T5 ballast

[Capt_Cully]

One of my Maristar fixtures isn't firing it's T5's. I've had it for 5 years or so and externally it's a little corroded. Is there a way for me to test it without tearing the whole thing apart?

I changed it to a different outlet on my DC8 to make sure it wasn't that. Last week I noticed that they went out. I have on one or two occasions tripped the GFI. But they came back on independently. They went out again yesterday. GFI's hadn't been tripped, so my next guess is the ballast.

Any tips?

Thanks

 

[tropills]

If you have more then one, you could plug the other harness into the ballast that's not working and see if it fires the other lights or vise versa ? I'm not real familiar with that type of ballast, do they have a fuse like the icecaps ?

 

[Capt_Cully]

not sure, that'd be sweet if it was just a fuse. I'll have to research it better when I get home. Lunchtime coming to a close

 

[captain7359]

Check the bulb and socket terminals as they may have coroded and lost contact. Some sand papaer or an emery board will do the trick to clean the terminals up. If that's not it get out the screwdrivers and hammer.

 

[Capt_Cully]

Walter, check where the ballast wires into the bulb sockets?? or check where the bulbs go into the sockets themselves??

 

[captain7359]

Walter, check where the ballast wires into the bulb sockets?? or check where the bulbs go into the sockets themselves??

Yes, both.

Sometimes just wiggling the wire into the socket will fix it as well as the socket getting cruddy.

 

[NirvanaFan]

My sockets/tombstones on my Tek light got corroded and wouldn't fire the bulbs. I ended up replacing the sockets because they were pretty cheap.

 

[Capt_Cully]

Nice, appreciate the input. I'll have to get into the fixture this weekend when I have some time. At least now I've got a few starting points.

 

[Flanders]

I have an industrial-type ballast lying around if you need to borrow one. I'm pretty sure it'll fire t5s and I don't have a tank at the moment...

 

[Capt_Cully]

Hey, offer is greatly appreciated.

Talked to Sunlight Supply, manuf of Maristar fixtures. Apparently they work like Christmas lights. If a bulb has blown, they won't fire. So, before I tear the whole thing apart, I've got to procure some new bulbs, see what's doin'.

Thanks for the help thus far guys.

 

[NirvanaFan]

If you have a multimeter you can check to see if the t5 bulbs are still good.

 

[Capt_Cully]

If you have a multimeter you can check to see if the t5 bulbs are still good.

I'm guessing since I don't know what that is, I don't have one???

Is it one of those things that tells you if the wiring is live? Red wire, black wire, little light???

 

[NirvanaFan]

has two "probes" (usually red and black). You test voltages, continuity, etc with it.

 

[superkat]

yup, that's the one!

 

[NirvanaFan]

You could always take the bulbs to a good fish store also. They may let you throw them in a fixture or test them some other way to see if it's the bulbs or something else.

 

[Capt_Cully]

OK, new bulbs installed, still no light. I'm guessing it's the ballast. Wiggled wires, checked the bulb sockets, nothing. Why did I do this on a Sunday when Sunlight Supply is closed????