Jewel Light Bar - New Ballast Help With Wiring Please
- Thread starter fish+peace
- Start date
OP
OP
fish+peace
Fish Fanatic
as per diagram on ballast there are 2 tubes left hand sides one wire went to old no 2 right hand side 2 wires old 1 and 5 the only switch is the inline toggle near plug
OP
OP
fish+peace
Fish Fanatic
Never mind - the solution was to loop the connection via a terminal block - thanks ne way
balraj_bangar
Fish Fanatic
I just ordered t5 kitchen under cabinet ones. £15 with bulb and cover.
OP
OP
fish+peace
Fish Fanatic
Sheesh, well after this working well, when i removed the light bar to do some maintenance in the tank as soon as i turned it around to put it as the side of the tank poof the ballast blew.. has anybody experienced this with moving light bars - i used to postiion my old one next to the tank (to see in still)
When i opened it up theres a component R20 blew and also black around the netutral/live input on the ballast.
When i opened it up theres a component R20 blew and also black around the netutral/live input on the ballast.
Hello,
Welcome to the world of modern electronics. You will find that modern some electronic ballasts are let down by the quality of electronic components used in their construction. Sometimes the design can be so marginal that it surprising that they work at all.
Return your ballast and get an exchange. This is the main reason why some people only buy known branded makes.
Are you certain that the ballast was correctly rated for the tubes? You **may** have just been unlucky!
Bodge99
Welcome to the world of modern electronics. You will find that modern some electronic ballasts are let down by the quality of electronic components used in their construction. Sometimes the design can be so marginal that it surprising that they work at all.
Return your ballast and get an exchange. This is the main reason why some people only buy known branded makes.
Are you certain that the ballast was correctly rated for the tubes? You **may** have just been unlucky!
Bodge99
OP
OP
fish+peace
Fish Fanatic
yep this is the correct rating for mine and its an Osram aswell pehaps i was just unlucky - the company have agreed to send another one out - for the record you should be able to move the unit around or turn it upside down whilst on??
Hello,
Yes, you should be able to move the light around a little.. That said, I normally power off if moving them more than a few inches. The usual precautions apply... obviously you were not drop kicking the light across the room etc. Have you checked the tube wiring for insulation damage etc.. an intermittent connection / partial short could cause an unwanted current surge in the ballast, so releasing the "magic smoke".
Osram usually make good quality ballasts.. I suppose that might have just been unlucky..
Bodge99
Yes, you should be able to move the light around a little.. That said, I normally power off if moving them more than a few inches. The usual precautions apply... obviously you were not drop kicking the light across the room etc. Have you checked the tube wiring for insulation damage etc.. an intermittent connection / partial short could cause an unwanted current surge in the ballast, so releasing the "magic smoke".
Osram usually make good quality ballasts.. I suppose that might have just been unlucky..
Bodge99
Hello (again).
I've just read this thread again. I had only seen it this morning.(I don't know how I missed it!).
Can you confirm exactly how you wired up the ballast... I can't quite make out exactly how you've done it.
The diagram for the old ballast indicates that 2 connections are "commoned" (one side of each heater on both tubes).
The diagram on the new ballast shows that each tube heater is wired slightly differently.
This is easy to get wrong!
Bodge99
I've just read this thread again. I had only seen it this morning.(I don't know how I missed it!).
Can you confirm exactly how you wired up the ballast... I can't quite make out exactly how you've done it.
The diagram for the old ballast indicates that 2 connections are "commoned" (one side of each heater on both tubes).
The diagram on the new ballast shows that each tube heater is wired slightly differently.
This is easy to get wrong!
Bodge99
OP
OP
fish+peace
Fish Fanatic
i've attached 2 pics - the 1st pic shows the lighting unit which has 3 wires
Wire A is split from both left side of the tubes into 1 wire
Wire B is the top right tube
Wire C is the botton right tube
View attachment 68541
The 2nd pic shows the ballast wiring diagram
I have added a terminal block to wires A,B and C to add an extra wire to each one
A goes to 23 and 24
B goes to 21 and 22
C goes to 25 and 26
View attachment 68542
This lights the tubes and all has been well untill i moved the unit and poof...
Wire A is split from both left side of the tubes into 1 wire
Wire B is the top right tube
Wire C is the botton right tube
View attachment 68541
The 2nd pic shows the ballast wiring diagram
I have added a terminal block to wires A,B and C to add an extra wire to each one
A goes to 23 and 24
B goes to 21 and 22
C goes to 25 and 26
View attachment 68542
This lights the tubes and all has been well untill i moved the unit and poof...
OP
OP
fish+peace
Fish Fanatic
Hey bodge i have taken delivery of the new ballast so i will await your input - thanks much appreciated
Hello,
Apologies to anyone reading this. **HERE BE DRAGONS**
I think that you might have a problem here... If I understand you correctly, you have 4 wires returning from the tubes. Two of these are connected, so leaving you with three wires to the ballast (ignoring live and neutral for now).
If I am incorrect then please post, saying "Bob, you misunderstand me!).
A quick explanation of florescent tubes (if required).
Apologies to any technical people here.. I'm just trying to give a **very** general overview.
/"The Big Bang Theory" mode ON!
Your florescent tube has 2 pins on each end. These two pins are connected to a small coil of wire inside and at each end of the tube which is called the heater. This heater works (worked.. I'll explain what I mean later) in exactly the same way as a heater in a "Bright Emitter" radio valve. i.e. it is used to emit electrons.
Earlier ballasts had no active electronics inside them. They are described as magnetic ballasts and are used in conjunction with a small cylindrical device called a starter.
When the light is powered on, electricity passes through the heaters at each end of the tube. Both heaters start to glow and start to emit electrons (the tube contains inert gases and mercury vapour at low pressure).
The emitted electrons cause the gas atoms to form a plasma... this process accelerates and increases the electrical current passing through the tube. Energy is passed from the excited gas atoms to the mercury atoms.
These atoms are now "energized". As the normal state of the these mercury atoms is "unenergized" this excess energy has to be "disposed of". This happens as the production of UV light. The lining of the glass tube (the phosphor coating) converts the UV light to visible light. The exact chemical makeup of the phosphors dictates the colour of visible light that is emitted.
As the tube starts to emit UV light, it electrical resistance decreases.. The more UV emitted, the greater the amount of electrical current flowing in the tube. If this increasing flow is allowed to continue unchecked, the tube would be destroyed.
The function of the ballast is to restrict the maximum current flow in the tube.
/"The Big Bang Theory" mode Off.
Everyone can now wake up... boring bit finished!
Modern ballasts are different. They are electronic and have several advantages over the earlier type (ignoring some hybrid types).
Advantages include:
They are cheaper to manufacture.
Do not require a starter.
Can have faster tube startup times.
They run at a higher operating frequency. This maximises tube life and efficiency. This also removes the "flickering" problem that can occur with some magnetic ballast/tube combinations.
Electronic ballasts generally do not need to use the tube heaters in the same way as with magnetic ballasts. The striking (lighting) voltage is generated in the ballast directly.
This is why you will see **some** ballast designs with only two connections per tube (one wire per tube end).
Other designs (probably the majority these days?) still have 4 wires per tube (2 wires per tube end). Some designs monitor the electrical conditions at the tube heaters and overall current flow under working conditions. This allows the electronics to power down the tube under fault conditions (e.g. a failing flickering tube can damage the ballast).
What is important here is how does the electronic ballast designer want the tubes connected?
If the heater connections are used for monitoring purposes, then connecting the tubes in "2 wire mode" **may** allow the ballast to strike (light)... The monitoring circuits **may** interpret the (effectively shorted) heater current flow as a marginal tube.. By this I mean the ballast is trying to **increase** the current through the tube.
This may cause the ballast to fail as it is being driven outside of its design parameters.
Now, does this apply here? It is certainly possible that your ballast works in "2 wire mode" and the extra two connections on the ballast are there **just to hold the spare wires**. If this is true then you may have just been unlucky with your ballast "going bang".
But: We don't know this for certain... you would have to obtain the ballast design specifications to be certain.
To save future problems I think it would be prudent to assume that your ballast **requires** 4 wire per tube.
You need to examine the wiring from the tube sockets closely. I would be very surprised if the tube sockets are not designed to take 2 wires (1 wire per tube pin).
Can you supply a picture of one of your tube sockets?? One showing the wiring would be helpful.
If not, then could you describe exactly what you can see, number of wires etc.
Don't worry.. we'll get to the bottom of this!
Bodge99
Apologies to anyone reading this. **HERE BE DRAGONS**
I think that you might have a problem here... If I understand you correctly, you have 4 wires returning from the tubes. Two of these are connected, so leaving you with three wires to the ballast (ignoring live and neutral for now).
If I am incorrect then please post, saying "Bob, you misunderstand me!).
A quick explanation of florescent tubes (if required).
Apologies to any technical people here.. I'm just trying to give a **very** general overview.
/"The Big Bang Theory" mode ON!
Your florescent tube has 2 pins on each end. These two pins are connected to a small coil of wire inside and at each end of the tube which is called the heater. This heater works (worked.. I'll explain what I mean later) in exactly the same way as a heater in a "Bright Emitter" radio valve. i.e. it is used to emit electrons.
Earlier ballasts had no active electronics inside them. They are described as magnetic ballasts and are used in conjunction with a small cylindrical device called a starter.
When the light is powered on, electricity passes through the heaters at each end of the tube. Both heaters start to glow and start to emit electrons (the tube contains inert gases and mercury vapour at low pressure).
The emitted electrons cause the gas atoms to form a plasma... this process accelerates and increases the electrical current passing through the tube. Energy is passed from the excited gas atoms to the mercury atoms.
These atoms are now "energized". As the normal state of the these mercury atoms is "unenergized" this excess energy has to be "disposed of". This happens as the production of UV light. The lining of the glass tube (the phosphor coating) converts the UV light to visible light. The exact chemical makeup of the phosphors dictates the colour of visible light that is emitted.
As the tube starts to emit UV light, it electrical resistance decreases.. The more UV emitted, the greater the amount of electrical current flowing in the tube. If this increasing flow is allowed to continue unchecked, the tube would be destroyed.
The function of the ballast is to restrict the maximum current flow in the tube.
/"The Big Bang Theory" mode Off.
Everyone can now wake up... boring bit finished!
Modern ballasts are different. They are electronic and have several advantages over the earlier type (ignoring some hybrid types).
Advantages include:
They are cheaper to manufacture.
Do not require a starter.
Can have faster tube startup times.
They run at a higher operating frequency. This maximises tube life and efficiency. This also removes the "flickering" problem that can occur with some magnetic ballast/tube combinations.
Electronic ballasts generally do not need to use the tube heaters in the same way as with magnetic ballasts. The striking (lighting) voltage is generated in the ballast directly.
This is why you will see **some** ballast designs with only two connections per tube (one wire per tube end).
Other designs (probably the majority these days?) still have 4 wires per tube (2 wires per tube end). Some designs monitor the electrical conditions at the tube heaters and overall current flow under working conditions. This allows the electronics to power down the tube under fault conditions (e.g. a failing flickering tube can damage the ballast).
What is important here is how does the electronic ballast designer want the tubes connected?
If the heater connections are used for monitoring purposes, then connecting the tubes in "2 wire mode" **may** allow the ballast to strike (light)... The monitoring circuits **may** interpret the (effectively shorted) heater current flow as a marginal tube.. By this I mean the ballast is trying to **increase** the current through the tube.
This may cause the ballast to fail as it is being driven outside of its design parameters.
Now, does this apply here? It is certainly possible that your ballast works in "2 wire mode" and the extra two connections on the ballast are there **just to hold the spare wires**. If this is true then you may have just been unlucky with your ballast "going bang".
But: We don't know this for certain... you would have to obtain the ballast design specifications to be certain.
To save future problems I think it would be prudent to assume that your ballast **requires** 4 wire per tube.
You need to examine the wiring from the tube sockets closely. I would be very surprised if the tube sockets are not designed to take 2 wires (1 wire per tube pin).
Can you supply a picture of one of your tube sockets?? One showing the wiring would be helpful.
If not, then could you describe exactly what you can see, number of wires etc.
Don't worry.. we'll get to the bottom of this!
Bodge99
OP
OP
fish+peace
Fish Fanatic
Hi Bodge, thanks for this very informative piece, the situation is that this was a virgin juwel lighting unit that i cut open so the wiring hasn't been tampered with.
The left (powerlead) side of the light unit has one wire from each of the tube holders which split into 1 wire
The right side has 1 wire from each of the tube holders
This is all that there is i have traced these right back to the holders
If you look at the top ofmy post it shows the original ballast wiring, i believe that the way i have done it is therefore correct and i was just unlucky
i value your input so tanks for taking the time out to do this - would you agree with the final wiring based on the diagrams?
The left (powerlead) side of the light unit has one wire from each of the tube holders which split into 1 wire
The right side has 1 wire from each of the tube holders
This is all that there is i have traced these right back to the holders
If you look at the top ofmy post it shows the original ballast wiring, i believe that the way i have done it is therefore correct and i was just unlucky
i value your input so tanks for taking the time out to do this - would you agree with the final wiring based on the diagrams?
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