T5 ballast testing

[timrandlerv10]

...I thought I had a bad ballast on my light fixture--Current agreed, and sent me a new one (one of two bulbs would flicker but not stay on, and the other one didnt light at all).

I replaced the ballast, but its still not working--I think the chances of two bad ballasts are pretty low, so is there a way to test the ballast before I try something else?

What else could/would it be, and can I test that too?


Thanks,

Tim

 

[JR's Reef]

Its a bulb. Had it happen manny times

 

[timrandlerv10]

D'oh.

don't i feel dumb

 

[JR's Reef]

LMK if it works

 

[8BALL_99]

Current didn't tell you to try new bulbs? lol

 

[timrandlerv10]

heh...no. just shows what you get when you assume somebody knows what he's doing just because he has a large vocabulary!



so one bulb is dead, and if it isnt in the fixture, the other bulb fires. if its in, neither will fire.

where is the best place to shop for new bulbs? I'm looking for an actinic 460nm.

thanks for the 'bright' idea!

 

[cichlid nutz]

The bad part is, current has such bad luck with ballasts, that it was probably an automatic assumption that it was a bad ballast. If it is a ballast in the future, i would buy an aftermarket replacement.

 

[8BALL_99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12810509#post12810509 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cichlid nutz
The bad part is, current has such bad luck with ballasts, that it was probably an automatic assumption that it was a bad ballast. If it is a ballast in the future, i would buy an aftermarket replacement.

lol

 

[jkburn88]

I had the same problem - it turned out to be a bad endcap.

Good luck with it.

Ken

 

[rissaroo]

I have had the same thing happen also...except mine was the ballast that icecap fixed and sent back free of charge! anyway, turns out i didnt have the wiring set up right therefor two lights would come on kinda blink then go off and the other two werent firing at all........there is a way to test the ballast but not sure how. I do know that if you continue trying it (turning it on and off) it will mess up the ballast or at least that is what icecap said happened to mine...

I buy my bulbs from reefgeek. They are awesome to deal with and they are quick to ship also! good luck.