Electricians or ballast experts help needed!!!

[zanemoseley]

Ok I rewired EVERYTHING, I cut off all wirenuts and the grounds and redid them all. I plugged in a brand new gfci and I first threw the switch for the LEFT ballast and it fired fine. Then I threw the switch for the RIGHT one and SNAP goes the GFCI. It's definately the ballast on the right.

Now the question is what to do about it. The transformer is grounded to the case and the caps are mounted the to the sides with velcro but they are resting on the case bottom so they are halfway grounded at least. I would like to eventually use the pipe strapping to strap them directly to the side of the case but in the mean time would this be the culprit for tripping a GFCI? Its pretty squarely resting on the bottom of the case but who knows, it has worked like this for 2 yrs with no problems though.

So do you guys think its just a bad ballast or is it something else like the grounding or something else? I don't have time to day to do the strapping but I have to get a game plan to get this fixed as half my tank is without light.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Also Tammy I owe you an apology about the transformer thing. I did't realize it was a transformer, I thought a ballast was different than a transformer. I should have known when there were different voltage inputs on the "ballast". Sorry.

 

[zanemoseley]

BTW the GFCI didn't die this time it just tripped, lucky me...

 

[zanemoseley]

So are the 120v windings the wider ones of the two? Is the core the square part?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6607872#post6607872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by commiphora
Zane:

Ground the cap cases as stated above.
The transformer tied to the charred lug is experiencing ground faults, which is heating up the lug to wire interface and causing the charring. Do you have an ohmmeter? Measure resistance between the 120 V windings and the transformer core. Do the same on the "lamp" side of the transformer. Both must be done with the unit unplugged and no lamp connected to the transformer (the cap won't matter is it's M57/M58/M59 ballast). Repeat for the 2nd transformer. It may not show it, but I suspect you'll see a difference in resistance due to an internal fault, which Tammy explained better than I. A megger or hipotter is a better way to go, but I doubt you have access to one and you don't want to use one unless you know what you're doing. Most importantly, if you measure it LIVE, remember these things put out about 350 V which can and will KILL you. Be safe!

Dave

 

[zanemoseley]

So when I got these I got them from my mom's company that she works for. They make high voltage tar transformers and they were importing and distributing these new MH probe start ballasts and she was able to get me them for free.

I thought they stopped carrying them but I just talked to her over the phone and she said they still have them. So this is great news since I'll get it free or at manufacturer cost!! That just takes a load off my back.

 

[Tammy3770]

the 120 windings are the ones that the comes in from the wall.
its hard to explain but its the "line side" then the others are "load side"

if you can get them from the place where your mom works,
DO they MFG them or just sell them??
If their are any electrical people over there maybe they have an ohm meter or a megger and they can explain it to you.

or you can go to some place where they sell electrical components and get it tested.

these transformers break down because excessive heat melts the insulation in the core. so you do need a fan.

I accept your apology, I wasnt really that mad I just had a lot to do other than argue. No reason getting mad on the internet.
I'm glad your getting it figured out.

 

[orlenz]

I see two issues from the pics.

First the way you have the ballasts mounted it looks like the windings are right against the enclosure, acording to our UL guy you need at least a 1/2" gap between the windings of the ballast and the enclosure, we mount ous at work on there side 90 degrees from what you have, and use brackets to mount them, another thing that will help is if you add a fan at one end blowing fresh air in, the hot air will be forced out the vents.

 

[zanemoseley]

I don't think I can mount it upright but I will probably try to add a fan.

 

[zanemoseley]

Well I got a replacement today and in 20 minutes had the old out and the new in. Really easy except I cut my hand with the razor while cutting electrical tape lol.

I found the problem it was shorting out between the case and the 120v coils and had marks on the ballast box and the coils as shown in the pictures below. Ideally I should mount them vertically but the other ballast is still going strong after 2 years of sitting on the coils. I'll tell you one thing the last 3 days with only one good ballast running in the case it was A LOT cooler in there. I think the other ballast must have been heating up when it was going bad or something. Anyway here's the pics of the short spots.

Shorting marks on the case floor

Marks on the 120v coils.