hey guys need some ballast repair help

[bobman]

Hey everyone, looks looks like my hydrofarm finally bit the dust after 20 years.anyways it looks repairable but that wiring is old and I dont want to chance it. Anyways I have two newer ballasts that dont work and I want to swap some parts. Both ballasts hum but one does not turn the light on. Would I be right to assume thats the ignitor. The other one turns on but does not not fully light up quite a bit dimmer than a regular 1000 watt. I was thinking of just swappong the ignitor out. I have done this before but I just dont want to waste my time. Any ideas or anyrhing I am missing. Thanks in advance.

 

[trichster]

What does the hydrofarm ballast do when you plug it in?

What are the other 2 newer ballast's? Are you sure the 1 not lighting but hums isnt a MH ballast with no ignitor?

Id take ignitor off Hydrofarm and stick it on newer ballast that doesnt light.

 

[bobman]

I rewirdd the hydrofarm about a year ago and it got fried again. Wiring looks old so I am not fucking with it. The other two ballast look like sun systems bought them used but they are clean underneath. Yea I am sure. I they both worked for a little with hps..

 

[bobman]

Just not sure if the ignitor from the one that will not go fully bright is the problem. I assume since it is lighting up the problem lies in the capacitor or transformer. I could pull the ignitoe out of the hydronfarm I assume hydrofarms and sunsytems innerds are the same but the plug is the only difference.

 

[trichster]

The ignitor doesnt make the light bright it only lights the bulb. So the CAP has to be bad in one thats dim.

You could try to take CAP out of dim ballast and switch with 1 that doesnt light. There's many options being you have 3 mostly usable ballast's.

Yeah magnetic ballast parts are interchangable doesnt matter what brand just what wattage.

 

[bobman]

Just found what I think is the problem with the one that does not light. Looks like the connector that attaches to the interior socket of the 110 plug broke. I assume I can just go to home depot and get that connector. Its just the female piece that attaches to the inside of the exterior plug.

 

[bobman]

I will probably just take the cap off the hydrofarm and put it in the dim one as well. Hopefully have to working ballests shortly or be horribly electrocuted could go either way at this point stay tuned.

 

[Marco61]

If you are replacing parts it is best to swap out both the cap and the ignitor while you have the ballast open. You can buy both brand new for around $40. The transformers rarely go bad, but if they do you are better off just buying a new ballast. The transformer will cost about $80-$100, plus it weighs a ton so you'll be looking at a hefty S&H fee if you buy it online.

Bulb won't light = bad ignitor
Bulb dim = bad bulb or bad cap
Bulb lights, but irregular hum = cap starting to crap.

^ As long as the wiring is in order these are typically the reasons for a ballast not working correctly.

Anyways... I've had a ballast take a crap on me as well recently. Swapped out both the cap and ign. and its humming perfectly again.