MH Ballast/Bulb Question

[Caribbean Soul]

I just bought this ballast from Hellolights.

Universal
M-57 Ballast
M175MLTAC3M

When I got it, I wired it per instructions on ballast. (The wiring diagram that came with it didn't match the wire colors.) I tried to fire an Aqualine AB 10k bulb, but it would only fire briefly and then go out. Hellolights suggested that I had a bad bulb, but supposedly the bulb I had was brand new (bought privately) and doesn't show any signs of being used. I tried a different make bulb with the same results.

Is it possible that the circuit I was plugged into was too heavily used to fire the bulb? I think I read that somewhere.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Tom

 

[ChrisRD]

If the circuit was overloaded the breaker should have popped.

What was the other lamp you tried?

 

[Caribbean Soul]

Thanks, Chris.

Not overloaded exactly, just not able to provide enough current. Is that even possible?

I'm not sure about the other bulb, I couldn't find any markings on it. I've had it for awhile. All I'm sure of is that it's 175w. I'd buy a new bulb, but don't want to spend the money if I don't have to. The person I bought the AB from assured me it was new.

 

[Len]

If it's happening with different bulbs and not popping your circuit breaker, i think the ballast is bad (perhaps a faulting winding). M57 ballasts require a starting cap, so make sure you have one and it is wired properly. A bad cap could also be the cause of the problem.

You also might want to keep the bulb/ballast/cap combintion plugged in for a while and see if works after a couple of hours. I'd make sure to be around the unit "just in case" A GFCI circuit protection is also a good idea. Sometimes brand new caps and ballasts require some time to store up energy.

 

[Len]

BTW, it really doesn't matter which ballast wire lead connects to which wire lead of the mogul socket. The hot and neutral wires can be inverted without any problem. However, the hot wire lead from the ballast has to go through the firing capacitor (if memory serves me correctly) before it is connected to a mogul socket lead. If you connected the neutral wire lead to the cap, that might be causing the problems you're seeing.