Actinics???

[Ford625]

Hey guys. My lights are on a timer and we went to a wedding today. We came home and the actinic bulbs were out and the fan was still going and the whites were still on. Do you know if I need bulbs or is it something electrical? Any tips or help is greatly appreciated. TIA!

 

[WoodRiverTroutBum]

Will they not turn back on? If they are running on a seperate switch than the whites, it sounds like your ballast went.

 

[firstimer]

smack the fixture. might be little loose.

 

[reefsane88]

it happened to me before when i disconected the plug after i set the timer ,diconect it reset it and do the timer again .
i know the timer sucks but it might be that time for new bulbs

 

[Ford625]

Yeah the lights won't come back on but the fan is still running. The whites still work on a separate switch. I have been using a plug in timer instead of the timers on the back. I'm not sure how to test for this stuff. I suck at electrical

 

[Ford625]

Now the acticnics come on for a plot second and shut off but all of the same symptoms.

 

[wrassefan]

switch the whites with the blues and if the whites won't come on, it's the ballast. If the whites come on, then it's prob the bulb

 

[Ford625]

True. Common sense stuff that I don't think about. Lol.

 

[MikeG]

switch the whites with the blues and if the whites won't come on, it's the ballast. If the whites come on, then it's prob the bulb

+1 easiest way to check what needs to be replaced.

 

[pallobi]

smack the fixture. might be little loose.

What exactly will this tell, and why would this be helpful?

 

[WoodRiverTroutBum]

What exactly will this tell, and why would this be helpful?

If there is a loose wire in the fixture, the jolt can be enough to make contact again and the light will come on. Or at least flicker. This way he would know that the issue is something loose inside the fixture and not a bad bulb or ballast.

 

[pallobi]

If there is a loose wire in the fixture, the jolt can be enough to make contact again and the light will come on. Or at least flicker. This way he would know that the issue is something loose inside the fixture and not a bad bulb or ballast.

thank you for clearing that up for me

 

[Ford625]

It's funny how one bad bulb will ruin it for everybody Any suggestions on new ones?

 

[pallobi]

T5's? I would use ATI blue plus'... thats what i use for my "actinics"... they look great, and unlike actinics, bit out good par for a blue bulb...

 

[Ford625]

Sweet. I'll have to look into those. I'm not sure if they're sold around here but I'll search. Thank you for the help everyone!

 

[MikeG]

It's funny how one bad bulb will ruin it for everybody Any suggestions on new ones?

Did you swap the bulbs and the blues still didn't work?

I would also recommend ATI Blue+ for the replacement.

 

[Ford625]

I swapped the bulbs and the whites worked in the blues spot. It's the bulbs. Especially one. If you pull it out, the other blue works perfectly. The whites work fine. The bad bulb flickers a lot and will sometimes work. Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[Ford625]

Does anyone know of any distributors of ati bulbs in the area? Thanks.

 

[pallobi]

Bulk reef supply for online... im pretty sure they have the best prices, and shipping is cheap...

 

[Ford625]

Oh ok. I did see that. I just didn't know if there was a place around here and so I didn't have to worry about the bulbs breaking during shipping. I'm not sure what's in it for bulbs now but it has 2 whites and 2 blues. Thanks bro.