creeper327
Member
Hey guys, have a little problem with one of my flip flop gardens, hope some one with a little electrical theory can help me out, heres my conversations with Dan from DXHYDRO (awesome guy BTW) to give you some idea whats going on....
Please give me some more info about the problem:
How far is the cable from flipper to lamps? all lamp wire runs were replaced with 12/3 wire and spliced onto the 14/3 lamp cords....longest run is 30ft..coincidentally this is the only hood that fires up everytime so i dont think it is a distance issue.
What brand of ballasts –and type? all sunlight systems magnetic HPS 600w. 2 are brand new and the other ballast 4 range from 3-6 years old. (The lamp with the longest run that works everytime is actually hooked up through the flip flop to one of the older model ballast)... so i dont think it is the ballast because the brand new ones arnt working....I have bypassed the flip flop box completely and individually plugged each hood into one of the brand new ballast. 5 out of 6 worked that way.
Are they all doing the same thing and is it just on the A or B room? it is only doing it in room B. room A works perfect...
Also please tell me about the system – How many amps is the feeder circuit & what size wire was run from your main panel to control panel?
Did the problem just start – did the problem start occasionally and get worse? Does it happen every time?
Im using the power theif i purchased from you as my power supply for the ballasts...it is plugged into my 30amp dryer outlet.
I just want to get an idea of your setup before trying to find the cause.
Do you have a volt meter?
I did.... and ended up frying it doing what you told me not to do....BUT before i fried it, the wire splice at the hoods were actually reading below 120v even the one that was working... but the system is running on 240v....I then went to actual flip flop box to check the lamp output plugs....2 read 120...then i checked output that was working(longest run lamp) and it fried my meter..
I switched lamp runs from room A to side B on the flip flop box and it worked fine so i dont think it is the flip box..... I dunno im at a loss. im having my electrician come take a look at it.. at this point im thinking it has to be the the hoods or wire runs...but since i individually got 5of6 of the lamps working with the brand new ballast i dunno. I was doing some research on ballast ignitors and how when they age they can loose voltage output, etc..can you explain a little more of this theory?
How long of a run are we talking about: Room A; Room B (how far to each room) The longest run in room A is 15ft, While the longest run in room B is 30ft
And which room is having trouble? Or Is it BOTH rooms ONLY ROOM B!! ROOM A works perfectly everytime!
And does the problem happen after flipping a running lamp? Only flipping to room B
If the flipper is already in room A mode and you power up the ballast, will the lamps start? Yes, all six within a matter of seconds
If the flipper is in room B mode and you power up the ballasts, will they start? No, Only the one lamp/hood which is the longest lamp run will fully ignite within 10 seconds. All the other ballast will “arc” but won’t ignite, which leads me to think it’s igniter issues with the older ballast, except the 2 brand new ballast don’t work in room B….But when I completely bypass the flipper and plug them individually to one of the brand new ballast 6/6 work….
If you connect one of the suspect ballasts to the flipper –and then connect lamps without any extension, just the 15ft factory cord.
Are all of your lamps the same brand? Yes all brand new Ultrasun 600w HPS
Are there a couple ballasts that always work? Have your tried them with the different lamp combinations? All ballast work every time in room A, Only one lamp/ ballast combo work every time in room B.
The one ballast that didn’t work when connected directly: Did you try it with different lamps/hoods? Ive only tested the individual lamps in room B with one of the brand new ballast. With how my ballast are mounted some the lamp cords won’t reach to some of the ballast. But 5/6 did work when I tried the individual test, but I have had that hood/lamp that didn’t ignite during the test, work before with another ballast so I “think” it’s not a wiring issue..
How many out of your six do not want to work with the flipper (room A, room B)?
6/6 work every time, every filp, etc in room A
1/6 work every time, every flip, etc in room B
If there is some way that you can check the RUN voltage at the ballast, at the input to flipper and output of flipper that would be good info. If you have some thin wire (like some of the 14AWG from a cord), you might be able to wrap it around the black/white pin of the plug and then plug into the receptacle –SEE PIC. Would be a good way to get an inline voltage reading.
I will wait until I can get my buddy over here who’s a journeyman to help with the Line voltage…The trouble shooting has me stumped at this point, I want to lean towards the igniters but that wouldn’t explain the two brand new ballast not working in room B. BUT WHAT HAS ME THINKING IT IS THE IGNITOR/CAP AT THIS POINT.. IS THE TROUBLESHOOTER LINK YOU SENT ME DID SAY IF A MH CONVERSION LAMP WORKS, BUT A HPS DOES ITS MOST LIKELY A IGNITOR OR CAPICTOR ISSUE….BUT THEN AGAIN THE SAME SYMPTOMS WOULD BE COMMON OF A VOLTAGE DROP AS WELL??????
If anyone has an idea or needs more info let me know hahah Feel like im chasing my tail..
Please give me some more info about the problem:
How far is the cable from flipper to lamps? all lamp wire runs were replaced with 12/3 wire and spliced onto the 14/3 lamp cords....longest run is 30ft..coincidentally this is the only hood that fires up everytime so i dont think it is a distance issue.
What brand of ballasts –and type? all sunlight systems magnetic HPS 600w. 2 are brand new and the other ballast 4 range from 3-6 years old. (The lamp with the longest run that works everytime is actually hooked up through the flip flop to one of the older model ballast)... so i dont think it is the ballast because the brand new ones arnt working....I have bypassed the flip flop box completely and individually plugged each hood into one of the brand new ballast. 5 out of 6 worked that way.
Are they all doing the same thing and is it just on the A or B room? it is only doing it in room B. room A works perfect...
Also please tell me about the system – How many amps is the feeder circuit & what size wire was run from your main panel to control panel?
Did the problem just start – did the problem start occasionally and get worse? Does it happen every time?
Im using the power theif i purchased from you as my power supply for the ballasts...it is plugged into my 30amp dryer outlet.
I just want to get an idea of your setup before trying to find the cause.
Do you have a volt meter?
I did.... and ended up frying it doing what you told me not to do....BUT before i fried it, the wire splice at the hoods were actually reading below 120v even the one that was working... but the system is running on 240v....I then went to actual flip flop box to check the lamp output plugs....2 read 120...then i checked output that was working(longest run lamp) and it fried my meter..
I switched lamp runs from room A to side B on the flip flop box and it worked fine so i dont think it is the flip box..... I dunno im at a loss. im having my electrician come take a look at it.. at this point im thinking it has to be the the hoods or wire runs...but since i individually got 5of6 of the lamps working with the brand new ballast i dunno. I was doing some research on ballast ignitors and how when they age they can loose voltage output, etc..can you explain a little more of this theory?
How long of a run are we talking about: Room A; Room B (how far to each room) The longest run in room A is 15ft, While the longest run in room B is 30ft
And which room is having trouble? Or Is it BOTH rooms ONLY ROOM B!! ROOM A works perfectly everytime!
And does the problem happen after flipping a running lamp? Only flipping to room B
If the flipper is already in room A mode and you power up the ballast, will the lamps start? Yes, all six within a matter of seconds
If the flipper is in room B mode and you power up the ballasts, will they start? No, Only the one lamp/hood which is the longest lamp run will fully ignite within 10 seconds. All the other ballast will “arc” but won’t ignite, which leads me to think it’s igniter issues with the older ballast, except the 2 brand new ballast don’t work in room B….But when I completely bypass the flipper and plug them individually to one of the brand new ballast 6/6 work….
If you connect one of the suspect ballasts to the flipper –and then connect lamps without any extension, just the 15ft factory cord.
Are all of your lamps the same brand? Yes all brand new Ultrasun 600w HPS
Are there a couple ballasts that always work? Have your tried them with the different lamp combinations? All ballast work every time in room A, Only one lamp/ ballast combo work every time in room B.
The one ballast that didn’t work when connected directly: Did you try it with different lamps/hoods? Ive only tested the individual lamps in room B with one of the brand new ballast. With how my ballast are mounted some the lamp cords won’t reach to some of the ballast. But 5/6 did work when I tried the individual test, but I have had that hood/lamp that didn’t ignite during the test, work before with another ballast so I “think” it’s not a wiring issue..
How many out of your six do not want to work with the flipper (room A, room B)?
6/6 work every time, every filp, etc in room A
1/6 work every time, every flip, etc in room B
If there is some way that you can check the RUN voltage at the ballast, at the input to flipper and output of flipper that would be good info. If you have some thin wire (like some of the 14AWG from a cord), you might be able to wrap it around the black/white pin of the plug and then plug into the receptacle –SEE PIC. Would be a good way to get an inline voltage reading.
I will wait until I can get my buddy over here who’s a journeyman to help with the Line voltage…The trouble shooting has me stumped at this point, I want to lean towards the igniters but that wouldn’t explain the two brand new ballast not working in room B. BUT WHAT HAS ME THINKING IT IS THE IGNITOR/CAP AT THIS POINT.. IS THE TROUBLESHOOTER LINK YOU SENT ME DID SAY IF A MH CONVERSION LAMP WORKS, BUT A HPS DOES ITS MOST LIKELY A IGNITOR OR CAPICTOR ISSUE….BUT THEN AGAIN THE SAME SYMPTOMS WOULD BE COMMON OF A VOLTAGE DROP AS WELL??????
If anyone has an idea or needs more info let me know hahah Feel like im chasing my tail..
