250HQI help

[tonkadawg]

OK so my Aqua Medic 250HQI pendant is acting up. I have en ESV 10K bulb on the supplied magnetic ballast. Any time I turn the ballast on, the light fires up like expected. It continues to 'warm up' and then all of the sudden it starts to flicker - first slow then fast. The ballast is also making a flickering sound. Then all of the sudden the light shuts off and thats it.

Anyone have any ideas on what is causing this?

[SeanCallan]

Uh oh...

I wish I knew what to tell you Tonka, I hope someone on here does!

If you're taking down your 18 this weekending, why not change out the Pendants till you can figure out a solution?

[invincible569]

Matt, is your bulb new? MH bulbs require a burn in period before their performance stabilizes. Color shifts & flickering happen during this time. Whats happening during the burn in period is that the metal salts in the arc tube need time to distribute themselves within the tube for stable operations of the bulb.

Also, i never worked with ESV bulbs.. make sure this brand can be ran off an Aqua Medic. When a bulb doesnt like the ballast, it will create your symptons.

[tonkadawg]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies - real quick - I am heading out the door. Yeah the bulb is new. I have fired it up successfully before but have not let it burn in. I did grab another ballast and check - same thing. So definitely something around the bulb. How do I go about checking if the bulb will work with the ballast?

[tonkadawg]

Alright, so I got back from doing what I had to do and tore apart the pendant. I just re-seated the bulb in the socket and it fired right up. It did start to flicker, but this time it didn't shut off.

[SeanCallan]

YAY! Where are those pictures!

[tonkadawg]

they're coming - been gone all day and batteries aren't charged - but the frag is awesome!!!

[SeanCallan]

Really? So I assume well worth it eh?