| Back in March 2024, I acquired a Widelite JR/250 MV in working but rough condition, as the floodlight "head" is detached from the ballast body. It was being used as an temporary outdoor task light for various jobs done by the husband of the woman who I purchased it from. I paid $50 for it which looking back is quite high for the condition it's in, even if it's a rare fixture which came with an uncommon vintage lamp. Furthermore the first day I planned to get it, I headed on a 2 hour drive back from Pennsylvania to her general area in Northern NJ after she agreed to meetup. However by the time I was minutes away, she said it was "too late and dark out" which made me quite angry as she wasted my time that night, luckily the drive somewhat along the way home
A week or 2 later, I was finally able to travel to and meet the seller. It was a single woman with 3 dogs who had fallen on hard times in a rental house, and dealing with a scumbag landlord and was looking to declutter and sell items to stay financially afloat. We had a decent conversation about the light and various other topics. The fixture allegedly has been hanging there in a tree with the fixture head detached for years, exposed to all the harsh weather conditions imaginable, yet still continued to work. Unfortunately, to make it less awkward taking the light down from the tree, I had to separate the light head from the ballast body by cutting the wires as it was tangled in rope.
When I got it home I discovered a rather unpleasant surprise, it was infested with giant ants! I managed to eliminate the ants from the mounting bracket and light head, but unbeknownst to me there were still many more in the ballast housing which I foolishly stored in the house, and the ants then made themselves at home! Luckily most have died since then( always check your fixtures for pests before storing indoors!). Anyways, shortly after bringing the Widelite home I decided to reconnect the wiring, which wasn't easy as there's a metal sleeve around the ballast output wires which I used a bolt cutter to trim. I really should have used a mask when doing this as the wires appeared to be cloth or Asbestos( didn't think the fixture was old enough for that). I was able to reconnect the head to the ballast and surely enough the fixture worked!
After that I moved forward dissasembling and assessing the fixture for restoration. Many of the screws were hard to remove with some breaking in the process. The socket's screw heads were rusted to nothing, and I tried various methods of removal with no success, so I ended up having to smash the socket out, luckily most mogul sockets are compatible as a replacement. Unfortunately as I did that I damaged the top of the socket housing slightly causing some bending and slight cracks( can I fix this?). Sanding the interior of the light head is also somewhat difficult without scraping the reflector. The metal reflector sheets are surprising still very shiny and only a few have gotten corroded( the edge pieces are slightly damaged). I use an oscillating tool and various drill wire brushes, along with steel wool to sand down the metal( don't have a sand blaster) I've tried loosening the nut and bolt holding the head to the broken off ballast mount, but they are very tightly rusted together( concerned about breaking something).
With that out of the way, I have all the fixture parts. It's still disassembled and partially sanded. I've purchased sets of replacement screws and have a new socket to use. I've been considering continuing with the project, but don't have any uses for the fixture, nor a way to get that dang ballast mount+head reattached to the ballast cylinder as it used some type of adhesive which is long deteriorated.
Is there a way to reattach the head back to the ballast? Or a way to safely loosen or break the well rusted nut and bolt of the bracket so I can use an alternative bracket to mount the head using a remote ballast( could I even get one? a fellow member has a remote ballasted Wide lite 250) or should I sell this thing to someone who has better equipment and tools?
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