Need help in N. Ogden area with MH Ballast

Hey Guys I was wondering if anyone knows how to check if a ballast is bad. I have a ballastwise 250W MH and I thought my bulb had just burned out so I just replaced it and it doesn't light up. I have only went through one bulb on the ballast I cant believe the ballast could be bad any ideas to check the ballast. I bought the bulb off ebay and it was only 20 bucks so im wondering if the bulb I bought was junk. Any ideas? I only have the one 250W so I cant check the bulb out in another fixture.

Edited by Ryker - December 01 2010 at 3:45pm

There are two ways to go.

1- Find someone with a 250 W MH fixture and check the new and old bulb in that fixture that is known to be good.

2- Open your fixture and check the Capacitor with an Ohm meter or a screwdriver. I won't bother you with the procedure here, unless you ask.

If you would like to visit me in Murray, I would be happy to check it for you. I have a 250 W MH Mogul base fixture. I assume Mogul Base is what we are talking about.
I also have an Ohm Meter and a screwdriver.


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 26 2010 at 9:06pm

Is this ballast new where you can go back to Ballastwise and get an exchange?
I would not have tossed the old bulb without checking it.

1 - to find someone else with a 250W DE MH fixture where you can test to see if the bulb is good, I would do the following: Go back up the OP of this thread.  Edit the title to "Need Help in Ogden", give a general idea of your address (live near Ogden HS, for example) and ask for someone that has a MH fixture that you can test the bulbs in.

2- to check the ballast, determine whether the ballast is electronic or magnetic. If you can remove some screws and open the box it is probably magnetic and you will be able to see the capacitor. The capacitor is a white or steel "can" with two contacts. To test it remove one of the leads and use the ohmmeter to check for continuity. There should be infinite resistance/no continuity. I know some places where you can get capacitors for less $.

Ballasts should last for many years.
Electronic Ballasts are not repairable since they are typically encased in a resin to make them last longer.
The old style ballast is a transformer and capacitor. The transformer lasts almost forever but capacitors can go bad after 3-5 years.

I have a 250 halide set up, that we can test your bulbs with and I live in North Ogden.