Bulbs won't fire - 36" Hybrid

[Dugless]

I'm swapping bulbs out for the year and I'm having a bank of 2 bulbs that won't fire. They flash but won't ignite completely. This happened to me on the same bank last year, but I eventually got it to light after trying many times. Any ideas what is going on here and how I can resolve it?

 

[lyscer]

Sounds like a bad ballast

 

[DeniseAndy]

Could be wiring too. Had both problems before. You will have to check both to find the answer. Good luck!

 

[ATI North America]

Its a bad bulb. It may improve/work fine once it is burned in after the first 50 hours of use if you can get it to ignite.
Id recommend following this process even though its for Sunpower:

Cheers

 

[Dugless]

It’s not a bulb, I’ve tried swapping and it sticks with the same bank of sockets. Now what?

 

[ATI North America]

Its highly unlikely to be the ballast (not impossible, but very very unlikely). I suspect depending on the age of the fixture its a poor connection with the lamp holder due to corrosion. Try either wiggling the bulb over and over to wear off the corrosion, remove the lamp holders and clean them or replace them.

Ballasts almost always either work or fail, they don't blink. This is a connection/bulb issue.

 

[Dugless]

Its highly unlikely to be the ballast (not impossible, but very very unlikely). I suspect depending on the age of the fixture its a poor connection with the lamp holder due to corrosion. Try either wiggling the bulb over and over to wear off the corrosion, remove the lamp holders and clean them or replace them.

Ballasts almost always either work or fail, they don't blink. This is a connection/bulb issue.

Should I be cleaning/abrading the insides of the copper looking clips?

 

[ATI North America]

yes, the contacts inside the lamp holder. Are they green and white? They should be shiny copper.

 

[Dugless]

yes, the contacts inside the lamp holder. Are they green and white? They should be shiny copper.

They look clean to me, but I’ll try cleaning them. Would it help to bend them in at all maybe, or is that not an issue if the compression isn’t tight enough?

 

[Dugless]

I don’t know that they can get any cleaner. I’m also not sure it looks any different from before. I’ve tried rotating the bulbs 100x+ to no avail. What is the next step?

 

[ATI North America]

Could be wiring too. Had both problems before. You will have to check both to find the answer. Good luck!

Sounds like it is either this, or the rare time a ballast tries, but fails to work correctly. I would start by tugging on each wire coming out of the lamp holder. As previously stated it sounds like a poor connection, usually this is the lamp holders but DeniseAndy makes a valid point that wiring will also cause this. Since its a repeat issue it makes me feel this may indeed be the case. If the lamp holder wires are secure, I would recommend opening the fixture and checking the wires at the ballast. If that still doesnt work you can swap the ballasts and test the ballast in another spot, or simply replace it.

 

[Dugless]

Should I start by taking end plates off, or can I access the wires by unscrewing the socket from the reflector?

 

[ATI North America]

If I was doing it I would remove the end plate instead. Less screws and you don't even have to remove the bulbs or the lamp holders, just take the end plate off and give each wire a tug using the fixture to hold the lamp holder for you.

 

[Dugless]

Any ideas what bit I need to remove these? My T10 bit is still too big for them.

 

[Dugless]

Looks like the end plate screws are Torx T8. I removed both plates and even loosened the socket set screws to slide out the sockets to ensure the wires weren’t loose. Reassembled to have the same blink and no firing issue. Starting to get a bit frustrated with this on A 3yr old fixture. What’s the next step?

 

[ATI North America]

It could still be an issue with corrosion on the wire however on the ballast side, or the ballast itself. I would recommend purchasing a ballast and while doing the install check the wiring, if you find a loose wire it is likely the issue not the ballast. If however all the wires are seated firmly in place I would replace the ballast.
You can see how to do the ballast here.
** Please be sure and remove the cover from the new ballast, as well as clean the channel to allow it to fit much easier **
(video is for T5 only Powermodule, but the process is the same for the LED Powermodule)

 

[Dugless]

Is there a spec or model number for the ballast? Can I source this locally?

 

[ATI North America]

It is a H.E.P. HO 24/39w Dimmable T5 ballast. Not sure if you can find it locally.

ATI T5 Replacement Ballasts

ATI T5 Replacement Ballasts

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