ballast problems - help

[chevytrks]

i purchased 3 workhorse 5 ballast
they came prewired with 4 pin connectors (straight)
i was told they can do 96 watt pc's
well i hooked them up with 96 watt 50/50's
they come on for a short time then they go real dim
they pop back on bright intermittantly for short periods
at first i thought maybe they are too close together
so now i have all 3 ballast spaced over a foot apart, but still the same thing
the cords that go into the wall all have 3 prongs
if it were just one ballast i would think it was bad, but all 3 doing same thing ?

 

[s/g5588]

I bought the same ballasts . Did you make sure the bulbs are not the problem. Do you have the straight pin bulbs or do you have the square pin bulbs? If you have any other pc bulbs try them on the ballasts first. I have seen a lot of bad bulbs lately.

 

[chevytrks]

thanks for reply
i tried all 3 bulbs in all 3 ballasts
same problem all the way around

 

[s/g5588]

Do you have any other ballasts to try the bulbs in? Or do you have any bulbs that you for sure know that work. I tried bulbs from another fixture that I knew that worked in the ballasts that I bought and their was no problem. Give that a try and let me know if that works.

 

[chevytrks]

only other pc ballast or bulbs i have are 36 watt actinics for my reef tank
will those cross to try? or will i overload the actinics?

 

[s/g5588]

I only had some 24 watt pc that I knew were good so thats what I used to try in the ballasts. I would not try any higher watt bulbs in any ballast that is not rated for. If your ballasts are only rated for 36 watt I would not try anything higher than that , but you can try the 36 watt bulbs on the new ballasts that you bought.

 

[chevytrks]

ill try that tonight after the light cycle and see what happens

 

[s/g5588]

Did you try the lights?

 

[chevytrks]

yea,
I pulled a 36 watt actinic from my reef and tried it for 5 minutes on 2 of the 3 ballasts and it stayed lit for all 5 minutes each
guess i got 3 bad bulbs

 

[s/g5588]

Did you buy the bulbs local or from some where else? Hoplefully you can return them.

 

[chevytrks]

got them on-line from petsupply liquidator
he already told me he would replace them
thanks for help
ill let you know when i get new bulbs if they solve problem