Coralife PC fixture broken...

[thefatboy]

Any tips on troubleshooting... im guessing i need to buy a new bulb first, which is expensive, and if its the ballast, a bit wasteful too.

any tricks?

 

[schudini]

Well, what are the symptoms?

Does it smell like fried electronics?

Any melted spots?

Do you have a voltmeter?

 

[thefatboy]

No, No, and I have one that makes a noise if current is there, but not a "meter"

 

[Pbrown3701]

are the ends of the bulb (next to the plug) darkened or black? If so, it's likely a bad bulb.

 

[thefatboy]

slightly... but not a whole lot... its very subtle...

 

[areze]

hit your ummm volt meter... to the contacts and see if its putting out current? I assume there is some sort of firing charge from the ballast that ignites it, which you cant really measure... but its something... narrows down atleast 1 possibility.

do you have any LFS or clubs that you can take your bulbs to and try in one of their fixtures? maybe bring your housing and try one of their bulbs in yours?

 

[Julian H]

Get a voltmeter for 20 bucks from home depot that will measure resistance as well as current. Then U can check all the parts and you can check for stray voltage in ur tank aswell.