Ballast fried?

bmeeder

bmeeder

Member
Four days ago I spilt some water and it got into the ballast of my 250w halide. There was a "poof" sound that followed and the light turned off. Now it won't turn back on. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
bmeeder

bmeeder

Member
No, there are power compacts in the same fixure but they run through a different socket and work. The halides will not turn on however.
 
rickross23

rickross23

Active Member
Did you unplug the fixture and let it sit for a while and then plug it in? Do you have corals? How old are the bulbs?
 
bmeeder

bmeeder

Member
Yes, I let it sit for a two days and tried it. Tried it again today. I took the cover off today and air dusted some dog hair out and wiped alittle salt where I saw it but still won't work. No corals, just a tank with live rock and sand that I am breaking down and getting rid of. Focusing more on my main tank. Without the halide might be harder to sell even though a replacement ballast would be needed.
I think the light is about 7 months old.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
You say the ballast???? Is it an internal ballast or external? I know my external ballast had a fuse....have you checked to see if that blew?
what exact make of light is this?
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
I'm assuming the ballast is external since he stated the water was spilled on the ballast not the fixture itself, and the mere fact he said he heard a "poof" is pretty good indication it's the ballast that got fried. Any 250W MH ballast can take it's place.....DE or SE bulb fixture.....
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
There are quite a few people here that actually know a lot about DIY lights.....and electric stuff
I would wait for one of them to chime in......I also would post some pictures of the unit itself
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
If it's a DIY fixture the ballast can be swapped out with any 250W ballast....Not much to it and not much to look at......Simple swap
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Several options.... If your looking for a cheap replacement google ARO ballasts, they are reasonable. IceCap is another althought the company is out of business a very reputable ballast, and there are other good electronic ballasts out there as well. Depends what you want to spend as well.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
A simple voltage test on the ballast itself could tell you whether it's fried or not. Maybe just fried a contact instead.
 
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