fdm
12/06/2002, 02:49 PM
About 3 months ago I purchased a bare 175W MH ballast and wired it up myself. It has been working fine till this week. Almost every night the bulb does not automatically fire when the timer turns on. I have to unplug the ballast, unscrew the bulb and pull the little tab in the mogul socket that makes contact to the bulb up a little, screw the bulb back and plug the ballast back in and it fires. Sometimes I can get away with unscrewing the bulb a little and screwing it back in to make it fire.
What the heck is going on? Why all of a sudden is this happening? Is the bulb maybe going? The bulb was used for about 7 months when I bought it. Should I replace it? It just seems strange to me that fiddling with the way the bulb is seated in the socket makes it fire. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
What the heck is going on? Why all of a sudden is this happening? Is the bulb maybe going? The bulb was used for about 7 months when I bought it. Should I replace it? It just seems strange to me that fiddling with the way the bulb is seated in the socket makes it fire. Any and all suggestions are welcome.