Halide bulb wont stay lit

[Ynotme4886]

Have a 150 bulb in my 6 ft fixture that wont stay lit.....fires up and fully illuminates and then it goes out after about 10-15mins.

Its weird.....makes no noise....no flickering....just all of a sudden the bulb goes out

Before I rip the fixture apart should I be thinking its a ballast issue or a bulb issue....has done it 2x today already. Bulbs are new and ballasts are a few years old.

Everything is built into the fixture so its not a simple thing to swap out a ballast



Other bulbs are fine.

[PaulErik]

What fixture is it? What ballast is used? What lamp is used? More information will help determine what could possibly be going on.

The most common problem with any DE (Double-Ended) setup could be a poor lamp connection with the socket/s. Check the lamp socket/s and lamp bases for discoloration. This would indicate a poor connection. During operation the heat produced can cause a poor connection between the lamp and socket if the lamp is not properly or tightly fitted into the socket.

[gaucho30]

I am assuming that these bulbs have been used for a while and are not brand new? If they are new there is a "burn in" time of around 100 hours or so where bulbs will often not stay lit.

[Rrrf_Grrl]

ITA w/ PaulErik - esp more info needed

no way dude @ gaucho30

[Ynotme4886]

here is the added info

outer orbit 72" 3 -150w halides with 8 39w t-5's

The 2 outer lamp ballasts are the stock fixture ballasts and the center ballast has been replaced with a new icecap 150w ballast and a new socket. The end bulb located on the opposite side of the switches is the bulb acting up.

Here was what the center ballast looked like when I replaced it a few weeks ago.
http://209.85.12.227/6914/31/upload/p1923109.jpg
They are build in the fixture and are made by sunpark I believe. I visually inspected the remaining 2 ballasts and they looked fine. No noise or hum or marks on their cases and their bulbs had always fired fine until today


I do have 2 new ballasts and sockets to replace the current stock ballasts but havent had time to rip apart the whole fixture to swap them out yet.

The bulbs are less than a month old and are icecap 20k's

[Ynotme4886]

bump looking for a bit of advice

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15260338#post15260338 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ynotme4886
bump looking for a bit of advice

Very simple to narrow this down ...

Take one of the bulbs that stays lit and swap it with the bulb that doesnt stay lit and vice versa.
If the bulb that was shutting off still extinguishes in the new position and the bulb you replaced it with stays lit, then you know it is a bulb issue.

If the bulb you moved to the questionable position now extinguishes and the questional bulb now stays lit in the new position, then it is a socket or poor contact/connection issue or a ballast issue.

[Ynotme4886]

did that this morning...waiting to see what happens.

swapped the middle bulb with the end bulb this morning.

Halides just lit so we shall see if they all stay lit.

[Ynotme4886]

well the same socket went out again so it is either the ballast or the socket.

Guess I know what I am doing tomorrow after work

[PaulErik]

The old ballast appears it was damaged by excessive heat. Most electronic ballasts have a thermal switch to protect the ballast. It could be the ballast is getting too hot and powering off. Check the ballast and the socket.

[Ynotme4886]

Its got 4 internal fans that all work and this ballast is on the end with a big vent next to it.....its about 3-4 years old so maybe it has seen its day and needs to be replaced.

After what the middle one looked like (pic above) I bought 2 extra ballasts and sockets just in case I needed to replace them.

Wish the fixture was a 250w unit instead of the 150w but only paid $300 for it used so even replacing all the ballasts would still be half the price of buying a new one.

[Ynotme4886]

Swapped out the remaining 2 stock ballasts and sockets this morning

Replaced them all with Icecaps ballasts and sockets.

Fired it up outside and everything lit up...waiting for them to come on for the day to see if they all stay lit