28 jbj nano hqi problem

[reefer4eva]

im really praying that someone here can help..i have a 28 jbj nano with a nanotuners hood i just replaced all the bulbs(even the led moonlights)i have a powerpac 150w 14000k metal halide and 2 coralife pc actinic 03 bulbs,my problem is the metal halide bulb stays on for a few minutes then flickers and goes off..then a buzzing sound starts ...the bulb goes back on,few minutes later flickers and goes off...then repeats this all day...is it the bulb?the gear box?the ballist?someone please help before i throw this hood out the window!!!

 

[ReefWerks]

Sounds like ballast..Where is the buzzing coming from? Have you tried a new bulb?

 

[reefer4eva]

i just replaced the bulb 3 days ago and this just started yesterday ..the buzzing is coming from the hood

 

[ReefWerks]

What are the details on the bulb? Was it doing this with old bulb? If not, then bulb is to blame. Does the bulb fire up to 100% at all or quit and flicker before 100% ramp up?

 

[Geraud]

Is your bulb properly seated in its connectors? Usually what you describe is a bad connection. Try and reseat it (make sure you are not touching the bulb with your skin, aka use paper towels to "move it")

 

[reefer4eva]

the old bulb was the original jbj 150w 14000k bulb i replaced it with a powerpac 150w 14000k bulb...is this hood actually putting out what its suppose to or is it false advertisement?it worked fine for 1 day full strenth

 

[reefer4eva]

im going to try and reseat it..the old bulb burnt out or else i would try that again..i contacted jbj to see what they say..im seriously thinking of going led this is annoying there are like 40 screws i have to take out just to get to the bulb

 

[Geraud]

If you want to be safe, some people used to put a tiny piece of tinfoil on each side of the bulb connectors (I assume you have a double ended) to ensure that the connection surface is larger, hence less chances at that issue.

 

[irvp13]

If the seating doesnt work, get a new bulb and try it. I dont think the hood had just gone bad after the bulb change.

 

[reefer4eva]

If you want to be safe, some people used to put a tiny piece of tinfoil on each side of the bulb connectors (I assume you have a double ended) to ensure that the connection surface is larger, hence less chances at that issue.

thanks geraud!!the tinfoil worked...i guess from the heat of it trying to get full brightness the porcelin end tips cracked but i still got it to work with the tinfoil

 

[Geraud]

Glad it worked!

It is actually just a matter of surface of contact, and dirtiness of the contacts. What happens is that due to the pressure in the little cups on the bulb ends, and with the electricity being carried there (a lot ;-) ), these contacts can get dirty/corroded, and not produce enough contacts. What happens apparently is tiny sparks that will corrode things if the pins and the little cups are not aligned properly. The tinfoil helps, but I also sometimes used a Q-tip with alcohol to clean things before putting a new lamp and made sure everything was properly aligned (which is sometimes hard due to the hardness of the strings... and we do not want to force on the $$$ bulbs), never had a problem. The tinfoil is the easy solution.