Ricochet UK Posted November 29, 2004 Share Posted November 29, 2004 I have just acquired 2 FutureLight SC-780 Scans, But I can not get a lamp to strike in them, I have now tried 2 lamps that I know work and they will not strike up, I know there is power to the ballast from the main control PCB but how can I test either the ballast or the ignitor without knowing what parts to try if they work, I cant try the trial and error thing by swapping parts around because I don't know what is working and what is not, I know its most likely that it is the ignitor but can never be sure, If there is any parts for a FutureLight scan out there please contact me, the units are the same as the ROBE Scan 575xt. The parts are avabile from robe/futurelight but I did not really want to buy a ballast if it was an ignitor, I am stuck on this one with out any more units or ideas, The units have done about 2020 running hrs, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattwright15 Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 I had a simular problem with a mac 250 which the bulb blew inside. chattin to my local martin dealer they said that if the bulb blows inside one of them, there is the chance that it frys parts of the balast (cant remember wat parts, Choke sounds bout right). and unfortunatly this happend. on a mac 250 this cost about £100 to fix, think it was a bit less. I dont know if the futurelights are prone to the same ocurence, but being discharge they prob are. I dont have the first clue about how to change it, or what exactly went wrong as I cant remember was a couple of years ago. Any way hope this may of been able to tell u what ur problem is? Matt w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 The ballast is a usually a large white lump with two wires going to it. Normally they fail open circuit, when good they measure between 5 and 10 ohms when measured out of circuit. The ignitor is usually a smaller white lump with three wires going to it, one goes to neutral, one is the incoming live and the other goes to the ballast. Ignitors normally fail in a more spectacular way, often with large burned areas on the case. The ignitor is much more difficult to test. Ballasts and Ignitors are generic components, usually made by the company that makes the actual lamps, people like GE, Philips or specialists like Parmar. If you can identify the right component, take the part number off it and stick it in Google. Expect to pay around £20 for a generic metal halide ignitor which will do up to 400W, and between £15 and £30 for a ballast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet UK Posted December 4, 2004 Author Share Posted December 4, 2004 Thanks for all your helpI do not know the previous history of the units and when I got them they had no lamps, The Ballast is a transformer like lump and the ignitor is a plastic moulded unit which dose not look burned or distorted in anyway, I will take out the ballast and meter it thru on Monday and see what I get, I will also look for a model/part number and do a Google search like you say and see what I get, Anyway thanks for all you help so far and I will keep you posted!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 The Ballast is a transformer like lump and the ignitor is a plastic moulded unitSounds correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet UK Posted December 5, 2004 Author Share Posted December 5, 2004 http://img20.exs.cx/img20/8011/z4zig12.jpg - This is the ignitor These are actual scans of the parts!!! copy and paste to your address bar http://img20.exs.cx/img20/7745/q2vig12001.jpg - This is the Ballast Brian, I did have look on google for these parts found the main company in Switzerland for the ignitor and I also found the service manual for the unit, but no distributors in the uk which are any good to me, so if you know where to look please let me know, I will test out the ballast tomorrow and see what happens, Thanks Again, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted December 6, 2004 Share Posted December 6, 2004 Hi Andy These people here seem to have a large range of control gear. Whilst they may not stock the same make, you should be able to find a unit of suitable size and spec. ANother idea would be to pop along to a local electrical wholesaler who will have catalogues you can browse. I'm thinking of people like WF and City Electrical. As you can see the ballast is a fairly universal part, designed for HMI/MSR/CSI/CID and SN up to 575W; the ignitor is slightly more restricted, bing desinged for HMI 575W. Another idea - find the datasheet for the lamp used (osram/philips/??) and see if they recommend a list of suitable control gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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