Lighting HELP (bad ballast?)

So my landlord came over today to drop off some stuff and I asked her if she wanted to see the tank. She came in and I went downstairs to turn on the lights and only one was on.

Then after she left I went downstairs and made sure the controller was in the right state, and that the ballast was on. The ballast makes the normal humming noise for each bulb, but I am getting no light.

The bulbs are about 2 months old, but I tried another anyways, and nothing. The ballast is still humming, but nothing is coming out.


Edited by downhill_biker - November 17 2009 at 10:35am

should i leave it running, or turn it off? thanks for the input, hope this is the case, but i am not counting on it.

FYI, this is a PFO pulse start ballast.

cool. i will do, lets hope that the problem goes away for now.

then i can figure out what the real problem is and order a part.

downhill_biker wrote: turns out they were off, so i turned them on, they both fired! then the one that didn't fire before turned back off...

sounds like a short or some kind.  Is it a retro or a fixture?

I would check the wiring from the ballast to the bulbs first. If nothing is found, then try the ballast.  For safety sake, you dont want to just jump right to the ballast because if I remember correctly they store some power and it takes a little time to bleed off.

that is strange.  I think you should just turn them off for 20-30 and then see what happens.  

figured out the problem. it was the controller. the first plug is wacked out and not working properly. when i opened the ballast i unplugged them, and when i plugged them back in i guess i switched plugs. that is why the one firing changed. i guess i will be contacting neptune to see why this dc8 is shorting out.