New MH lamps not lighting

[SeaDog]

Hi Folks

I just replaced my old MH lamps with new Ushio lamps and they will not fire up properly. The Watts are the same and the ballasts worked fine with the old bulbs so I'm at a bit of a loss.
Do new bulbs have a "burn in time"? Are they going to start working after a few hours? They do fire up but go out after about a minute, so I know they have power.
Any suggestions?

Many thanks

[Rick O]

I have had that problem in the past with Hamilton bulbs. They would fire for about a minute then go out. After about three attempts they would stay on. This lasted about a week then they fired reliably after that. You may try leaving them powered and see if they will stay fired.

[ruhspolostar]

umm...I'm not being a jerk at all by saying this

everything is plugged and screwed in properly right

its just from persoanl experience I've thought I had a major problem and all I forget to do was plug or flip a switch......

-My MH haven't arrived yet so I'm sorry I can't give more input

-adam #8

[tdwyatt]

turn the power off, unplug the power cord, check to make sure the power cord is unplugged.

Remove the bulb from the socket, wipe it clean set it aside.

go back to the wall socket and make absolutely sure the plug for that ballast is out of the wall.

Look down into the socket and use a needle-nosed pliar to bend the tab in the bottom up to about 30 degrees from the bottom of the socket. wipe off the reflectors while you're doing this, then putt a little bulb grease on the threads and reinstall the lamp. wipe off any fingerprints from the bulb.

plug in the ballast, turn the switch on, make sure any timers in the circuit are set to turn the power on, and let it fire up. It may take a few minutes. If the ballast fails to strike the bulb after a few tries, MANY will reset and not retry for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Just to make sure everything that is OBVIOUS is covered, what was your old bulb, who makes your ballast, what "M-" type is it, and how old is the ballast? Do you know if the ballast is a pulse start or a probe start type ballast? Is it an electronic ballast? Depending on which type of ballast you have, you may need to buy a particular type of bulb to have it fire correctly. The newer Icecap electronic ballasts are the only ones that will fire almost every bulb (I don't remember for sure if there are any that don't get fired by the icecap HQI ballasts)

If it is a pulse start, the capacitor may have gone bad (but doubtful). Also, the socket and reflector usually should have a common ground with the case of the ballast, but this is not an absolute for these units to fire (depending on the ballast again).

Also, keep in mind that as RickO pointed out, it may just be a burning-in issue with the bulb, athugh these symptoms usually indicate some incompatability or improper wiring issue. Check the wiring diagram, if you do not have one on the ballast, check with the manufacturer and get a copy to check your wiring. These diagrams and the original install data sheets will usually have some trouble shooting ideas as well.

more in this thread

hth

[Bleeg]

are the ballast pulse start? magnetic or electronic? some ballasts have issues pulse starting ushio bulbs. I had a bit of the same problem then i got some icecap electronic ballasts. Those suckers start everything.

[SeaDog]

Thanks for the replies guys. I had tried some of your suggestions and have now gone tried the rest, still kinda the same result though. I did a bit more research and it looks like an inccompatibility thing with the ballast. I called the vendor (one of the sponsors) about it and they will take the lamps back and replace with something that will work.
Just on the chance someone might make the same mistake as me the problem is an Ushio 10k 175W requires a M137 ballast and has problems with a M57.

Many thanks for all the help.

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by SeaDog
...Just on the chance someone might make the same mistake as me the problem is an Ushio 10k 175W requires a M137 ballast and has problems with a M57...

Definitely an issue with these bulbs and ballast. Somewhere on RC there is a page of compatibilities of the different ballasts and some of the more common bulbs available on the market, but most of the manufacturers will have info at their web sites on the specific "good" "OK" and "bad" combinations for their products. Grainger has much of this info for a broad spectrum of products, but usually will only list compatibilities rather than incompatibilities.

Good to know you have a good resolution to the issue.

[SeaDog]

Thanks Tom, it's a habit of mine doing the research after making the mistake, some day I'll learn