old ballast burns starters?

Did you also replace the lamp?

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

Repair | Main Table of Contents:

+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: | Mirror Sites:

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

yes. They were matched by the guy at the hardware store. The lamp is

32 W and is, I think, T9. I can pull it down and look if that's crucial. I just put in a new starter, and everything works fine so far.

(Except... the fixture is not grounded, and never was. It does take several tries to start. I saw that the FAQ says that the extra capacitance from grounding is helpful on starting.) Thanks.

snipped-for-privacy@hotpop.com ha escrito:

had this problem last year. 20 year old unit. became flickery, as if the tube were old or the starter bad... it would work ok initially, then despite changing the tube and the starter for new, would soon be back to its old ways. Changing the ballast cured that problem in my case. I did note that it was unhealthily hotter after only short use, probably a sign of some internal breakdown ?

-B.

It is possible to have a defective ballast burn a starter. The new generation of ballasts should be fully electronic, and not require the old fashioned ballast. Check the wiring diagram and instructions that goes with your ballast.

If you change the ballast and the lamp, they are properly wired, and they are properly matched, there should not be any problem.

Check to see that all the wiring was done correctly. Check to make sure that the ballast is for the AC mains voltage in in your area.

--

JANA _____

Would an old ballast have any telltale signs if it is malfunctioning? Would it have that burnt smell itself? Thanks.

The light stopped working, so I replaced the ballast. No difference. So I opened the old and new starter cans (both are FS12) and both looked and smelled burnt. I don't know if the new starter was defective when I bought it, but it did provide a really slow start.

With a starter, that isn't critical. If the fixture behaves normally, I kind of doubt that the ballast is bad.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ:

Repair | Main Table of Contents:

+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: | Mirror Sites:

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

Sure, usually it just blows out the lamp though. The ballast windings break down and short out. They can overheat and stink but usually the small ones have no physical signs of damage.

I assume you mean coiled ballast, like a long transformer. I see no reason why a ballast might burn starters: The ballast is connected to the mains and in series with: the first end of the first filament, the starter connected between the other end and the second filament, the end of the second filament which returns to the mains. Either a wong tube is used (dia 26 inst. of dia 38 very old fashioned but still used, or vice versa) or wrong tube power in case the tube isn't mounted in an OEM fixture. In addition, a starter must fit the tube power. Check the markings.

"JANA" a écrit dans le message news: snipped-for-privacy@uni-berlin.de...

with

that

ERB-

The problem with lack of ground applies to newer "self starting" lights that do not use conventional starters. The starterless lights may work when you first install them, but they won't start reliably after they've been used a short while with ungrounded wiring.

I've used the older types with starters for many years in an old house without grounded wiring. I've found that they continue to start and work up to the point where their ends are quite black. The starter may need to be changed every few years. If yours burned out starters frequently, you most likely corrected the problem by changing all the components!

Fred