What does it mean when my ballast crackles right before the light comes on?

[AmsterdamLiving]

Yeah it crackles... sometimes for a couple seconds. and sometimes it lasts as long as 10 seconds. Its been doing that for about 2 weeks. It's a regular magnetic ballast not a digital

 

[AmsterdamLiving]

is it the capacitator or the ignitor?

should I wait for it to quit working altogether?

Will it eventually catch on fire and burn my house down? Because that would suck and I would pretty much not want to live if that happened.

 

[cork144]

mine makes the same noise, i was also worried, but i have since secured the area, made sure everything is held tight (inside of a old pc power supply, with a 80mm fan) and it now makes alot less noise when firing up, only makes a tiny crackle now instead of a huge buzzzz.

 

[Lazyman]

Something is shorting or arcing, I would have it serviced or replace it with a digital...

 

[madpenguin]

Yes. Sounds like arcing due to a loose connection somewhere. Best not to ignore something like that. Something more than likely just needs to be tightened down. Would be my first guess anyway.

You can take the housing off and fire it up a few times. Just to be able to see where it's happening if it's dark enough.

 

[sparkjumper]

Thank you big penguin.I wouldnt worry about it until you let the smoke out of something but removing the ballastcover and powering up should alleviate any mystery afoot.Buy that bird a tuxedo!

 

[AmsterdamLiving]

haha spark! cork.... lazyman....madpenguin mad props. Thanks for the replies!!!!!!!! I knew Icmag would have the answer! I'm going to do that and report my findings at a not so later date.

 

[Sleepy]

like your other thread advised you...

like your other thread advised you...

Get rid of that thing or you'll be the next marijuana growing fire victim on the local news.

go to your nearest lighting supply store and get that thing replaced!

just replace the core; the other components seem fine.

Wow dude that is someditch it before you burn ya house down

I've seen some pretty fried ballasts but that one is one of the worst I've seen in a while. That got hot enough to melt and burn the coating on the copper wires and magnet, now that's some heat. Did you figure out what caused the meltdown?

I'm gonna be original, and tell ya to roll the dice.

Just kidding -- it's lucky that you noticed the arcing before you had a fire. Don't use that ballast ever again, even to test it. You don't want to be anywhere near arcing electricity.

That is fire waiting to happen, it is not worth the risk, replace it and be safe.

Throw that freaking thing out and start over with a brand new ballast.

You can get a Lumatek digital reall cheap...at my two local hydro shops they are cheaper than a magnetic ballast of the same wattage.

gadamn that's pretty gnarly. looks like it's time for a replacement no doubt.

hahah yah same here, it looks like its starting to leak to.

I'm no electrician but, if I saw that and heard the crackling you describe, I'd toss it out yesterday.

did you get a new one yet??

Get rid of that thing or you'll be the next marijuana growing fire victim on the local news.

go to your nearest lighting supply store and get that thing replaced!

just replace the core; the other components seem fine.

Wow dude that is someditch it before you burn ya house down

I've seen some pretty fried ballasts but that one is one of the worst I've seen in a while. That got hot enough to melt and burn the coating on the copper wires and magnet, now that's some heat. Did you figure out what caused the meltdown?

I'm gonna be original, and tell ya to roll the dice.

Just kidding -- it's lucky that you noticed the arcing before you had a fire. Don't use that ballast ever again, even to test it. You don't want to be anywhere near arcing electricity.

That is fire waiting to happen, it is not worth the risk, replace it and be safe.

Throw that freaking thing out and start over with a brand new ballast.

You can get a Lumatek digital reall cheap...at my two local hydro shops they are cheaper than a magnetic ballast of the same wattage.

gadamn that's pretty gnarly. looks like it's time for a replacement no doubt.

hahah yah same here, it looks like its starting to leak to.

I'm no electrician but, if I saw that and heard the crackling you describe, I'd toss it out yesterday.

did you replace it yet??


man, that looks brand new (not the charred parts).

return it for a replacement, or throw it out.

either way, i agree with the rest...DO NOT USE IT!!!

 

[sparkjumper]

Does it go snap before it crackles?Does it go pop after it crackles?These could all be signs of a cereal killer fixture,be safe and kill it first.

 

[cork144]

can i please clarify that mine was made via vibration, which is why holding it down stopped the noise, the ballast would clank inside of the case, there is a buzz when it fires up, but its the same as every other ballast ive heard.

 

[AmsterdamLiving]

it has been trashed