Can't fix light

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buddhakii

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Littleton, CO
I have a can light in a dentist office that is giving me fits. I replaced the ballast twice, checked voltage twice under load, replaced the socket assembly, so it is basically a brand new fixture. The ballast is a triad that runs 2 twin tube 4 pin 42watt lamps. The customer is not happy at all and any suggestions or criticism is welcomed. Thanks guys and gals.
 
buddhakii said:
I have a can light in a dentist office that is giving me fits. I replaced the ballast twice, checked voltage twice under load, replaced the socket assembly, so it is basically a brand new fixture. The ballast is a triad that runs 2 twin tube 4 pin 42watt lamps. The customer is not happy at all and any suggestions or criticism is welcomed. Thanks guys and gals.
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A little more info would be good. Flickering? Nothing at all, dimly lit.

Of course I am assuming you replaced the bulbs after the ballast was changed. An old ballast can weaken bulbs to the point where they wont start. Also, is the voltage the correct voltage on the ballast for the system it is installed in.
 
Along with Dennis good suggestions have you actually check for voltage hot to neutral at the ballast?

If you have been checking hot to ground maybe you have a lost neutral.
 
I did replace lamps as well. Even went as far as calling the supply house and confirmed proper lamps. The voltage checked out at 121v. The ballast is for 120 or 277. It is in a hard deck ceiling with adequate ventilation. The light was at first just flickering. Replaced ballast and it worked for about a day. Replaced ballast again along with the whip and socket assembly. Light worked for about a week. There are also three of the exact same light in the area that have worked fine since we finished the new project over a year ago. As far as I know this one has worked ok too until about a month ago. Also the last replacement parts I used were from a left over can from the project that has been sitting in the back of the shop for a year. Shop is heated. I guess my only option is to try one more ballast. I think the light just won't work at all now.
 
iwire said:
Along with Dennis good suggestions have you actually check for voltage hot to neutral at the ballast?

If you have been checking hot to ground maybe you have a lost neutral.
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I did check hot to neutral under the wire nuts while ballast was hooked up.
 
iwire said:
Along with Dennis good suggestions have you actually check for voltage hot to neutral at the ballast?

If you have been checking hot to ground maybe you have a lost neutral.
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Are you meaning the supply conductors to the ballast? Lost neutral in splice at another light or J-box?
 
I had a similar problem with PL lamped cans in a camera store. As it turned out, I had an entire case of customer supplied lamps that weren't very god at all. These cans had a mixture of Triad and Universal brand ballasts, which I think are the same thing. The lamps that were giving us fits were Ushio brand. Some wouldn't work right out of the box, some would work for a day, and some would work for a week. When I switched to Phillips lamps (no particular reason for that brand, other than it was handy locally), all the problems went away.
 
mdshunk said:
I had a similar problem with PL lamped cans in a camera store. As it turned out, I had an entire case of customer supplied lamps that weren't very god at all. These cans had a mixture of Triad and Universal brand ballasts, which I think are the same thing. The lamps that were giving us fits were Ushio brand. Some wouldn't work right out of the box, some would work for a day, and some would work for a week. When I switched to Phillips lamps (no particular reason for that brand, other than it was handy locally), all the problems went away.
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Funny you should mention Phillips. I once had a case of the Phillips alto F40T12's. Out of the 30 lamps in the case, about 10 simply would not work at all even on a new ballast.:mad:
 
electricman2 said:
Funny you should mention Phillips. I once had a case of the Phillips alto F40T12's. Out of the 30 lamps in the case, about 10 simply would not work at all even on a new ballast.:mad:
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I've had a lot of problems with the Phillips 18" and 24" low mercury (green ends) T12 lamps. I've never had a bit of trouble from the 48" lamps, or any other lamps from Phillips, for that matter, besides the 18's and 24's. Anybody can make a bum batch from time to time.
 
You mentioned using a ballast from a can in the back of the shop from a year ago that was part of the project.. Might have been a bad batch. Those Triad ballasts are slick but I think quality control is low on them.
 
wireman71 said:
You mentioned using a ballast from a can in the back of the shop from a year ago that was part of the project.. Might have been a bad batch. Those Triad ballasts are slick but I think quality control is low on them.
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I thought the same thing at first, but the first time I replaced the ballast it came straight from the factory overvight. The second time I replaced the ballast is the one that came from the back of the shop, so they had to come from different batches. As far as the lamps go, I don't know where they got the first two that they replaced, (prob. big orange), but I'm almost sure the ones I stuck in were from a different batch. They were the same phillips brand though. Thanks for all the feed back guys. Keep throwin ideas out there and maybe I can get this pinned down.
 
I only purchase GE lamps and that's what I recommend to my customers. Not to say you get a few bad ones now and then but I've found that I've had a lot less problems than with any other brand.
 
I have read the literature mentioned in regards to "grounding" the ballast. I don't quite understand what effect that has on operation. Can anyone explain this to me?
 
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