black and green,
Mine are blue, purple and possibly green
 
Crap. Well usually the multi colored wires are the common and hot wires, and the somewhat green will be ground. Can you throw up a pic on that?? And I don't understand what " top-mid then ground on the bottom " means.
 
Sorry i meant if your looking at the ballast the top slot, mid slot, bottom slot. I figured it out it was european color coded wires. So i found what the each color meant in USA codes and got it all working. The lights up and looking brighter then before haha.
Thank you for all the help!
~Nick
 
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