Need help with a light problem

[stealthybob]

Hi everyone,

I've got a problem with my Sun Systems 150 HPS Lamp. Most of the time it's fine but every once in a while it goes off for a short time and then goes back on.

At first I thought it might be that the bulb was faulty or that there was a loose connection but when it's gone off I've tried with another bulb and that didn't work either.

There is power going to the lamp as there is a green on/off switch which is still lit. Nothing I try seems to work besides waiting a few minutes for it to turn itself on.

It's happened a least four times this week that I know of, but it never seems to be for more than a few minutes. My biggest concern is that is stresses the plants out or messes with their Veg/flower schedule.

 

[darksith]

your lamp is cycling they call it. It is almost always a bad lamp when that starts to happen...but it can also be a bad capacitor/ignitor/starter. Are you running a digi ballast or a mag ballast? Either way its probably cheaper to simply go buy a new one. I replace the entire thing when thats the problem I encounter at work. You maybe able to find one online, but Im not sure. What I would do though to prove its the ballast and not the lamp is...unplug the ballast, change the lamp, wait a minute or so, plug the ballast back in and sit and have a beer and watch it. If its a digi ballast then you will need to unplug it b4 you change the bulb for it to work no matter what, and give it 5 minutes before plugging it back in.

To your unknowing it is probably turning off every hour or so, and repeating. Get it fixed asap.

 

[stealthybob]

thanks for the reply darksith,

you sound like you know what your talking about, but I hope you're wrong because I really don't want to have to replace it as I'm totally skint.

I've aimed a small fan at the lamp to take some heat of it - as a few people have suggested it might be overheating.

I'm keeping it under close observation for the next couple of days, so hopefully whatever it was has stopped.

 

[stealthybob]

I've just had a thought. Could the transformer I'm using be faulty?

 

[Bretonston]

i hope it wasnt over heating that a bad signs if a 150 watt ballast its too hot...

 

[darksith]

I've just had a thought. Could the transformer I'm using be faulty?

why r u using a transformer? Did you try to fix your problem following my instructions above? Give me the info on the gear you are running and I can probably help you fix it cheaper than replacing it.

 

[stealthybob]

Hi darksith,

The Lamp I have is this one:

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/g.../91592-review-sun-system-150w-hps-system.html

It's plugged into this because it's from the US and I'm in the UK:

http://www.watt-power.co.uk/catalogue/1000va-step-down-transformer-voltage-converter-p-628.html

my friend has the same set up and both my bulbs work in his lamp. In mine one works most of the time but cuts out once or twice a day, and the other just glows dimly and never fully ignites.

 

[OrganicMonkey]

It's not going to stress the plant, unless the light kicks on during flowering. That would be very bad, to have a light turn itself on for a couple of minutes every night. I'd be worried about some bad wires inside, maybe it's shorting out or just bare. Perhaps it's your power having issues, you didn't mention if other devices are going out as well. Sometimes the power is being worked on or some other error, it occurs from time to time.

 

[darksith]

ok so its a mag ballast, which will mean you need to do 1 of 2 things. First you must test your transformer. The easiest way to do this is take it to your friends house, or take your light there and use his. I suspect that it won't be the problem though, and that you have a bad capacitor. You should be able to replace the capacitor very cheaply. If you can prove its the light and not the transformer then you need to open the light up, remove the capacitor (it will be plastic usually, round in shape, small and light, the ballast is heavy and metal) on the capacitor there will be a bunch of info. mF rating is the main info you need, but voltage and amps also. Anyway find the same capacitor online and order it up. Done deal.

 

[coconaut]

Since you've tried another bulb and had the same results I would too tend to think the capacitor is failing.
Inside a HPS ballast you will find three things;
-First, a transformer coil. This is a magnet wrapped in wire, it's the heaviest piece in your ballast and easy to identify.
-The second and third piece are your capacitor and your ignitor. Both of these may be cylindrical in shape and appear similar. Generally the capacitor will be the larger of the two but I wouldn't only trust that. Look for information on the outside of each, ignitors usually don't have much or anything written on them. The capacitor should have voltage and mF information, that would the info you need if you're going look for a replacement part online.

KEEP READING - If you're thinking of opening your ballast and removing the capacitor, USE CAUTION, capacitors hold a charge even if the HPS unit isn't plugged in. Capacitors are used in tazers to shock the crap out of you. You don't want this.
All your have to do to remove the charge is touch the two leads together. Some capacitors have metal contacts on top making it easy, others only have wires coming out of them, meaning you have to take the wire caps off first, just a little more cumbersome.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Good info from coconaut. Be sure to use an insulated tool handle before discharging the cap. You can buy a spare cap and ignitor according to the info on the original parts. Brand isn't key but the value and connection style is. When you get the spares, swap one at a time. Draw out the wiring configuration before you take off the potentially bad component and attach the replacement in the same fashion.

That reminds me, sometimes electrical problems are connector related. Before you buy the spares, check for potentially faulty connections and re-secure.

 

[darksith]

a cap can explode by shorting it out like that fyi. usually it won't, but when they go bang they really do damage. 99.9% of the time it won't explode, but at least look away when you do it

 

[BirdManFlyHigh]

Get a new Ballast

 

[stealthybob]

Ok, I've tried it with my mate's transformer and it's not the transformer. It hasn't cut out since I pointed a fan at it, so I tried it again without the fan and it cut out after a couple of hours.

I've opened it up and it looks like the transformer coil might be the problem. I can't find a capacitor - but I'm out of my depth here.

I've tried to upload some photos, so fingers crossed.

 

[stealthybob]

You can't see from the photo but the silver cylinder is labelled IGNITOR.

The covering around the coil is brown on one side. Looks a little burnt.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

If you're still interested in fixing it, I'd swap the ignitor. That's the only thing left because your model doesn't have a cap. It's remotely possible you have a crap socket or wiring but a close inspection should point that out. There should be enough info on the ignitor label to get a replacement. Here's an example, an ignitor for a 35 to 150-watt hps ballast. You'll need to check the specs and see if it's a direct replacement.

http://www.1000bulbs.com/43286/?utm...campaign=SmartFeedGoogleBase&site=google_base

I bet you could call/e-mail the manufacturer or distributor and get the specific brand and part number if there's not enough info on the can.

Ask the retailer if the color code is universal and be sure to get a replacement with the same number of leads.

 

[corradogang*]

why r u using a transformer? Did you try to fix your problem following my instructions above? Give me the info on the gear you are running and I can probably help you fix it cheaper than replacing it.

Untill you change one with same ratings and find it still does not work, as some brands are known to do this, and if you make a shit connection (proberley) you may pay a lot more a few years down the line, don't risk it, this is how people get caught

 

[darksith]

ok, so you have found the problem, it is heat related, which is wierd, I can't say I have seen this issue before. Your ignitor is also your cap, they are just 1 unit. The ballast looks fine, they always look a little like they are burnt, its the color of the insulating dip that they get treated with. If it is black and crispy (flakes right off) that is burnt, but from the pic it looks fine. Anyway...
so you point a fan at it and it works, so the airflow reduces the heat inside the fixture which solves the problem. I would email (you said you ordered it online?) the company you bought it from and get a new 1. I don't think it will be the cap/ignitor since they don't really have any parts that would be bothered by heat, so replacing that will just waste some cash IMO. Try to get a replacement, hopefully the shipping don't cost you too much. Why aren't you using one from your country? That would eliminate the transformer, there can't be that much of a price difference. Heat problems = just replace the thing asap...if you can't get a free replacement simply order new guts for the fixture (ballast and ignitor will come together) and replace that, it will be cheaper.

 

[stealthybob]

Ok, looks like i'm going to replace it then.

I can't find anyone in the UK that sells the model I want, and I could only find one place that would deliver to the UK. It's about £50 delivery.