VHO's not working

[akm]

I have a 4 bulb 48 inch vho setup that has not been working. Ive gone through all the wires and made sure nothing is wrong, i've jiggled all the bulbs and they are brand new and they still wont work. The ballast is about 2 yrs old so I would think it would still work. The controler is a Solar 1000 and it says that everything is working fine. I i no idea what else might be wrong, does anybody else know what is going on?

[z28pwr]

Does your ballast have a fuse, if so you may want to check it. In some ballasts if one bulb goes out it knocks down the other bulb, but not all four. How old are your bulbs?

[cpreefguy]

i've jiggled all the bulbs and they are brand new and they still wont work.
:P

[akm]

I got the bulbs 2 days ago.

[fiji2000]

is that a ice cap 660?

[akm]

yes it is an Ice cap 660. I took the fuse out and i think its blown. It is all black in the middle of he glass part. Can someone tell me if it is blown?

[Brett Wilson]

Sounds blown.

[akm]

Where can i get a new one?

[SBreef]

Yes,

The fuse has blown. In my experience, if the fuse has blown like that,in anything electronic, the unit is bad. Replacing the blown fuse with anopther good one, you will get the same results. Something inside the unit that is a "current driving transistor" has shorted out. And everyone remember this, "NEVER" over fuse anything!! Meaning using a 15 amp fuse for an orginal 10 amp fuse. You will only cause more problems.

Roy

Roy

[z28pwr]

I would aleast try to replace the fuse. If it pops again then you have a short somewhere, either in your wiring harness or inside the ballast. What you can do is take the fuse to RadioShack and ask them for a new one. Before putting it back in make sure there is no saltcreep inside the endcaps or in the wires and that none of the wires are touching each other and creating a short.

[fiji2000]

Uhoh,
So that’s a icecap 660 dimmable ballast? Did you just set up the end caps or is it an existing system that you just replaced the lamps on?
I own a Solar 1000, have experienced problems blowing fuses, if the resistance to the lamps is not correct.

[eric]

A replacement fuse (Radio Shack/Home Depot) will be really inexpensive. I hav en't broken mine out, but I'm guessing a standard glass tube fuse. You can take it with you or read the rating on it and match it. I would have to disagree that if the fuse is blown you can presume the unit is bad. Several things could blow a fuse and that's exactly why it has a fuse. The fuse is there to protect the unit (and yourself) and not an indicator for unit failure. If it were me, I'd buy more than one replacement, recheck and make sure no salt creep is around, all wiring is both correct and no short circuits and try the fuse. If it blows immediately again, then you could cut your losses and try returning it under warranty or recheck everything for the problem again even deeper.

If the unit's got something else blown, it's not gonna give the fuse a chance to blow again. Replacing the fuse is a really cheap test.

[akm]

I got 4 fuses from Radio Shack and the first one i tried blew too but the second one didnt. I had been messing with the endcaps yesterday and i think there could be a short somewhere in or around one of them. The short has to be somewhere in the wires but I dont know where. Hopefully i can fix it tomorrow.

[z28pwr]

Make sure you find the short before you leave them on, since it could be arcing and bad things can happen (like your house burning down) when arcing occurs.

[jlam]

AKM have you gone to ICECAP's website? They have a continuity test as well troubleshooting information on their ballast. Normally though if it is blowing fuses and you have replaced the fuses more than about 5 or 6 times you have fried the ballast. They are very touchy if everything is not wired perfect then they blow fuses. Which is the only down fall of the ICECAP ballast. But like someone else has said they carry a 3 year if you purchased the ballast new. They also have a 65.00 dollar flat charge on repairing the ballast if it is repairable. I had a problem with wiring as well on 2 ICECAP 430 ballasts and had to send both of them back they replaced the guts of the ballast for 65.00s and they are good as new.
That and they are normally really return things really fast. You do have to pay for the shipping to them though. Hope that helps.

Jason