help wiring 250 mh on m-58 ballast please

Krux · 03-28-2004, 10:45 PM

hello all. finally got my ballast and bulb and socket/reflector all in one place, and decided to wire it up for kicks. well, the bulb didnt fire. before i go out tomorrow and try to find a loaner bulb to check the ballast with, i am hoping someone can double check my wiring and see if everything is done correctly.

the ballast came from a fellow member partially wired, so i left that intact. basically he took the white and split it, and then wired one of the whites and the black into a plug. the other white and the red he put on spade connectors, and the yellow wire he has a connector on i assume to cover it up as that is for 227v operation (according to the ballast diagram).

so what i did was wire the white lead form my socket to the free white coming from the ballast, the black lead from socket to the red wire, and plugged the whole thing in. the ballast is humming quietly, though it isnt generating any heat (i assume since it is not firing the bulb) and there is no reaction form the socket/bulb end.

the fact that the ballast is humming tells me that it is getting power, but beyond that, i dont know what is wrong.

any trouble shooting tips would be helpful please.

i have made a little diagram here, as it is hard to see white on white, i have drawn in the white wire as blue.

oh the bulb is a pfo 13k which is also used, but did come off the previous tank working.

thanks!

icebear · 03-28-2004, 10:50 PM

...whatever you do...just DON'T hook the purple one to the orange one

.............

tdwyatt · 03-29-2004, 12:21 AM

The wiring diagram can be found at http://www.nrl-light.com/pdf/guides/...andballast.pdf. I am curious, why did you wire this in the manner shown? Is this the way the diagram on the ballast shows? I would feel much more comfortable making a suggestion if you were to take a good clear photo of the wiring diagram on the ballast and post it here on the site. Usually, the neutral wire (white) and the hot load wire (black) go to the input source (wall outlet) and the two colored wires go to the bulb.l There should also be a green grounding wire that should go to the reflector and base of the mount for the mogul socket if it is metal.

If you don't know 100% for sure what is going on with the unit, PLEASE HAVE A COMPETENT ELECTRICIAN HELP YOU BEFORE WIRING AND CONNECTING THIS UNIT.

Krux · 03-29-2004, 01:08 AM

the wiring diagrams at that link, do not seem to correlate to this ballast. will do some more searching though, that wasx a good idea.

the reason i wired it this way, is that unlike those diagrams showing 8 wires, this ballast, and the wires coming from it work with this diagram, printed on the lable.

Krux · 03-29-2004, 01:11 AM

these are the only 4 wires coming from the ballast. the ground is supposed to attatch to a separate hole drilled in a flange on the opposite end of the ballast.

someone mentioned, and i saw on those diagrams you posted a capacitor... the balast didn't come with one when i bought it used, could that be the problem, and if so, can i take my ballast into graybar for example and get them to give me a new capacitor and show me how to wire it up?

tdwyatt · 03-29-2004, 11:37 PM

Prolly a probe start if the wiring diagram doesn't show a cap as part of the wiring diagram. Pulse start ballasts require a capacitor. Who is the manufacturer of the ballast?

Some codes allow the use of the neutral as the ground in some 240V apps, but I would still use a spearate ground in an aquaria setting if at all possible, especially as a 120 volt ap. use a lug to wire one of the mounts directly to the ground and use a 3 prong plug. Place your switch on the load side (black wire) such that it interrupts the current between the ballast and the plug. This ballast will not fire all bulb types, the above site will list which types of bulbs will be fired by a M58 ballast. based on the wiring diagram, if you have it wired as indicated in your drawing, the wiring is correct

Look for the manufacturers site for the ballast, they will have a recommended list of bulbs and matching recommended ballasts, as well as troubleshooting for their devices.

hth

tdwyatt · 03-29-2004, 11:43 PM

forgot to mention that the case for the ballast must usually be grounded to allow for the ballast to ignite the bulb, and that it may take a few minutes for the bulb to ignite. Check to make sure the tab in the bottom of the socket is bent up enough to make good contact with the bulb. You can check this while the power is DISCONNECTED by using a voltimeter on the bulb wiring while it is separated/isolated from the ballast.