Can a Metal Halide ballast blow a bulb?

[troublemaker]

I had something strange take place which led to a ballast and bulb going bad at the same time. As unusual as this timing would be, it's what happened.

Can one going bad cause the other to also? Both are only about a month old. I had to go buy a new ballast and a couple bulbs to prove it all out, but at this point we are sure both are bad.

 

[motortrendz]

The ballast could be spiking the bulb.

 

[troublemaker]

That's kind of what I was thinking, but my knowledge of the equipment cause and effect is a little over my head. Thanks

 

[motortrendz]

It's been a while for me, haven't had a mh running in quite some time. But I believe they had igniters to fire the bulb off to start them up it's possible internally the ballast has a short casuing a spike in amperage to bulb blowing the bulb. Could be a number of things. But makes sense that the ballast would cause a bulb failure not so much the other way around.

 

[troublemaker]

Thanks for the information. It’s been along time for me as well, just switching back over from LEDs after several years.

 

[greekspec2]

curious what brand ballast and bulb

 

[troublemaker]

Icecap ballast
Giesemann 250w SE

Im not even sure where to start on getting this ballast fixed.

 

[jda]

I have only seen this with bulbs fired with too much power (175w bulb on 400w ballast), really old bulb (like 3-4 years or more) or just a bad bulb. If it is chronic, then your ballast could be bad. If it just happened once, then maybe a defective bulb.

I suppose that an electrical surge from a dying ballast could do this.

 

[troublemaker]

Whatever happened only happened once. The Halide wasn’t turning on. I purchased another ballast and two more bulbs just to prove exactly was going on. The old ballast won’t fire any of the bulbs, the new ballast will only fire the two new bulbs, so I can only assume the ballast and bulb are bad, I just can’t figure out what caused what or why.

 

[jda]

Electronic ballasts do fail... they are electronics. It was probably just your turn. I would not sweat it too much. If it was a real vintage IceCap, then it was probably quite old.

 

[Backreefing]

It’s possible but not likely the bulb shorted internally. Failing the ballast to . Not likely. Check the old bulb very closely.

 

[troublemaker]

Electronic ballasts do fail... they are electronics. It was probably just your turn. I would not sweat it too much. If it was a real vintage IceCap, then it was probably quite old.

It was this model.

IceCap LuXcore 250W-400W Selectable Wattage Metal Halide Electronic Ballast - AquaCave.com

CoralVue LuXcore 250W-400W Selectable Wattage Metal Halide Electronic Ballast. LuXcore digital electronic ballasts are the most advanced lighting solution for modern reef keeper. These UL approved selectable ballast offer the hobbyist the luxury of switching between lamp wattage and drive modes...

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