Hi there,
I am currently experiencing a strange behaviour with my new wonderful beast, an AEG KOFFER 112-557 (don't know which version...I believe it is a Rechteckige 250 since the label still reports 100W SOX  whereas the re-rating of the lamps occurred somewhere in 1964) housing 2x90W SOX (one Philips and one GE) with original gears and lamp holders.

This fixture was installed in the early '60 in Italy onto a 3 branches pole (the other 2 fixtures have been saved as well) and un-mounted yesterday, replaced with 3 DISANO SELLA LED but has been disconnected from power since months, perhaps even years for some unknown reasons.

Yesterday when I tried to turn it on it after many months of disuse, it featured a strange behaviour which I am not able to interpret, so, being a bit concerned about electrical security I came here to look for some suggestions and turn off my concerns.

This is the list of the events that happened:

1. Connected phase, neutral and ground to the mains (a multiple socket unit with switches for each one).
2. The fixture turned on (both lamps) and while trying to stabilise the arc, it stayed on for 2 seconds then it tripped the circuit breaker.
3. Went to the basement, turned on the circuit breaker, went back upstairs.
4. The fixture turned on (both lamps) and while trying to stabilise the arc, it stayed on for 2 seconds then it tripped the circuit breaker again.
5. Went to the basement, turned on the circuit breaker, went back upstairs.
6. The fixture turned on (both lamps) and it finally managed to stabilise the arc, developing both lamps (the GE is reddish while the Philips is purplish and this should be ok).
7. Completed development of the two lamps but the should be Yellow/Orange color tended to be more Yellow than average (lemon yellow).
8. Turned off everything and let it cool overnight.
9. The day after I repeated steps from 6 to 8 and the color was back to normal.
10. Subsequent power-on and power-off attempts always produced steps from 6 to 8 with no problems.

Now...the question is: Why did it trip the circuit breaker in the first and second power-on attempts? Do the lamps, as they age, need some failed striking attempts before they succesfully strike at first time? And, the most important question: am I safe to operate the fixture, or the breaking episodes highlight a faulty ballast, that can potentially give me some electric shocks? (I tried to touch the canopy with a phase detector screwdriver and the light did not turn on) Or perhaps is this a sign of faulty or aged re-phasing capacitor demanding too much from the line? (do they blow up, in this case?)

Apart from that, it is one of the great salvagements I have ever done  

May be just a simple case of partial rectification that some lamps create on start up?

May be just a simple case of partial rectification that some lamps create on start up?

I did think about that, but why did it cease on its own? I mean...if the lamp is rectyifying, it should do that every time I switch it on, not just 2 times and then no more? Or am I missing something?

I don’t think they do it on every startup, but I’ve had SOX  blow fuses with cathode flare on occasions, could also be caused by the length of time the gear been sat dormant?, especially the capacitors like you say?

So, in your opinion if the fixture keeps working everything should be ok?

For your own piece of mind, get it running, then do some earth testing on it, or better still, run it through a Residual Current Device and that will tell you if it’s got any stray currents.
I would PAT tests it if it were mine, but being works PAT tester I have that advantage  ! , but if an RCD tripped when you fired it up, you would know you had a problem! 

For your own piece of mind, get it running, then do some earth testing on it, or better still, run it through a Residual Current Device and that will tell you if it’s got any stray currents.
I would PAT tests it if it were mine, but being works PAT tester I have that advantage  ! , but if an RCD tripped when you fired it up, you would know you had a problem! 

So you're the Portable Appliance Test Tester.??