Troubleshooting a HPS unit « on: August 28, 2006, 03:36:20 PM » Author: TudorWhiz
I need some troubleshooting with a 100 watt / 150 watt HPS McGraw Edision Unidor....... I am having a problem with turning it on with one of the lightbulbs I have....... I only have two 100 watt HPS bulb but plenty of 150 watt bulbs....... the 150 watt Sylvania bulb (very new) and it worked fine at 150 watt ballast setting so does the other bulbs I have which were older.... I changed the ballast setting to 100 watt......and tried a old 100 watt Philips 1997 very used bulb it did fire up perfectly fine without any trouble at all....but it cycled.......so its spent..... I tried a very very new with very few hours  Sylvania bulb about the same age as the 150 which worked.....but for the 100 watt....it would not fire up at all...but it fired up in my bucket light fine....but not in the Unidor......what would be the problem? let me know thanks...
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	Re: Troubleshooting a HPS unit « Reply #1 on: August 28, 2006, 06:07:47 PM » Author: Silverliner
Is the new Sylvania an Ecojunk? If so it will require a bit of a higher voltage to fire up because of xenon being used instead of mercury. That's why some Sylvania low wattage ecologic HPS lamps have tungsten coils around the arc tube to aid in firing up. Also, the ignitor in the McGraw may be a bit weak.
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	Re: Troubleshooting a HPS unit « Reply #2 on: August 28, 2006, 07:03:03 PM » Author: TudorWhiz
yeah I think so since on it said /ECO on the etch...but I have 2 of them....one is a 150 and the other is 100....the 150 works fine but not the 100.............. also....the tungsten coils?  explain more....mine has a little metal strip across the arc tube but not reaching both ends....
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	Re: Troubleshooting a HPS unit « Reply #3 on: May 28, 2007, 11:21:09 AM » Author: J-Frog
The tungsten coils and metal paint strip are basically the same thing.  It's a starting aid that helps the xenon in the arctube ionize more easily.
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	Re: Troubleshooting a HPS unit « Reply #5 on: September 24, 2009, 01:34:18 PM » Author: icefoglights
I wonder if the starting voltage is lower for the 100w setting.  I ran into similar trouble with Caster igniters.  The light would work fine for a while in dusk/dawn service, but than it would quit coming on at night.  I would change the bulb (which was NOT cycling and didn't even have brown staining on the outer) and it would work fine for a little while, but than it would quit working again.  That time, changing the bulb didn't help.  I suspect in that case, the igniter was getting weak and not able to start the not-so-new bulb.  Shortly after a new bulb was put in, the igniter failed all together. Does the igniter go back to a igniter tap in the ballast or is it independent?  If it goes back to a tap, maybe some windings are bypassed in the 100w setting, making the starting pulse weaker.  Maybe try a 2-lead igniter?
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	Re: Troubleshooting a HPS unit « Reply #6 on: October 19, 2009, 01:39:40 PM » Author: Medved
If i understand correctly: - The 100W setting does fire the old 100W lamp (), bu does not the new 100W "Sylvania ECO" one. - The 150W setting does ignite both old and new 150W lamp. Might you tried to set the ballast for "150W" and try the 100W Sylvania bulb? And second experiment: Take the "new" 150W lamp on the "100W" setting. Only for short time, if it trigger the arc or not, in order to determine the starting pulse voltage difference between "100W" and "150W" ballast setting. As i does not know, how is the ballast connected, might you (somewhere) publish the wiring schematic? Based on this i might be able (if i would be able to "reverse engineer" the ballast concept) to tell the starting voltage difference and if feasible, how to reconnect the ignitor to get higher voltage... If you would be able to measure OCV voltages (with deactivated ignitor, if it is possible), it will help a lot...
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	Re: Troubleshooting a HPS unit « Reply #7 on: May 01, 2014, 09:22:24 PM » Author: CrestwoodOhio
Would Mercury Vapor or a CFL work on a HPS lamp? I also know that the HPS fixtures make delicate features on them too.
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	Re: Troubleshooting a HPS unit « Reply #8 on: May 14, 2014, 04:01:06 PM » Author: Medved
Quote from: CrestwoodOhio on May 01, 2014, 09:22:24 PM Would Mercury Vapor or a CFL work on a HPS lamp? I also know that the HPS fixtures make delicate features on them too. What you mean by "...on a HPS lamp"? The MV will fire on the HPS ballast, if the ballast have >200V OCV (so S56 and higher wattages), but generally it will be driven by an incorrect current. The only exception could be a 175W MV on the S56. But in any case, you will have to deactivate the ignitor, otherwise you are risking an arc in the outer at hot restrike attempt, so lamp destruction.
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