I need help with my lights

[flower]

Here is my situation. I have 2 X 175w Metal Halide Coralife Elite. When I got my lights new…one side of my lights(Right side) would not work. I plugged that side of the light into the other ballast and it fired right up.
So I called and got a replacement. The new ballast didn’t fit the plug right, it wiggled, I had to make sure it was just right for it to fire up, it made a buzzing noise at first but stopped and worked fine, it worked so I kept it.
That was March 18[sup]th 2010. Fast forward to Oct 3rd[/sup] 2010…my lamp will not fire at all. Same side as the one I replaced originally (right side). I plug it to the other ballast and it works fine..HOWEVER only if the ballast is warm, if the ballast is cold it will not fire from it. I have to plug in the left side and after it is warmed up the right side will fire up.
I received a replacement yesterday. I plugged it in and it fired right up…I thought all was well. It got very hot, much hotter than the one on the left, but it worked so I assumed everything is still good..Until this morning, now it won’t fire at all and once again after I get the ballast warm that lamp will fire right up from the left only. Can it be another bad ballast??? Is there somthing wrong with the light that it eats ballasts?
Any ideas of what is going on?

 

[bang guy]

{Bang crosses Coralife off the list of lights to purchase}
I've never experienced anything like that. I wish I had some better advice for you

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316437
{Bang crosses Coralife off the list of lights to purchase}
I've never experienced anything like that. I wish I had some better advice for you
Agree with the coralife statement.
I am too new to have any real advice, but from what i have seen and based on my lights alone, T5HOs, the ballast appears to be some kind of capacitor or amplifier due to the heat sink on it. With electronics, things that dont work well until warm are usually capacitors or have some kind of capacitating function. but capcaitors dont need a heat sink as they dont generate much heat. Amplifiers do generate heat, but the way the ballast in my lights are, that heatsink doesnt look like it is supposed to disipate heat, but rather collect it. So an amplifier is out.
When electronics get warm/hot really fast when they are not supposed to is a tell tale sign that there is a wiring problem somewhere. I hate to ask, but are you sure you plugged it in correctly? It probably fried itself yesterday and that is why its not working today.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316466
Agree with the coralife statement.
I am too new to have any real advice, but from what i have seen and based on my lights alone, T5HOs, the ballast appears to be some kind of capacitor or amplifier due to the heat sink on it. With electronics, things that dont work well until warm are usually capacitors or have some kind of capacitating function. but capcaitors dont need a heat sink as they dont generate much heat. Amplifiers do generate heat, but the way the ballast in my lights are, that heatsink doesnt look like it is supposed to disipate heat, but rather collect it. So an amplifier is out.
When electronics get warm/hot really fast when they are not supposed to is a tell tale sign that there is a wiring problem somewhere. I hate to ask, but are you sure you plugged it in correctly? It probably fried itself yesterday and that is why its not working today.

It is a plug with three prongs on the lights and a socket with three holes on the ballast..

I am not smart on stuff like this...but I can plug a light in...LOL I am thinking there is a short in the lights.

 

[meowzer]

MAN...I am sorry about this Flower....Hate to ask you, but have you called the company back??

 

[flower]

The light is under warranty, Thank goodness, they were purchased on 3/15/2010…. I’m e-mailing all my problems to a nice lady in tech support. I think it must be a short in the light on the right side, but at least it decided to act up while I can do something about it. Nothing normal ever seems to happen to me when it comes to stuff like this…It’s always some strange occurrence nobody ever experienced before.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316482

The light is under warranty, Thank goodness, they were purchased on 3/15/2010…. I’m e-mailing all my problems to a nice lady in tech support. I think it must be a short in the light on the right side, but at least it decided to act up while I can do something about it. Nothing normal ever seems to happen to me when it comes to stuff like this…It’s always some strange occurrence nobody ever experienced before.
LOL...that sounds like my story....you have read a lot of my posts...
Glad to hear it is warranteed though.....maybe you will just get a whole new set

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316483
LOL...that sounds like my story....you have read a lot of my posts...
Glad to hear it is warranteed though.....maybe you will just get a whole new set

Then I hope and pray they pay for the shipping...this thing weighs at least 30 pounds. I would have them send me another, then ship it back in the box the new one came in. Something that costs that much, I doubt they will replace ..they will most likely want me to ship it and have them fix it..my corals will die if they do that.
I am so stressed about this right now. Would you believe the other side just out of the blue decided to fire up...both sides are on right now. It has to be a short. Yet the left side would not fire on that ballast earlier...maybe I didn't give the bulb enough time to cool.

 

[smartorl]

Shipping can be a bear! I used my warranty to get mine repaired after having a few problems. Between the shipping back to them and then for them to ship me a new light, I could have almost bought a new one.
Stupid question because I don't know the technical names of things (ignorance is bliss until you have a problem) are both lights powerer by the same booster box thingamajig? With mine, it was the box that was bad, it ate the ballasts. Knowing that could have saved me alot of money, time, and frustration.

 

[2quills]

The fact that you said you heard a buzzing sound when you plugged in the second ballast that they first sent you might be the key. A loose or bad connection could have created excessive heat causing either one of the connections to fail or a wire to overheat and short out somewhere. I'd give to ends of the cord a good inspectioin and see if you notice any charring or burnt smell. In the mean time I'd advise against plugging the other ballast into that side of the fixture again just to be safe from burning that one up as well.
Either way it's good that it's under warranty. If they give you any problems just tell them how you plan to tell all of your friends on your favorite forum site how crapy their equipment is...that should help get them in the mood to just go ahead and replace your fixture for you.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316496
The fact that you said you heard a buzzing sound when you plugged in the second ballast that they first sent you might be the key. A loose or bad connection could have created excessive heat causing either one of the connections to fail or a wire to overheat and short out somewhere. I'd give to ends of the cord a good inspectioin and see if you notice any charring or burnt smell. In the mean time I'd advise against plugging the other ballast into that side of the fixture again just to be safe from burning that one up as well.
Either way it's good that it's under warranty. If they give you any problems just tell them how you plan to tell all of your friends on your favorite forum site how crapy their equipment is...that should help get them in the mood to just go ahead and replace your fixture for you.

I switched the lights, the right one is now on the old ballast…not hot and is still working fine..I just checked after what you posted. If the right side had a short or bad connection wouldn’t the old ballast now be running hot?

The other left side light is plugged into the new ballast..the ballast is very hot to the touch but the lights are both on. The ballast wasn’t burnt up, my lamp must not of cooled enough to fire when I first switched them.
Something is still wrong because the right side lights will not fire from a cold ballast no matter what. I have to run the left side of the lights and get the ballast warmed up..THEN plug in the right side and it will fire up.
I explained everything in detail to the lady in tech support at the coralife office (they changed their name or sold out) …I’m waiting to see what she wants to do. What a pain in the butt.

 

[2quills]

Probably not a short then...that's one of those things id have to get my hands on to trouble shoot. Perhaps SCSInet will show up...that guy has probably forgotten more about lighting than I'll ever know lol.

 

[monsinour]

buzzing or clicking?
Relays click and they might not move so fast if they are cold. But a buzzing sounds more like a electronflow problem. Like there is something stuck in the straw that the electrons are trying to get through.
Just curious, how many watts are the lights plugged into this problematic ballast?
And on this problematic ballast, is there a sticker that says how many watts it produces? Is there a sticker that says how many AMPs it draws? Something like:
60Hz 200w 120V 1.5mA?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316560
buzzing or clicking?
Relays click and they might not move so fast if they are cold. But a buzzing sounds more like a electronflow problem. Like there is something stuck in the straw that the electrons are trying to get through.
Just curious, how many watts are the lights plugged into this problematic ballast?
And on this problematic ballast, is there a sticker that says how many watts it produces? Is there a sticker that says how many AMPs it draws? Something like:
60Hz 200w 120V 1.5mA?

The MH lights are 2 X 175w w/actinic 2 X 96w
There is one side of the MH lights = 1 (each bulb gets it's own ballast, the actinic are on their own cord and do not go on a ballast but plug into the wall outlet.)
The fans are on their own cord and plug into a wall outlet as well.
It is a 175w ballast, the Ballast brand is... Aqualight Coralife Elite series
120v 60Hz and 1.8A

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316579

The MH lights are 2 X 175w w/actinic 2 X 96w
There is one side of the MH lights = 1 (each bulb gets it's own ballast, the actinic are on their own cord and do not go on a ballast but plug into the wall outlet.)
The fans are on their own cord and plug into a wall outlet as well.
It is a 175w ballast, the Ballast brand is... Aqualight Coralife Elite series
120v 60Hz and 1.8A
So each MH has its own ballast?
How many things are plugged into that circut? Do you know what amps that circut is rated for?
1.8 amps is an awful lot of amps. Dont mess with that on your own, it could kill you, even when not plugged in.

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316603
Dont mess with that on your own, it could kill you, even when not plugged in.
How is that?????

 

[2quills]

Are these ballasts pulse start or probe start? Is the recent one they sent you the same as the one that is working?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316603
So each MH has its own ballast?
How many things are plugged into that circut? Do you know what amps that circut is rated for?
1.8 amps is an awful lot of amps. Dont mess with that on your own, it could kill you, even when not plugged in.

I have GFCI outlets, 4 on each base, I have 4 of those 2 on each side of the tank, one upper and one lower ...They are on their own circuit to the box. For now anyway, I have each ballast plugged together on one of those outlets...I had them on a Master controller made also by Coralife to regulate the lights when to come on and such. With all the... turn them on, turn them off manually, I don't have the master controller even hooked up.
LOL...Your funny...me mess with electricity...No, I don't know what amps even are

...My electrician, that I had do the work used a #12 wire I believe when he installed the outlets...fishing it through conduit..I think that's what it's called. It is all part of the household lines to the circuit breaker box.
I had the same problem with the lights and ballasts on the master controller and the wall outlets.

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316609
How is that?????
It takes .5 amps to stop or start your heart. That thing is more than enough to make you say it and then do it and not be around to listen to your mom say,"I told her to wear clean underwear just incase this happens."
Here comes the electricity lesson, someone correct me if I am wrong, but GL finding the mistakes.
Electricity is all about electrons moving throught the shortest path to where they want to go, the ground. There are many different measurements used with electricity. Volts, Amps, Watts, and Hertz. We are all familar with Volts as we, here in the states, all have 120 volt systems in our house and quite possibly 220 systems for the oven and dryer. Watts, like the lights over our tanks is a unit of measure of how much work electricity will do. More work, more watts. Amps is how much current is behind those watts. Even the smallest person on the planet could move a mountain and that would be like a million watt job. Swap out that small fry with some muscle bound roid taker baseball player and that mountain would move a heck of a lot faster. Its still a million watt job, but the small fry would be like .5 amps where the roid taker would be like 20 amps. Better example would be your hair dryer. I have a hair dryer listed all over it as a 1500 watt hair dryer. Its not like i can plug that into my speakers and get some jamming tunes. Hertz is just the rate that the electrons flow forward and back over AC (Alternating Current). We use 60 hertz here in the states as the standard. Basically its like a wave in the ocean with the top of the wave the crest and the bottom of the wave the sign. 60 herts means there are 60 waves travelling through your wires over 1 second.
SO, how can something thats not even plugged in kill you? There are capacitors in that ballast. Capacitors can be thought of as big batteries. They are there to store up a really large charge and release it on demand. Since that thing pulls 1.8 amps, it has to deliver that much to the lights to make it work. This also means that the capacitors inside the unit can deliver that much current and have that much current stored ready to go. If you open up the ballast with it not plugged in and touch the wrong spot, bzzzt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316614
Are these ballasts pulse start or probe start? Is the recent one they sent you the same as the one that is working?
Care to explain the difference to me so I have a better understanding?
Quote:
block">
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/380961/i-need-help-with-my-lights#post_3316615

I have GFCI outlets, 4 on each base, I have 4 of those 2 on each side of the tank, one upper and one lower ...They are on their own circuit to the box. For now anyway, I have each ballast plugged together on one of those outlets...I had them on a Master controller made also by Coralife to regulate the lights when to come on and such. With all the... turn them on, turn them off manually, I don't have the master controller even hooked up.
LOL...Your funny...me mess with electricity...No, I don't know what amps even are

...My electrician, that I had do the work used a #12 wire I believe when he installed the outlets...fishing it through conduit..I think that's what it's called. It is all part of the household lines to the circuit breaker box.
I had the same problem with the lights and ballasts on the master controller and the wall outlets.
If you have the time, it might be wise to count up all the amps in use on that circut and find out what the breaker will blow at, 15 or 20 amps. If you have say 13.8 amps on a 15 amp circut, you could be stressing the circut when you first power something on or turn something off with what is called a brownout. Its not a power loss per say, but there is a degridation of electicity and devices that are sensitive to this degridation, PCs and TVs and other sophisticated electronics, could have problems down the line.
Whats a brownout? Ever been sitting in your chair watching TV with the light on next to you? Then your refridgerator's compressor turns on to keep the stuff inside cold. You notice that the light next to you gets darker for a split second and then goes back to normal. That "darker" period in time is a brownout. These brownouts can cause problems to sophisticated electronic devices. Not sure how complicated the ballasts are, but I would imagine that if there were enough brownouts, it could cause a problem for it.

 

[flower]

Okay the ballasts are all the same, everyone of them the same brand and everything. I don't know what trips the breaker but it can handle allot before it blows...the GFCI outlet will trip before the breaker does.Those outlets are to run my tank nothing else is on them, they have their own breaker in the box.
The canister filters however are on the original lines behind the tank and are not on that breaker.
On that line...not running all at once

• 
  6 power heads (2 small)
• 
  2 MH ballasts 2 X 175w (daytime only)
• 
  2 X 96w actinic lights (daytime only)
• 
  48 inch moonlite LED strip (lights out only)
• 
  400w titanium heater (not needed, so not plugged in right now)
  A pump to run the skimmer
  ATO unit
  Pump for ATO top off water hose (when needed, run a moment and then shuts off)
  Pump for water change hose (when doing a water change only)
  2 fans (when day lights run only)